DAE to FBX.

Maintained by Bake3D · Updated 8 October 2026

Why convert DAE to FBX

DAE files use Collada, a format for moving 3D models between apps. The Khronos Group, the group behind glTF, keeps the standard (Collada at Khronos). Collada files still come from older games, SketchUp exports and big asset archives.

Fewer apps read them now. Blender 5.0 removed its Collada import and export (Blender 5.0 release notes). Godot still opens DAE but calls it an older format, and asks for glTF when a scene has animation (Godot docs). FBX is read by Unity, Unreal Engine, Maya and Blender, so it is a safer home for a rigged, animated character.

This tool reads the DAE with its textures and writes one FBX. The joints, the skin weights, every animation clip and the base color texture come along. Your files never leave your computer.

How to convert DAE to FBX

1. Drop the .dae file on the box above. If its textures sit next to it, add them too, or drop the folder or a .zip. On a computer, Choose a folder picks a folder in one go.
2. Pick the animation frame rate: 24, 30 or 60 frames per second.
3. Watch the preview. It is the FBX that was just written, read back by three.js, and it plays each take.
4. Read the report. The source line shows the unit and up axis the DAE declared.
5. Download the .fbx file.

Click Try the sample fox (DAE) to see it work. The sample is the Bake3D fox written as a Collada file with Z up, the way Blender writes them, with its JPEG texture beside it.

Units and up axis

A Collada file says how long one unit is and which axis points up, in its <unit> and <up_axis> tags. The tool reads both. A file in centimetres is written as centimetres, a file in metres is scaled to centimetres, and a file with Z up or X up is turned so Y is up. The FBX says centimetres inside, so apps that read the unit show the right size.

The turn and the scale go into the model itself. The FBX does not get a parent node turned by 90 degrees or scaled by 100, which keeps the skeleton easy to work with.

Animation

Collada can store animation in two ways. Many exporters, Blender’s among them, write a full matrix for each joint on each key. The three.js Collada reader, which this tool uses, reads those. Some files key moves, turns and scales on separate channels instead. Those channels are not read, and the report says how many there were, so nothing goes missing quietly.

Each animation clip in the DAE becomes its own take, with the clip’s name. A file with no clips gives one take named after the file. When clips share one timeline, each take starts at its own frame 0. Every joint gets a key on every frame at the rate you pick. If the DAE has keys far apart, the motion between them becomes a straight blend, and the report shows a keys line.

Textures and materials

The DAE names each texture by a path, sometimes a full path from another computer such as file:///C:/art/skin.png. The tool finds the picture among the files you added by its name. The base color picture is packed inside the FBX. TGA, BMP, GIF and WebP pictures are turned into PNG in your browser first. Normal, bump, shine and glow maps are named in the report and left out.

What this converter does not keep

• Morph targets (blend shapes), which the Collada reader skips.
• Cameras and lights.
• Maps other than the base color.
• Kinematics and physics data.

If your file is a plain mesh with no skeleton, the FBX is a plain mesh too. The tool does not add bones.

Open the FBX in your app

Unity. Unity can read DAE files, but its manual says to use FBX whenever possible (Unity model file formats). Drag the FBX into Assets and pick Generic or Humanoid on the Rig tab.

Unreal Engine. Import the FBX as a skeletal mesh with animations turned on. Each take becomes an animation sequence.

Blender. Use File, Import, FBX. Each take becomes an action, which matters now that Blender 5 no longer opens DAE files.

To check the result first, open it in our free FBX viewer, which plays each take.

How we checked it

Automated tests write a tentacle with four joints and two clips as a Collada file in centimetres with Z up. Its texture is named as file:///C:/art/tentacle.png and added from another folder. The FBX keeps all four joints and both clips, finds the texture, and on each 30 fps frame we checked, every point sits within 1 mm of the original tentacle. Other tests cover clip names with spaces, a file with no clips, X up, a separate move channel, a morph target, a missing texture and a file that is not Collada.

We opened the results in Blender 4.4. The sample fox converted to an FBX with all 29 bones, its three takes and its 2048 × 2048 texture. It stood in the same pose as the original fox at rest and at 0, 0.5 and 1 second into each take. We also converted a DAE that Blender 4.4 itself wrote from the fox. That FBX opened with all 29 bones, the texture, the animation and the right size. We have not yet tested Blender 5’s new FBX importer, Unity or Unreal Engine with these files.

Common questions

Why did my animation not come through?

The file probably keys its joints on separate move, turn and scale channels, which the Collada reader does not read. The report says so. Export the DAE again with matrix or baked keys, or export FBX straight from the app that made it.

Why is my model lying down?

The DAE may declare the wrong up axis. Open it in the app that made it, check the export setting for the up axis, and export again. The source line in the report shows what the file declared.

Can I get each animation as a separate take?

Yes, when the DAE marks its clips with animation clip tags. Each clip becomes a take with its own name. A file with one long timeline and no clips gives one take.

Is my file uploaded?

No. The converter runs in your browser. The files are read, converted and saved on your computer.

Can Bake3D make a new animated character instead?

Yes, from a picture rather than from your DAE. Bake3D builds a textured model, places the bones and animates it, then exports FBX or GLB. Try the 3D character maker or play the free demo.