Here is a list of best free OBJ editor software for Windows. OBJ or Object File is a popular file format by Wavefront Technologies which is used to store 3D model with information like 3D coordinates, Texture Maps, etc. You can easily open and view OBJ file in many CAD software. However, only a few software let you edit OBJ files. Hence, I have created this list of best free OBJ editors that you can use to edit OBJ model.
In these software, you get a lot of editing tools which allow you to make desired changed on a 3D model. These software let you insert new shapes and designs, combine individual 3D elements together, draw/paint objects, etc. You also get various handy viewing tools in these like Zoom, Orientation, Pan, Wireframe View, etc. Another good thing about these software is that they all support multiple input and output file formats including STL, DXF, SVG, 3DS, etc. Go through the list to find an OBJ editor software which meets your requirements.
My Favorite OBJ Editor Software For Windows:
3D Builder is my favorite because its simple interface and easy to use editing tools simplify the whole editing process. I also like its Viewing tools that allow you to closely view and analyze the 3D model of an OBJ file. FreeCAD is also a great OBJ editing software as well as 3D modeling software.
3D Builder
3D Builder is a free OBJ editor app for Windows 10. It is a really good app to view and edit OBJ files. Apart from OBJ, you can also edit STL, WRL, 3MF, PLY, GLB, etc. files with this app.
This app gives you complete control over the 3D model and lets you edit each and every aspect of the model without much effort. To perform editing, it provides four clearly defined tool sections namely Insert, Object, Edit, and Paint. Let’s take a look at these sections and how they help you edit OBJ files:
- Insert: It lets you insert 3D shapes like Cube, Cylinder, Pyramid, Cone, Sphere, etc. to the OBJ model.
- Object: It provides various tools through which you can create a duplicate of the existing model, change the position of individual elements, cut a part of the model, etc.
- Edit: This section provides some handy editing tools like Simplify (to reduce the number of triangles of the selected 3D object), Split (it lets you split a 3D model into two parts), Smooth (to smoothen the surface), Emboss (to add text over the 3D model), Merge (to create one complete object by merging multiple individual 3D elements), etc.
- Paint: Using it, you can color the surface, select texture of the surface, and change the material type of the surface.
After editing, you can save the model in OBJ or other formats including 3MF, STL, PLY, GLTF, and GLB. A direct option to 3D print your model is also available in it. Besides these editing features, a handy View section is also present in it. With the help of this section, you can view the wireframe of model, view model from different angles, turn on or off shadows, enable or disable reflection, etc.
Overall, it is one of the best OBJ editor on this list.
FreeCAD
FreeCAD is a free and open source CAD software that can also be used as an OBJ editor software. In this software, you can easily import an OBJ file and edit the 3D model present in it. You can also create a 3D model from scratch and export it in OBJ, STEP, DXF, DWG, BRP, SVG, etc. file formats. For editing, this software provides separate workbenches and each workbench is specifically designed to handle different types of designs like Ship Designing, Part Designing, Mesh Designing, Robot Designing, Raytracing, Surface, and more. You get different set of tools according to the type of workbench. You can access all the workbenches from the dedicated menu. Let’s take a look at some of the important workbenches and their editing tools:
- Part Design: This workbench provides tools like Groove Sketch, Polar Pattern, Make Fillet, Revolve Sketch, etc. Also, some standard tools like datum line, datum plane, new body, etc. are available here.
- Ship Design: It provides ship design specific tools like Tank Capacity Curve, Plot The GZ Curve, Create New Ship Weight, Ship Hull Geometry, and more.
- Robot: Using this workbench, you can create and edit 3D robotic model through tools like insert preselection position to the trajectory, place a robot, group and connect trajectories, generate a trajectory, etc.
Besides editing, this software also offers various viewing tools such as Front View, Top View, Axonometric Tool, Zoom, Pan, etc. To make precise changes in the 3D model, various measuring tools are also present in this software. Another good thing about this software is that it comes with a multi-window interface that enables you to view and edit multiple OBJ files at a time. In general, it is a feature rich and very stable OBJ editor software.
Autodesk 123D
Autodesk 123D Design is an OBJ editor software for Windows. It is a simple and cleanly designed OBJ file editor that provides various viewing and editing tools. All the editing tools of this software can be accessed from its top toolbar. Some of the editing tools that you get in it are insert shapes, sketch circle, sketch rectangle, create spline, construct solid element, combine elements, add patterns, and more. To closely view the 3D model, you can use the side toolbar of this software. From there, you can use tools to pan elements, zoom in or out, show material outlines, show solid/meshes, capture screenshot, etc.
The advantage of this software is that it supports various file formats like STL, DWG, DXF, SMB, and more. Plus, you can save the edited OBJ file in the same format as well as convert it to other formats like X3D, VRML, STEP, etc. In general, it is a simple and well designed OBJ editor software.
Note: This software is only free for non-commercial usage. To use its commercially, you need to purchase the paid version of this software.
Autodesk Meshmixer
Autodesk Meshmixer is the next free OBJ editor software for Windows. It is mainly a 3D model creation and editing software. In it, you can create a model from scratch and also import and edit 3D models of OBJ, STL, AMF, PLY, 3MF, etc. formats. To create and edit OBJ file model, it comes with various designing and modeling tools like Selection Tools, Editing Tools, Sculpt Tools, Stamp Tools, Shader Tools, etc. Selection tools let you erase, fill, re-mesh, extract, bridge, join, and separate the selections. The editing tools let you easily apply changes to a design. These tools let you mirror, duplicate, transform, align, plane cut, make solid, hollow, make slice, add tube, and unwrap. The sculpt tools allow you to make changes on the surface design of the model. All of these tools can easily be operated with the help of the mouse.
Once you are done editing OBJ file, use its Export option to save the 3D model in OBJ, STL, 3MF, AMF, DAE, PLY, WRL, or SMESH format.
Blender
Blender is a free open source 3D object creation software for Windows. With the help of this software, you can also edit a 3D model of an OBJ file. For editing, this software offers multiple tool sections namely Tools, Create, Physics, and Grease Pencil.
Let’s take a brief look at the tool sections of this software:
- Tools: Using this section, you can scale up or down the model, rotate model, create mirror image of the model, and create duplicate link of the model.
- Create: In this section, you get all the tools through which you can edit mesh of the model, create curves, make shapes, set lighting position, and add elements (text, lattice, armature, etc.).
- Physics: It contains rigid body tools through which you can edit rigid body shape, calculate mass, add active elements, remove elements, etc.
- Grease Pencil: It basically drawing tools that allow you to manually draw line and polyline over the OBJ model.
Once the editing is done, you can render the model to get a smooth and high-quality output of the model. You can then export it in 3DS, FBX, Stanford, Wavefront, STL, etc. formats.
MeshLab
MeshLab is another free open source OBJ editing software for Windows. Using it, you can make some visual changes on an OBJ file model, but you will not be able to completely edit the whole model. In this software, you can basically make outer changes on the model like smoothen out the surface, change the color of the model, change shade, drawing design over the model, etc. In order to make outer changes, this software provides tools like Z-Painting, Shades, Color, Texture, Sampling, Fairing, Filters, and more.
In this software, you also get standard viewing tools through which you can change model orientation, change 3D model position over the plane, zoom in on model, wireframe view, point view, etc. After completion of the editing process, you can easily save the design in the same OBJ file or export the design in 3DS, PLY, STL, DXF, DAE, CTM, etc. formats.
In general, it is not an ideal software to edit OBJ models due to lack of proper editing tools. However, if you only want to make outer changes on an OBJ file model then go for this software.