A Study on the Performance Comparison of 3D File Formats on the Web

3D file formats typically include OBJ (Wavefront file format), STL (STereoLithography), and FBX (Filmbox). Each format has limitations depending on its configuration and usage, and supported formats are different depending on the software application. glTF helps uniform integration of 3D file formats and allows for more efficient transmission of large 3D geometry files by organizing them in a binary format. This paper presents explanation on OBJ, FBX, and STL which are major examples of existing 3D file formats. It also explains the concept and characteristics of glTF and compares its performance with other 3D file formats on the web. The loading time and packets of each 3D file format are measured according to the web browser environment by means of Google Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge. Experimental results show that glTF is the most efficient and that it exhibits the best performance. As to STL, relatively excessive traffic was observed. This study is expected to contribute to reducing rendering time on the web as 3D file formats are used.