Revit® imports a handful of formats. 3ds Max® imports several dozen. Once a file is inside 3ds Max, Levlin Bridge does not care where it came from: it reads the 3ds Max object, and every 3ds Max object is, or can be collapsed to, a mesh. So the question “can I get this format into Revit?” becomes “can 3ds Max import it?” — and Autodesk publishes that list.
The one rule
Whatever the source format, the route is the same four steps, and the third one is the only one that changes per format:
- Pull once from the Revit project you will rebuild in. This sets the 3ds Max units to that project; Before it, Levlin Bridge refuses every object in a push, so nothing travels. Why units go wrong otherwise.
- Import the file into 3ds Max.
- Collapse what arrived to Editable Mesh or Editable Poly. Mesh formats arrive that way already; CAD formats arrive as Body Objects and need the collapse.
- Push from 3ds Max; pull in Revit. Each object returns as its own Mass family, at the correct position and scale, with solid faces for planar and primitive geometry and a grounded mesh residual for freeform. How the solid-or-mesh decision is made.
Autodesk’s import list, sorted by what arrives
From the 3ds Max 2026 “Geometry File Formats” page. Grouped by the object class 3ds Max creates, because that is what decides step 3.
Arrive as mesh objects — collapse is a formality
| Format | Typical source | Note |
|---|---|---|
| FBX | Almost everything: Rhino, Blender, Maya, Cinema 4D, Unreal, Unity | Carries units and axis; the default interchange |
| OBJ | Any modeller | No units in the file; the scene units from step 1 decide the scale |
| SKP | SketchUp | Native importer; measured — a simple model returned entirely as solid faces. The SketchUp note |
| 3DS | Legacy 3D Studio, many exporters | Old and limited (65k faces per object); fine for small models |
| STL | 3D printing, scanning | Triangles only, one object per file; expect a mesh residual unless the model is planar |
| DWG / DXF | AutoCAD, Civil 3D, most CAD | 3D solids and meshes arrive as mesh; 2D linework arrives as splines, which do not travel |
| ABC (Alembic) | Houdini, Maya, VFX pipelines | Baked geometry; import at the frame you want |
| FLT (OpenFlight) | Visual simulation | Rare in AEC |
| 3D DWF | Autodesk viewers | Export only in 3ds Max; not an import route |
Arrive as Body Objects — collapse before pushing
| Format | Typical source | Note |
|---|---|---|
| SAT | Rhino, Inventor, Revit, CATIA, ACIS-based CAD | Exact BREP; 3ds Max meshes it at the quality you set on the Body Object, then you collapse |
| STEP / STP | Any mechanical CAD | The universal CAD exchange; same treatment as SAT |
| IGES | Older CAD and surfacing tools | Same treatment; trimmed surfaces may need checking |
| IPT / IAM | Autodesk Inventor | Parts and assemblies; each part a Body Object |
| SLDPRT / SLDASM | SolidWorks | Import only |
| CATPART / CATPRODUCT, CATIA V4 | CATIA | Import only |
| PRT / ASM (Pro/ENGINEER), PRT (NX) | Creo, Siemens NX | Import only |
| JT | Product visualisation | Import only |
| WIRE | Alias | Surfacing data |
Autodesk Help: 3ds Max Geometry File Formats
Autodesk Help: SAT files and Body Objects
Need a plug-in
| Format | Plug-in | Note |
|---|---|---|
| glTF / GLB | Free Khronos importer/exporter | 3ds Max exports glTF natively but does not import it |
| USD | USD for 3ds Max (Autodesk) | Arrives as mesh; useful when the scene is already a USD pipeline |
Khronos Group: glTF importer/exporter plug-in for 3ds Max
Not a road to Revit
RVT import and File Link go the other way and are covered elsewhere on this blog. LandXML and DEM arrive as terrain meshes — they travel, but as a mesh residual, which is what terrain is in Revit anyway. AI and SVG are 2D vector; HTR and TRC are motion capture; SHP, DRF and VRML are legacy. They import into 3ds Max and have no useful meaning as a Revit Mass.
