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CDF automatically analyzes and optimizes the 3D models to enable devices with different form factors to render the models at high frame rates and with great detail. 3D models provide visual and geometrical context to assets. For example, CDF can connect a pump asset with a 3D model of the plant floor where it’s placed. Seeing asset data rendered in 3D helps you find the sensor data of your interest faster. Cognite’s REVEAL 3D Web Viewer SDK lets you integrate 3D model visualizations in any web-based application. Users can view and interact with the 3D models in a web browser on desktop and mobile devices and in Cognite applications. 3D data is organized in models and revisions:
  • Models are placeholders for a set of revisions.
  • Revisions contain the 3D data.
For example, you can have a model named Compressor and upload different revisions of that model. When you create a revision, you need to attach a 3D file. For each new version of the 3D model, you upload a new revision under the same model. Revisions can be published or unpublished so that applications can decide whether to list the revision. You can publish multiple revisions at the same time, for example, for different versions of the model (high detail vs. low detail). When you upload a new revision, CDF processes the 3D data to optimize it for the renderer. Depending on the complexity of the 3D file, this can take some time. A revision can have the status Queued, Processing, Done, or Failed, which you can track during processing. You can upload and process 3D models in the following ways: You can also edit 3D models in the CDF user interface without writing any code.

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3D models and project types

The way you work with 3D models depends on the type of CDF project you are working on. A project is categorized as either data modeling or asset-centric (legacy). In data modeling projects, 3D models are stored in Cognite’s core data model and are connected to core data model assets. You can only contextualize core data model assets to 3D models in these projects. Asset-centric (legacy) projects support hybrid contextualization, which means you can contextualize both asset-centric and core data model assets to your 3D models.

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3D hierarchy and linking to assets

3D data is built up by a hierarchical structure, similar to how CDF organizes its asset hierarchy. Each node in the 3D hierarchy is automatically assigned a unique nodeId value. When a user clicks an object in the 3D viewer, the application can get a callback containing the nodeId of the clicked object. CDF provides endpoints to extract the full 3D node hierarchy and to create mapping between 3D nodes and nodes in the asset hierarchy. You can use the nodeId to connect the 3D data to asset information such as metadata and time series.

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Hardware and system requirements

Hardware and system requirements depend on your use case: viewing models in a web browser requires different specifications than processing large CAD or point cloud files.
These requirements apply to users viewing and interacting with 3D models through the Reveal 3D viewer in a web browser.
Software requirements:
  • Web browser: A browser with WebGL2 support, for example, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox
  • Operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux
iOS and Android devices are also supported for viewing 3D models.
Hardware requirements:
  • Graphics: Laptops with integrated graphics can be used to view 3D models, for example, Intel Iris Xe Graphics or AMD Radeon Graphics. For the best experience with very large or complex scenes, a dedicated GPU is recommended (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 900 series or newer, or AMD Radeon HD 7000 series or newer, with at least 2 GB VRAM).
  • Processor (CPU): Intel Core i5 or i7, AMD Ryzen 5/7 series, or similar
  • Memory (RAM): 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended
  • Graphics drivers: Keep your graphics drivers up to date for optimal performance
Performance depends on many factors, including hardware, the size of the models you view, and your internet speed.

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Requirements by project size

Your hardware needs scale with the complexity and data size of the 3D models in your project:

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Limitations

File and processing limits:
  • Maximum 3D CAD file size: 100 GiB
  • Maximum number of nodes: 16.7 million
  • Maximum size of each node’s metadata: 512 KiB (as represented in the list 3D nodes ‘properties’ JSON object)
Texture visualization:Textured surfaces can only be visualized for simple textured CAD models with the following constraints:
  • Only one Albedo / Diffuse texture per node is supported
  • Textures can be PNG and JPG files
  • Textures may be scaled down for better performance
  • UV coordinates outside the [0, 1] range aren’t supported and can result in artifacts
CDF doesn’t support complex photogrammetry models with heavy textures.

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Supported 3D file formats

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Measurement units in CAD

In CAD models, measurement units define the design’s size, scale, and accuracy. Measurement units are the standard units (for example, millimeters, inches, and feet) that specify the objects’ dimensions within the design. Units ensure the design is correctly scaled and interpreted when shared with others or converted into real-world objects through manufacturing processes. If the source CAD file in CDF has measurement units, it’s converted to meters. After conversion, all internal geometry data will be in meters. The Reveal 3D viewer can then load the data correctly since it needs data in metric units like millimeters (mm), centimeters (cm), and meters (m).
For CAD metadata, any numeric values aren’t converted. They’re passed on in a string format.
Last modified on July 1, 2026