Molecular modelers often want to export their models as 3D geometries—for 3D printing, visual design, AR/VR environments, or integration into other platforms. But not every molecular modeling platform makes this easy. Fortunately, SAMSON provides a clear path for exporting molecular scenes as 3D geometry files.
If you’ve ever needed to generate mesh files from molecular structures, visual models, or custom geometries, this post will walk you through how SAMSON handles 3D exports and what formats are supported.
What You Can Export
In SAMSON, 3D geometries are handled as meshes. This abstraction allows for flexibility: the platform supports exporting a variety of node types in the scene—ranging from structural models to visual models and manually created meshes—as 3D files.
Specifically, the following node types can be exported as 3D geometries:
- Structural models, such as atoms, bonds, molecules
- Visual models, including advanced visualizations (if the visual model implements this functionality)
- Meshes, allowing for custom structures or imported shapes
Supported Export Formats
SAMSON supports exporting to several widely-used 3D file formats:
| File format | Description | Import | Export |
|---|---|---|---|
| OBJ | Wavefront OBJ format | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| glTF | GL Transmission Format (widely used for web and AR) | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| STL | Stereolithography format (commonly used for 3D printing) | ✔️ | ❌ |
With both .obj and .gltf supporting two-way conversion, you can both import and export 3D files. STL files, often used for manufacturing, can currently be imported into SAMSON but not exported.
Typical Use Cases
Here are some scenarios where SAMSON’s 3D export is particularly useful:
- 3D printing a molecular structure – Export to OBJ and use software like Cura or PrusaSlicer to prepare for printing.
- Creating AR/VR molecular experiences – Export to glTF, a format optimized for lightweight web-based visualization and mobile platforms.
- Integrating with Blender or Unity – Both tools support OBJ and glTF, making SAMSON meshes easy to drop into complex visual scenes for presentations or educational apps.
Quick Tips
- Visual models must implement mesh export functionality to be exported as 3D geometry. If you’re not getting results, try converting the node to a mesh before exporting.
- Use the naming convention in your document tree to keep your assets organized when exporting multiple structures.
This 3D geometry export capability bridges the gap between molecular science and 3D visualization workflows, without the need for third-party conversion tools.
To explore all supported import and export formats in SAMSON, visit the full documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.