Features and Functionalities

Features and Functionalities

This page covers every major feature area of Aspose.3D 26.1.0 with working C# examples.

Loading and Saving Scenes

Scene.Open() loads a file; Scene.Save() exports it. The format is detected from the file extension:

using Aspose.ThreeD;

var scene = new Scene();
scene.Open("input.obj");
scene.Save("output.glb");

Use the static factory Scene.FromFile() as an alternative:

var scene = Scene.FromFile("input.fbx");
scene.Save("output.stl");

Format-Specific Options

Pass LoadOptions or SaveOptions subclasses to fine-tune the import or export behavior for a specific file format:

using Aspose.ThreeD;
using Aspose.ThreeD.Formats;

var scene = new Scene();
scene.Open("model.obj", new ObjLoadOptions { FlipCoordinateSystem = true });
scene.Save("model.fbx");

Available option classes:

Building a Scene Graph

Call CreateChildNode() on the root node to create named nodes and attach entities to build a scene hierarchy:

var scene = new Scene();
var root = scene.RootNode;

var boxNode = root.CreateChildNode("box", new Box(5, 5, 5));
var sphereNode = root.CreateChildNode("sphere", new Sphere(3));

Access children via node.ChildNodes and the attached entity via node.Entity.

Mesh and Primitives

Add control points using mesh.ControlPoints.Add() and define face topology with CreatePolygon() to build a custom mesh programmatically:

// Mesh.ControlPoints uses Aspose.ThreeD.Utilities.Vector4
// (double-precision, lowercase fields: x, y, z, w)
using Aspose.ThreeD.Utilities;

var mesh = new Mesh("custom");
mesh.ControlPoints.Add(new Vector4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0));   // w defaults to 1.0
mesh.ControlPoints.Add(new Vector4(10.0, 0.0, 0.0));
mesh.ControlPoints.Add(new Vector4(10.0, 10.0, 0.0));
mesh.ControlPoints.Add(new Vector4(0.0, 10.0, 0.0));
mesh.CreatePolygon(0, 1, 2, 3);

Built-in primitives (Box, Sphere, Cylinder) can be converted to Mesh:

var box = new Box(10, 10, 10);
Mesh boxMesh = box.ToMesh();

Vertex Elements

Create a vertex element instance with a MappingMode and ReferenceMode, then call mesh.AddElement() to attach normals, UVs, or vertex colours to geometry:

var normals = new VertexElementNormal(MappingMode.ControlPoint, ReferenceMode.Direct);
mesh.AddElement(normals);

Available vertex element types: VertexElementNormal, VertexElementUV, VertexElementVertexColor, VertexElementBinormal, VertexElementTangent.

Transforms

Every Node carries a Transform with Translation, Rotation, and Scale:

var node = scene.RootNode.CreateChildNode("moved", new Box());
node.Transform.Translation = new FVector3(10, 0, 5);
node.Transform.Scale = new FVector3(2, 2, 2);

Read world-space position via node.GlobalTransform.Matrix or node.EvaluateGlobalTransform().

Materials

Create a material, set its diffuse, specular, and shininess properties, then assign it to a node to control shading in 3D viewers:

var mat = new PhongMaterial("shiny");
mat.Diffuse = new Vector4(0.8, 0.2, 0.2, 1.0);
mat.Specular = new Vector4(1, 1, 1, 1);
mat.Shininess = 32;

scene.RootNode.CreateChildNode("red_box", new Box(), mat);

Material types: LambertMaterial, PhongMaterial, PbrMaterial.

Tips and Best Practices

• Use Scene.FromFile() for a single-call load when you do not need custom LoadOptions
• Convert primitives to Mesh with ToMesh() before adding vertex elements
• Use GltfSaveOptions and save with a binary extension to produce compact binary output
• Check node.Entity for null before casting — not every node carries geometry
• Use PolygonModifier.Triangulate() to convert quad meshes before export to triangle-only formats like STL

Common Issues

FAQ

How do I detect the format of an unknown file?

Call FileFormat.Detect() with a file path to identify the format without loading the full scene:

var format = FileFormat.Detect("unknown_file.bin");
Console.WriteLine(format.Extension);

Can I load from a stream instead of a file path?

Yes. Pass a Stream to Scene.Open() to load a 3D file from any stream source instead of a file path:

using var stream = File.OpenRead("model.glb");
scene.Open(stream);

Which formats support both import and export?

The following formats support both import and export: OBJ, STL, glTF/GLB, FBX, COLLADA, and 3MF. PLY supports import only.

API Reference Summary

See Also

• Aspose.3D for .NET — Enterprise Documentation