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How to convert LightWave (.lws,.lwo) to 3MF?

PolyTrans|CAD+DCC performs mathematically precise CAD, DCC/Animation, GIS and BIM 3D file conversions into all key downstream 3D packages and file formats. Okino software is used and trusted throughout the world by many tens of thousands of 3D professionals in mission & production critical environments, backed by respectable personal support directly from our core development team.

LightWave

LightWave is a well known and respected DCC/Animation system which has been around since the early days of the Amiga. It continues to be developed by Newtek Inc.

Okino implemented the main system to read and write LightWave .lwo and .lws files as of 1993, with the peak demand for our LightWave converters being throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, after which other animation systems became more popular (3ds Max, Maya and Softimage).

Fortunately a copy of the LightWave software is not needed to convert to/from the .lws and .lwo formats (as otherwise is the defacto case for the 3ds Max and Maya animation systems). The general scene data is stored in the ASCII .lws scene file whereas the binary .lwo file contains the geometry and material information.

3MF

3MF, 3D Manufacturing Format, is a modern replacement for the legacy STL (StereoLithography) file format with an explicit focus on the proper transmission of CAD and non-CAD model data for 3D printing as well as to downstream services and platforms. From Okino's long term perspective, the VRML2 file format was and is "just as good" for such requirements but never had the correct understanding nor traction since its introduction in 1995.

Features of 3MF over the legacy STL format includes: geometry instancing support, layered texture maps, multiple layers of UV texture coordinates, vertex colors and extended material types.

History, features, overviews, implementation partners and more can be read on the 3MF Consortium’s web site.

Note: Microsoft Windows uses the 3D Manufacturing Format (.3mf) for all 3D printing tasks.

Please also refer to the 3MF export converter for more information related to 3MF.

LightWave import converter's overview

3MF export converter's overview