Format Guide
The modern replacement for STL — full color, material, and print settings in a single compact file.
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| Extension | .3mf |
|---|---|
| Full name | 3D Manufacturing Format |
| Container | ZIP archive with XML data |
| Geometry type | Triangle mesh + metadata |
| Open standard | Yes (3MF Consortium) |
| Supports color | Yes — per-vertex, per-triangle, per-object |
| Supports materials | Yes — multiple materials per model |
| Supports assemblies | Yes — components and constellations |
3MF (3D Manufacturing Format) was developed by the 3MF Consortium (Microsoft, Autodesk, HP, Ultimaker, and others) in 2015 as a modern replacement for STL. A 3MF file is a ZIP archive containing XML geometry data plus optional color, material, texture, support structure, and print setting metadata. Unlike STL, 3MF supports full-color models, multi-material assemblies, per-triangle color, and structured metadata. File sizes are significantly smaller than ASCII STL. PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Cura, and Chitubox all support 3MF natively.
For multi-color or multi-material FDM printers (Bambu Lab AMS, Prusa MMU), 3MF carries per-part color and material assignments that STL cannot express.
HP Multi Jet Fusion and other powder-bed systems use 3MF to carry full-color and material data natively. The format is specifically designed for production AM workflows.
3MF files can bundle slicer profiles and print settings, allowing print farms to reproduce exact configurations without manual re-configuration per job.
PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Cura, Chitubox, Windows 3D Builder, Autodesk Fusion 360, SolidWorks 2024+, and Materialise Magics.
Commonly converted from STEP or STL for additive manufacturing, or to STL for compatibility with legacy slicers that do not yet support 3MF.