Format guide
3DS
3D Studio Mesh
3DS is the binary mesh format of Autodesk 3D Studio for DOS (1990), one of the oldest 3D formats still circulating. Its chunk-based structure stores triangle meshes, basic materials, and keyframe data, with hard legacy limits: 16-bit vertex indices cap each mesh at 65,536 vertices and object names at 10 characters. Despite its age, enormous archives of stock models and game mods still ship as .3ds, so modern tools keep read support.
How to open a 3DS file
Blender imports 3DS via File > Import > 3D Studio. 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, MeshLab, and most asset managers read it. Converting to a modern format is recommended before further editing.
Primary use
Opening legacy stock models and archives from the 3D Studio era.
Convert 3DS to other formats
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