What decides the result is the geometry, not the format
Once collapsed, a mesh from a STEP file and a mesh from an FBX file are the same thing to Levlin Bridge. Planar regions merge into single faces; cylinders and other primitives are detected and rebuilt as solid forms; freeform surfaces stay a mesh residual inside the same Mass family, grounded by ten reference planes. One object in 3ds Max is one Mass family in Revit; instances share a type; a model merged into one object returns as one element. How a given surface is rebuilt also depends on its size, its vertex count and its complexity: there are thresholds that decide the rebuild form so that the result stays efficient in Revit. The format only decides how the geometry gets into 3ds Max and whether step 3 is a formality or a real step.
The honest boundary
What was measured is the 3ds Max side — mesh objects, groups, instances, render proxies and a SketchUp import — pulled into Revit 2026 from 3ds Max 2024. Every format above produces a 3ds Max object that collapses to that same class, which is why the route holds; we have not run each format as a separate case, and we say so. If you run one through it, tell us what came back — the format, the face counts, what stayed a mesh — at hi@levlin.net. What the architect can do with the result.
Frequently asked
Which file formats can I get into Revit through 3ds Max and Levlin Bridge?
Any format 3ds Max imports: FBX, OBJ, SKP, 3DS, STL, DWG/DXF, Alembic as mesh; SAT, STEP, IGES, Inventor, SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, NX and JT as Body Objects; glTF and USD through plug-ins. Autodesk publishes the list.
Do I have to collapse the imported objects first?
Yes, to Editable Mesh or Editable Poly. Mesh formats arrive that way already; CAD formats arrive as Body Objects and must be collapsed before pushing.
What happens to a STEP or SAT file on this route?
It imports into 3ds Max as a Body Object, is collapsed to mesh, and from there follows the same rule as any other mesh. We have not measured a CAD part as a separate case.
Does 3ds Max import glTF?
Not natively; it exports glTF. The free Khronos importer plug-in adds import, and the result is an ordinary mesh object.
Why must I pull from the Revit project before pushing?
Because that first pull sets the 3ds Max units to the Revit project. Before it, Levlin Bridge refuses every object in a push, so nothing travels and scale is handled first.
Which of these formats were measured?
SketchUp and native 3ds Max meshes, groups, instances and render proxies, in Revit 2026 with 3ds Max 2024. The other formats produce the same object class once collapsed, and the rebuild is then decided per surface by geometry, size and complexity; we have not run them as separate cases yet and would like to hear your results.
Related field notes
- How to get a 3ds Max model into Revit as a Mass family
- Blender to Revit: the FBX, OBJ, glTF and USD route through 3ds Max
- Rhino and Grasshopper geometry into Revit through 3ds Max
- How to get a SketchUp model into Revit as measurable elements
- Flat faces vs curved surfaces: what comes back from 3ds Max as a solid Mass, and what stays a mesh
- What can an architect do with a Mass that came back from 3ds Max?
- Do dimensions and tags survive when you pull again from 3ds Max into Revit?
- Why Levlin Bridge returns 3ds Max geometry to Revit as a Mass family, not a DirectShape
- Is there a plug-in that links Revit and 3ds Max in both directions?
- Why the Revit model arrives at the wrong scale in 3ds Max
- Why the Revit model appears twice in 3ds Max after a reload
- 3ds Max cannot link the Revit file? Four causes, in order
- Revit File Link or FBX for 3ds Max?
- Do Revit and 3ds Max versions have to match?
- What happens to deleted Revit elements in 3ds Max?
- Why modifiers and UVW break when a Revit link reloads
- What Combine By Revit Material actually does to your model
- Why “Keep material parameters on reload” doesn’t save your 3ds Max materials
- Does Datasmith move a Revit model into 3ds Max?
- Can Speckle sync Revit and 3ds Max?
- Is NVIDIA Omniverse still a Revit to 3ds Max route in 2026?
Levlin Bridge
Levlin Bridge is a Windows plug-in that moves geometry between Autodesk Revit and Autodesk 3ds Max in both directions. Push the model from Revit, pull it into 3ds Max, and push the geometry you changed back into Revit as real elements. Only the difference ever moves, so materials, modifiers and UVW stay exactly where you left them. Any Revit 2022–2027 works with any 3ds Max 2024–2027.
Levlin Bridge is in final testing and is not released. There is nothing to download yet. Leave your email and you get the 30-day trial the day it ships.