Uploading and viewing CAD models

Pointerra has significantly expanded its support for CAD and BIM models, with a new enhanced CAD processing and viewing pipeline built directly into the Pointerra platform. Models now retain substantially more of their original structure and information, including object hierarchies, properties, materials, and layers, giving you much richer tools for exploring, filtering, and working with CAD data in the 3D viewer.

CAD models are now processed using Pointerra’s own CAD tiler rather than Cesium Ion. This means your model files remain within your company’s Pointerra region throughout processing and storage, while still being efficiently converted for streaming and interactive viewing in the browser.

Supported file formats

When creating a 3D Model dataset with the CAD Model source type, you can upload:

IFC (.ifc, .ifczip) — recommended for BIM and plant models
Wavefront OBJ (.obj, with .mtl and texture images)
Autodesk FBX (.fbx)
STL (.stl)
glTF binary (.glb)
KML / KMZ (.kml, .kmz)
Zip archives (.zip) containing any of the above

(For all dataset types, see Supported Spatial Dataset formats.)

Working from Revit, AutoCAD, MicroStation, Navisworks, or other design tools? Export your model to IFC for the best results — IFC carries your model's object structure, properties, and layers into Pointerra. IFC2x3, IFC4, and IFC4x3 are all supported. (DXF drawings should be uploaded as a Vector Data dataset instead.) If your tool cannot export IFC, see our guides for exporting an OBJ from MicroStation or AutoCAD, and an FBX from Navisworks.

If you select multiple model files, they are combined into a single model by default. Each source file remains individually identifiable in the viewer, so you can still show, hide, and browse each file's objects separately.

For a step-by-step guide to creating the dataset, see How do I upload a 3D BIM/CAD model?

Your model's data comes with it

When you upload an IFC model, Pointerra imports much more than geometry:

Properties and quantities — property sets and quantities (areas, volumes, lengths, counts) are imported for every element, grouped just as they were authored.
Object hierarchy — the full spatial structure of your model (project, site, building, storey, and the elements within) is preserved and browsable.
Element types — every element is classified by its type (e.g. Wall, Pipe Segment, Beam).
Materials — authored material names and colours are carried through to the viewer.
Layers — layer assignments are imported, so you can show and hide your model layer by layer.

Formats such as OBJ, FBX, and STL are fully supported for geometry, materials, and textures; the richest structure and property information is available for IFC models.

Explore the object hierarchy

Open the Object Hierarchy panel from the model's row in the Datasets panel, or by right-clicking the model in the 3D view. The panel shows your model's structure as a tree that you can expand and browse:

Select any object in the tree to highlight it in the 3D view, or click an object in the 3D view to locate it in the tree.
Zoom to object — fly the camera straight to any element, group, or storey.
Show / hide any object or entire branch of the model, and combine these freely — for example, hide a storey and then re-show a single element within it.
Isolate an object to hide everything else and focus on just that part of the model.
A Show all button restores full visibility at any time.

Inspect element properties

Click any element in the 3D view to open its properties, or use the property inspector built into the Object Hierarchy panel. Properties are shown grouped by property set, and you can:

Search an element's properties by name to quickly find the value you're after.
Filter by value — every property row has a one-click button to show only the objects that share that property value.
Select multiple elements to inspect several objects at once.

Filter your model by attributes

Build filters on any imported property to control what's visible in the 3D view — for example, show only elements of a particular type, on a particular level, or with a specific property value. You can add multiple filters and choose whether objects must match all or any of them. Active filters are shown as removable chips, with a one-click Clear all.

Work with layers

If your model contains layers, the Object Hierarchy panel includes a Layers view:

Show or hide entire layers with a single checkbox, with Show all / Hide all shortcuts.
Override visibility for individual objects within a layer.
Zoom to or isolate a layer to focus on it.

For models combined from multiple files, each source file also appears as its own sub-layer in the Datasets panel, with independent visibility.

Position and align your model

CAD models can be georeferenced at upload time — read the coordinate system from the file, select one from a list, or enter a custom definition, with support for vertical datums and coordinate offsets (see Fixing a 3D model that imported without a CRS offset). Models without real-world coordinates can be uploaded as non-georeferenced and placed manually in the scene.

Once loaded, interactive tools let you move, rotate, and scale the model, or align it precisely to a point cloud by picking matching tie points on each — see Aligning a 3D model using tie points.

Part of your digital twin

CAD models sit alongside your other data — point clouds, meshes, imagery, and vector data — in the same 3D scene:

Cross-sections and clipping planes cut through models and point clouds together.
Measurement tools work directly on model surfaces.
Adjust model opacity to see data behind or inside it.
Saved views and share links capture your full model state — hidden objects, applied filters, and layer visibility — so colleagues see exactly what you set up.

Notes

New CAD Model uploads automatically use the Pointerra CAD tiler. Models previously processed with Cesium Ion continue to work as before.
The object hierarchy and property tools are available for models processed with the current pipeline that contain structured object information — IFC models in particular.
For models with extremely large amounts of property data, the object hierarchy panel may be unavailable to keep the viewer responsive.