STL vs OBJ vs GLB vs FBX for Jewellery Casting — Which Format When
STL for Rhino / MatrixGold retopology and lost-wax casting. GLB for browser preview and WebGL sharing. FBX for JewelCAD and animation pipelines. OBJ for ZBrush or Blender sculpting. USDZ for iOS AR client previews. 3MF for DMLS 3D printing with colour + material metadata preserved.
The short answer
There is no universal "best" jewellery CAD format — each format encodes a slightly different trade-off between geometry, material, colour and viewer compatibility. Here's the decision matrix ateliers use in practice.
STL — Lost-wax casting, Rhino / MatrixGold retopology
STL is the industry-standard jewellery-casting format. Manifold triangle mesh, no colour, no material metadata, no texture. Every serious CAD suite (Rhino, MatrixGold, JewelCAD, 3Design, RhinoGold) accepts STL as reference geometry for retopology. Every wax printer (Solidscape, Envisiontec, Formlabs Form 3, DWS 029X) accepts STL directly for lost-wax build. Use STL by default unless you have a specific reason to pick something else.
OBJ — ZBrush sculpting, Blender detailing
OBJ is STL + optional vertex colour + optional UV coordinates + optional material link (MTL sidecar). Use OBJ when your workflow goes STL → ZBrush → back-to-STL for hand-sculpted enhancements to a Facetra mesh. ZBrush handles the topology cleanup and repoussé detail much better than Rhino for high-relief nakashi work.
GLB — Browser preview, WebGL, client sharing
GLB is the binary form of glTF — geometry + PBR materials + textures + animations, packed in a single file. Modern browsers preview GLB natively via <model-viewer>. Every Facetra 3D mesh ships as GLB by default so you can share a link to the client and let them rotate the piece before you print or cast. Not suitable for casting (materials come along, which retopology tools may misinterpret).
FBX — JewelCAD, animation, film
FBX is Autodesk's format — geometry + skeleton + animation + materials. In jewellery, FBX matters when you're using JewelCAD (which prefers FBX for import) or when you need to animate a piece for a video ad. Facetra's FBX exports preserve quad topology if you request the HD tier, which JewelCAD retopologises more cleanly than triangle STL.
USDZ — iOS AR client previews
USDZ is Apple's AR format. Your client on an iPhone can tap "View in AR" on a shared USDZ file and see the piece scaled to life-size on their coffee table. Powerful for high-ticket bridal or bespoke commissions where the client wants to see the drape / scale before manufacture. Not a manufacturing format.
3MF — DMLS 3D printing, colour + material preserved
3MF is Microsoft's modern replacement for STL. Preserves colour, material, texture and multi-body metadata in one file. DMLS metal 3D printers (EOS, SLM Solutions, Additive Industries) prefer 3MF over STL because they can build multi-metal pieces (18kt yellow + 18kt white gold on the same piece) without a sidecar file. If you're going straight from Facetra to a DMLS printer without an intermediate CAD pass, use 3MF.
Decision matrix
| Use case | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lost-wax cast | STL | Universal, printer-native |
| Rhino / MatrixGold retopology | STL | Standard reference format |
| JewelCAD retopology | FBX (HD tier) | Quad topology |
| ZBrush sculpting | OBJ | Vertex colour + UVs |
| Client preview (browser) | GLB | WebGL native |
| Client preview (iOS AR) | USDZ | Apple ecosystem |
| DMLS multi-metal print | 3MF | Preserves material metadata |
| Blender detailing | OBJ | Native import |
Practical Facetra pipeline
In a working atelier: generate the Facetra 3D mesh as GLB (the default) for the client-preview link. When manufacture is approved, re-download the same mesh as STL for the wax printer or Rhino retopology. Total additional cost: zero — every quality tier ships all six formats.
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