DirectX 3D Viewer

DirectX 3D Viewer is a native Windows desktop application for viewing, converting, and inspecting 3D files used in Hamilton automation workflows and general 3D pipelines. It is built with WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK and renders models with a hardware-accelerated Direct3D 11 viewport.

Why this project exists

Hamilton VENUS relies on .x and .hxx model formats. Support for these formats has been dropped or is no longer maintained in many mainstream 3D tools (including newer Blender workflows and other common tooling).

This project aims to change that by giving the power back to the people:

• Open and inspect legacy Hamilton 3D assets
• Generate and convert .x models
• Switch between .x and common 3D formats without vendor lock-in

Download

Download the latest signed installer from the Releases page.

Features

• Load and view .x, .hxx, .obj, and .stl
• Native Direct3D 11 viewport with orbit / pan / dolly camera controls
• Drag-and-drop file loading
• Wireframe, grid, and perspective/orthographic toggles
• Apply transform operations (rotate ±90° and mirror on X/Y/Z)
• Export to .x, .obj, .stl, and .glb
• Light / dark theme with Windows 11 Fluent styling (Mica backdrop, rounded cards, native command bars)
• Native splash screen and About dialog

Supported format workflows

• Input: .x, .hxx, .obj, .stl
• Export: .x, .obj, .stl, .glb

Architecture

The solution (DirectX3DViewer.slnx) contains two projects:

Project	Target	Purpose
src/DirectX3DViewer.Core	net8.0	UI-independent geometry, format loaders/writers, and conversion logic
src/DirectX3DViewer.App	net8.0-windows (WinUI 3)	Native UI shell, Direct3D 11 renderer, file I/O

• Rendering: Direct3D 11 via Vortice.Windows, hosted in a SwapChainPanel through a composition swap chain.
• UI: WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK with Fluent Design styling.

Requirements

• Windows 10 version 1809 (10.0.17763) or later
• .NET 8 SDK
• Windows App SDK runtime (restored automatically as a NuGet dependency)

Build and run from source

# Build (Platform must be specified)
dotnet build src\DirectX3DViewer.App\DirectX3DViewer.App.csproj -p:Platform=x64

# Run
.\src\DirectX3DViewer.App\bin\x64\Debug\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\DirectX3DViewer.exe

You can also open DirectX3DViewer.slnx in Visual Studio 2022 and run the DirectX3DViewer.App project (set the platform to x64).

To open a file directly on launch, pass its path as a command-line argument:

DirectX3DViewer.exe path\to\model.x

Tech stack

• WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK
• Direct3D 11 (Vortice.Windows)
• .NET 8
• Custom loaders and conversion pipeline for Hamilton and DirectX-oriented assets

License

MIT