Format Guide
VRML File Format (.wrl)
The original web 3D standard — color meshes, scene hierarchy, and texture mapping for interactive virtual worlds.
Download Free TrialFree trial: 10 conversions with every feature. No credit card required. Windows 10/11.
30-day money-back guarantee · one-time license — See pricing
Where this format fits
Your file
Solid CAD
- STEP
- IGES
- BREP
Meshes
- STL
- OBJ
- 3MF
- PLY
- glTF
- GLB
- FBX
- DAE
- X3D
- OFF
- AMF
3D faces in drawings and scenes
- DXF
- DWG
- USD
What you get
3D printing
- STL
- 3MF
- OBJ
- PLY
Web, AR and games
- glTF
- GLB
- FBX
- DAE
Viewers and archives
- VRML
- X3D
- OFF
CAD exchange
- STEP
- IGES
- BREP
Solid CAD (STEP, IGES, BREP) can become a mesh or another solid format. A mesh converts to other meshes. Dashed formats (DXF, DWG, AMF, USD) can be read but not written. VRML reads .wrl, .vrml and gzipped .wrz files and writes .wrl.
- Convert a 2D-only DWG or DXF drawing. It needs 3D faces.
- Turn a mesh (STL, OBJ, 3MF) back into STEP, IGES or BREP.
- Read native SolidWorks, Inventor or CATIA files. Export STEP or IGES from that program first.
| Extension | .wrl, .vrml, .wrz (gzip) |
|---|---|
| Full name | Virtual Reality Modeling Language |
| Standard | ISO 14772 |
| Geometry type | Indexed face set (polygon mesh) |
| Open standard | Yes |
| Supports color | Yes — per-face and per-vertex |
| Supports textures | Yes |
| Successor | X3D |
What is a VRML file?
VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) was developed in 1994 and standardized as ISO 14772. It was the first standard language for 3D scenes on the web, allowing interactive virtual worlds to be embedded via browser plug-ins. VRML stores polygon meshes with per-face or per-vertex color, texture coordinates, lights, cameras, and basic animation. Its XML-based successor X3D is the current ISO standard. While legacy for modern web use, VRML remains in engineering and scientific visualization — particularly in industrial CAD workflows where color-coded geometry (stress maps, heat maps) needs to be shared with colleagues using free VRML viewers.
Common Uses of VRML Files
Engineers export VRML to share color-coded CAD models (e.g., FEA stress maps, heat maps) with colleagues who lack CAD software but have free VRML viewers.
Many PDM and PLM systems support VRML as a lightweight review format. Reviewers can rotate and inspect assemblies without needing a CAD license.
VRML is used in finite element analysis, medical imaging, and geographic information systems to export 3D data with color attributes.
Software Support
SolidWorks, CATIA, FreeCAD, Rhino, MeshLab, ParaView, Cortona3D viewer, and InstantReality.
Convert This Format
Commonly converted from STEP or IGES for colored visualization, to STL for 3D printing (losing color), or to glTF/GLB for modern web 3D viewers. 3D CAD Converter opens .wrl, .vrml and gzipped .wrz files, so a folder of old VRML models converts to STL, 3MF or glTF in one batch.