With the new USD export feature, I have some questions on how well integrated the export API (in particular from python) will be with usd-core. What aspects of USD does it currently support (lets just say the export will work)? Is there a list of the supported aspects of the USD schema? USD in…

[image] eobet: STEP is otherwise generally the neutral exchange format for CAD models… Unfortunately, STEP only supports NURBS and not meshes. FBX would have supported both, but was not fully utilized. So, if USD would finally support NURBS, meshes, instances, materials and layers, everyone …

It still will require target DCCs to actually be able to import such geometry. I have seen really only meshes be actually used in Blender, Maya, 3dsMax, Houdini and Cinema4D USD support.

I know I might be boring on this topic :slight_smile: but generally the fact that USD supports / will support many types of geometries can make it worse. The fact that someone allow to write 1000 types of data into their file format doesn’t mean everyone will be able to read it or write in it. That…

I don’t think I agree. Sure, not every software will be able to handle every file format feature, especially more exotic ones, but that is fine as long as most of the software can use most of the features. At least its an open standard. Every software that implements USD will still be able to read a…

I know what you mean, and this is the argumentation I hear all the time, but it depends on what you are working on, and for me personally this approach doesn’t work at all. It really depends on how reliable your importer can be for your task. If you can deal with the fact that only some features a…

And what do you mean by that? Leave half of it out because the user couldn’t handle it? If someone exports NURBS and their import program can’t use NURBS, then the interface shouldn’t support NURBS in general? It goes without saying that you should think beforehand about what you are exporting and…

USD supports a feature called “variants” which let you write different variations of the same geometry. This is something we haven’t implemented yet in our exporter, but it potentially would let us write both NURBS and mesh variations of a piece of geometry and let the application that reads the geo…

[image] Micha: If someone exports NURBS and their import program can’t use NURBS, then the interface shouldn’t support NURBS in general? Yes. Limiting file format to mesh only (cause NURBS still can be converted to a mesh) makes it possible to get 3d scene 100% correct much easier, because yo…

@w.radaczynski Interesting that you decide what is needed here. My customers primarily want NURBS, I will tell them. :wink: @stevebaer Please allow the choice of NURBS + meshes if needed only. My scenes are very complex and saving data twice (NURBS + meshes of the NURBS) in the file would not be he…

@Micha is there an application that you are using that supposedly can read NURBS from USD?

What aspects of USD are or will be supported?

Rhino

brian (Brian Gillespie) January 21, 2026, 7:06pm 28

RH-78662 is fixed in Rhino WIP

Topic		Replies	Views
Future: Universal Scene Description export Rhino	29	1091	July 19, 2025
Rhino 8 Feature: USD (Universal Scene Description) Export Serengeti (Rhino BETA)	11	4463	January 21, 2026
Shift from FBX to USD format? Rhino for Windows	7	2372	April 17, 2023
OpenUSD and the Future of Rhino Rhino windows	5	1414	February 25, 2024
Rhino BETA Feature: USD File I/O Improvements Serengeti (Rhino BETA) usd	13	1257	August 11, 2026

What aspects of USD are or will be supported?

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