OBJ Files for 3D Printing: All You Need to Know

When speaking about 3D printing file formats, it can be easy to think that STL is the only one, especially if you do not work in the industry. But that is far from the case. From 3MF to AMF, among many others, there are a few 3D printing file formats that exist. But today, we want to take a closer look at one of the most popular: OBJ.

An OBJ (or .obj) file is what is called a geometry definition file format, like STL it is a mesh file format, and developed by Wavefront Technologies for its Advanced Visualizer animation package back in the late 1980s. It is used widely among those working in 3D design and graphics, including in gaming and virtual environments, animation and the film industry, architectural visualization and of course 3D printing and prototyping. But why would you choose this file format over others? What are the benefits of using OBJ for 3D printing? We took a closer look.

OBJ files can be obtained from common 3D modeling software like SketchUp

Why Use the File Format for 3D Printing?

After STL files, OBJ are one of the most common file formats in additive manufacturing, even if 3MF has also gained massive popularity. And the reasons for that are quite simple: it is possible to access these files with many different 3D modeling software and they can be used with a wide range of slicers. The format also offers certain advantages over other file types.