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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. 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 Revisions can be published or unpublished so that applications can decide whether to list the revision.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). You can upload through CDF or upload with File Extractor or edit 3D models without writing any code using the CDF user interface, or you can upload them programmatically using our API and SDKs.

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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. 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. The asset-centric 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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Supported 3D file formats

Extension(s)TypeVersionDescription
DWG (Beta)CADUp to 2024AutoCAD models.
RVMCADBinary: 1 - 3Aveva E3D and PDMS models. Attributes are supported by providing ATT or TXT files in a zipped folder with the RVM files. See RVM standard colors for CDF for color-specific information. RVM ASCII is not supported.
NWDCAD2012 - 2026Navisworks models.
SLDASM, SLDPRTCAD97 - 2025SOLIDWORKS parts and assemblies. Assemblies (.sldasm) and parts (.sldprt) can be combined in a ZIP archive. To upload part files (.sldprt), you must add an assembly file (.sldasm). You can upload assembly files without any part files.
X_T, X_BCADUp to 37.1Parasolid. Parasolid files can be exported from a range of 3D design tools.
STP, STEPCADAP 203 E1/E2, AP 214, AP 242 E1/E2/E3STEP. STEP files can be exported from a range of 3D design tools.
IFCBIM/CADIFC2x2, IFC2x3 and IFC4 up to 4.3Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) is an exchange format frequently used in BIM. IFC files can be exported from a range of 3D design tools
FBXCAD/General 3DASCII: 7100-7500, Binary: AllAutodesk Filmbox is a generic 3D format. Several 3D tools supports this format, in particular Autodesk products.
OBJCAD/General 3DAnyWavefront OBJ is a simple text-based 3D format suitable for small models. It can be combined with materials in a MTL file in a ZIP archive.
PTXPoint cloudText based point cloud scan. Note that binary formats are recommended.
PTSPoint cloudText based point cloud scan. Note that binary formats are recommended.
E57Point cloudASTM E57 is an exchange format for 3D image data. See E57 files with 360 degree images for more information.
LASPoint cloudASPRS LAS is a commonly used format for storing laser scans and point cloud models.
LAZPoint cloudLASzip is a lossless compression of LAS files. Because of the compression capabilities, LAZ is a recommended format.
ZIPZip files with CAD/Point cloud filesCombine multiple model files into a single ZIP archive to combine the models during processing. The supported ZIP archive format is PKZIP. Note that point cloud models cannot be combined with CAD models during processing, but that this is supported in certain Cognite applications and by the Reveal SDK.
LimitationsThese are the limitations for processing and displaying CAD models and point clouds.
  • CAD models:
    • 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)
    • Textured surfaces can only be visualized for simple textured CAD models
      • 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’s outside the [0, 1] range are not supported and can result in artifacts
      • CDF doesn’t support complex photogrammetry models with heavy textures
  • Point clouds:
    • Maximum point cloud file size: 1 TiB
    • Maximum number of points: 20 billion per model

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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.