Free Online L3D Viewer (No Signup)
Also opens DWG, DXF, STEP, IGES, IFC, SKP, STL, OBJ, GLB, FBX, 3DM and other 3D/CAD files. Drop any file on the viewer.
Works directly in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge
Also from Innerscene: Circadian Lab, a free lighting calculator for room illuminance, melanopic EML, and glare.
What Is an L3D File?
L3D (Luminaire 3D) is an open format for the 3D model of a luminaire. An .l3d is a ZIP holding structure.xml and one folder per part, each with an OBJ mesh and its materials. structure.xml places the parts, joins them with joints that can turn (a spotlight’s pan and tilt, a floor lamp’s swivelling head), and marks the light-emitting objects the photometry is measured from and the faces that glow.
The viewer builds the luminaire in your browser: every part at its position and rotation, joints at their default angles, each OBJ scaled from its own units to metres, faces in their material colours. The light-emitting surfaces glow on a layer of their own, and each light-emitting object is outlined, so it is clear where the light leaves the luminaire.
L3D models usually travel inside a GLDF package, where the viewer also draws the light distributions. A loose .l3d exports like any 3D model, for example to GLB or OBJ.
Who Uses L3D Files?
Lighting manufacturers building models for their GLDF products, lighting designers checking a luminaire’s shape and size, and architects and BIM modellers who want a manufacturer’s luminaire as a 3D model in their own software.
Common Use Cases
- Look at a luminaire’s L3D model without lighting software
- Check where the light-emitting objects and surfaces sit on the model
- Check part placement and joint default angles before publishing a GLDF
- Measure the luminaire in metres
- Export the luminaire as GLB, OBJ, FBX or STL for a render or a BIM model
Features
Opens L3D Models
Luminaire 3D containers (.l3d), the geometry format of GLDF.
Every Part in Place
Each OBJ part at its position and rotation from structure.xml.
Joints at Their Default Angles
Parts hung on joints, such as a spotlight’s pan and tilt, are turned as the file sets them.
Light-Emitting Surfaces
The faces that glow when the luminaire is on, on a layer of their own.
Light-Emitting Objects
The rectangles and circles the photometry is measured from, outlined.
Real Size in Metres
Parts in millimetres, centimetres, inches or feet are all scaled to metres.
Material Colours
Colours and textures from each part’s MTL file.
Export the Luminaire
Save it as GLB, OBJ, FBX, STL, USDZ, STEP or DXF, or the view as PDF, PNG or JPG.
Nothing Is Uploaded
The file is read and drawn entirely in your browser. No account, no upload, no copy on a server.
Share and Embed
Send a link that opens the luminaire in any browser, or drop the viewer into your own page with one iframe.
Compatibility & Format Notes
What is drawn: every geometry of structure.xml with its OBJ mesh, at its position and rotation; the parts on joints at the joints’ default rotations; material colours and textures from the MTL files; light-emitting surfaces as glowing faces; and rectangular and circular light-emitting objects as outlines with a glowing fill.
Files: L3D containers (format 0.11 and later), with OBJ files in metres, decimetres, centimetres, millimetres, yards, feet or inches. Containers are recognised by their content, so a renamed .l3d, or one zipped again, still opens.
Not drawn: sensor objects, and the range a joint can turn through (only its default angle is shown).
Embed on Your Website
Add this viewer to your own site with a single line of HTML. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate an embed code, or use the snippet below with your own file URL.
Your Files Stay on Your Computer
Your L3D files are parsed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or shared unless you explicitly click the Share button. Shared files are hosted for 90 days then deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions
▶How is L3D related to GLDF?
L3D is the geometry format GLDF uses. A GLDF package carries the luminaire’s L3D model alongside its photometry and product data, and names the light-emitting objects of the model its emitters sit on. Open the .gldf to see the model with its light distributions; open the .l3d to see the model alone.
▶What are light-emitting objects and surfaces?
A light-emitting object is the rectangle or circle the luminaire’s photometry is measured from. Light-emitting surfaces are faces of the model that glow when the luminaire is on. The viewer outlines the objects and makes the surfaces glow, each on its own layer.
▶Can I move the joints?
The viewer shows each joint at the default angle the file gives it. The angle limits the file states are read but not offered as controls.
▶Is this L3D viewer really free?
Yes, completely free. No signup, no watermarks, no file size limits on the viewer (the optional share-link feature has a 100 MB upload cap). Built by Innerscene as a tool for architects, engineers, and designers.
▶Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. All parsing, rendering, and conversion runs in your browser: nothing is uploaded, stored, or transmitted by default. The Share button is the only feature that uploads a file, and only when you explicitly click it.
▶Can I convert to another format?
Yes. Click Export in the toolbar. The menu offers GLB, glTF, OBJ, STL, FBX, DAE, USDZ, 3MF, PLY, STEP (a faceted solid), DXF, PDF, SVG, PNG and JPG. The viewer does not write .l3d files.
▶Can I embed this viewer on my own site?
Yes. Click Embed in the toolbar to generate a one-line <iframe> snippet you can paste into any HTML page. You can choose whether the embed shows the viewer’s toolbar.