LWO to 3MF Converter
FileFlip converts LWO to 3MF entirely inside your browser, using Assimp compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert an LWO file to 3MF?#
- Drop your LWO file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to 3MF and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs Assimp on your own machine.
- Save the 3MF file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting LWO to 3MF lose quality?#
Not in the sense of pixels or samples. Converting LWO to 3MF rebuilds the file in 3MF's own model rather than re-encoding it, so everything 3MF can represent comes through exactly and anything it cannot has to be dropped. Expect the geometry to be exact, and anything the target has no place for, such as a rig, to be left behind.
Is it safe to convert LWO files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts LWO files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What LWO to 3MF actually does to the file#
Converting LWO to 3MF runs on Assimp, downloads 11.2 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, rebuilds the file in the target's own model, and drops skeleton and animation.
| Engine | Assimp |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: LWO → 3MF |
| Downloaded to your browser | 11.2 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Rebuilt in the target's model |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
What survives the conversion
| What is in the file | This conversion | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Textures | Sometimes | Survives for some files and not others. |
| Skeleton and animation | Dropped | The target format has nowhere to put it. |
Worth knowing before you start:
- if the source carries a skeleton or animation, this target has no place to store it
What is an LWO file?#
An LWO file stores a single 3D object for NewTek LightWave, its points, polygons and LightWave surface (material) definitions laid out as IFF chunks, the same tagged-chunk scheme Commodore designed for the Amiga.
Keep an object as LWO while it's staying inside a LightWave scene, since that's the format LightWave's own surfacing model round-trips without loss.
Convert LWO to OBJ or FBX once the object needs to leave LightWave for an engine or another modeller that doesn't ship an LWO importer.
What is a 3MF file?#
A 3MF file is a ZIP archive of XML documents, published by the 3MF Consortium in 2015 as 3D printing's replacement for STL, adding the colour, material, unit and multi-object placement data STL never had.
Use 3MF over STL whenever colour, material or multiple positioned objects need to travel with the geometry to the printer.
Convert 3MF to STL only when the destination software is old enough to not support 3MF at all.
LWO to 3MF questions people ask#
What is an LWO file?
An LWO file is a LightWave Object: the points, polygons and surface (material) definitions of a single 3D object, built on the IFF chunk format NewTek carried over from its Amiga roots. LightWave scenes reference LWO files by name rather than embedding the geometry, so a scene and its objects usually travel together.
What's the difference between LWO and LWS files?
An LWO file holds one object's geometry and surfacing; an LWS file is the LightWave scene that loads one or more LWO objects and adds the camera, lights, hierarchy and animation around them. Neither file is useful alone if the other half is missing.
What opens an LWO file?
LightWave 3D, the application LWO was built for, opens it natively on Windows and macOS. A handful of other 3D applications include an LWO importer, but support varies by whether that importer was updated to handle the newer LWO2 chunk layout introduced in LightWave 6.0.
What is a 3MF file?
A 3MF file is a 3D printing format, a ZIP archive of XML, published by the 3MF Consortium in 2015 to replace STL. It adds colour, material, real-world units and multiple objects with their placement on the build plate, none of which STL can store.