Free online FBX to USDC converter

Source format: fbx

FBX (Filmbox) is a widely used 3D interchange format developed by Autodesk. It is common in game development, animation, VFX, and 3D content pipelines because it can store meshes, skeletons, animations, cameras, lights, materials, and scene hierarchy. Artists often use FBX to move assets between tools such as Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Unity, and Unreal Engine.

FBX is popular because it is broadly supported, but it is also a complex format with many implementation differences between applications. That means some scene details may not transfer perfectly from one program to another.

Target format: usdc

USDC is the binary form of USD (Universal Scene Description), a scene description format created by Pixar and now widely used in film, animation, visualization, and increasingly in real-time pipelines. USD is designed for large, layered, non-destructive scene workflows, making it useful for complex productions with many assets and variants.

The USDC variant stores USD data in a compact binary file, which is typically faster to load and more efficient to store than the text-based USD formats. It is commonly used when scenes need to be exchanged between DCC tools, renderers, and pipeline systems that support USD.

How to perform the conversion

The best method depends on the software you already use, but the most reliable workflow is usually through a USD-capable DCC application such as Blender, Autodesk Maya, or a dedicated USD toolchain. If you only need a quick conversion, you can also convert the file on 101convert.com for free without installing any software.

Option 1: Using Blender

1. Open Blender.
2. Import the FBX file with File → Import → FBX (.fbx).
3. Check the imported scene for scale, orientation, materials, and animation.
4. Export to USD with File → Export → Universal Scene Description (.usd/.usda/.usdc).
5. In the export options, choose USDC as the output format if Blender offers the choice directly, or save as USD and select the binary variant where available.
6. Save the file with a .usdc extension.

Option 2: Using Autodesk Maya

1. Open the FBX file with File → Import.
2. Verify that the scene imported correctly, especially animation and materials.
3. Export using the USD exporter with File → Export Selection or File → Export All, depending on what you need.
4. Choose the USDC output option in the export settings.
5. Save the result as .usdc.

Option 3: Using Pixar USD tools

If you already have a USD pipeline installed, you can use command-line tools such as usdcat to convert between USD encodings. In many workflows, the process is:

1. Convert or export the FBX file to a USD format using a DCC application or an FBX-to-USD importer.
2. Use usdcat to rewrite the file into binary USDC if needed.

For example, if you have a text-based USD file already, you can run usdcat input.usda -o output.usdc to produce a binary USDC file.

Notes on quality, compatibility, or limitations

FBX to USDC is not always a perfect one-to-one conversion. The biggest differences usually involve materials, shaders, animation rigs, embedded textures, and custom properties. USD is excellent for scene organization and interchange, but it does not preserve every FBX-specific feature in the same way.

Pay attention to these common issues:

• Scale and axis orientation may change between applications.
• Materials and textures may need manual relinking or reauthoring.
• Rigging and animation can import differently depending on the source and target software.
• FBX-specific features may be lost if the USD exporter does not support them.
• USDC is binary, so it is efficient, but it is not human-readable like .usda.

If your goal is pipeline compatibility, test the converted file in the target application before using it in production. For simple asset exchange, the conversion is usually straightforward; for complex animated scenes, expect some cleanup.