3MF

Also known as: 3MF File, 3D Manufacturing Format

beginner File Formats

A modern 3D file format with color, material, and metadata support, superior to STL.

3MF (3D Manufacturing Format) is a modern file format designed specifically for 3D printing. It addresses many limitations of STL and includes advanced features.

Advantages Over STL

  • Units included - No guessing millimeters vs inches
  • Color support - Full color models
  • Materials - Multiple materials in one file
  • Compression - Smaller file sizes (ZIP-based)
  • Metadata - Author, copyright, print settings
  • Multiple objects - Build plates with many models
  • Guaranteed valid - No manifold errors

What 3MF Contains

model.3mf (actually a ZIP)
├── 3D/
│   └── 3dmodel.model
├── Metadata/
│   └── thumbnail.png
└── [Content_Types].xml

Slicer Support

Most modern slicers support 3MF:

  • PrusaSlicer - Full support, saves projects as 3MF
  • Cura - Full support
  • Bambu Studio - Native format
  • OrcaSlicer - Full support
  • SuperSlicer - Full support

When to Use 3MF

  • Sharing projects with slicer settings
  • Multi-color/material prints
  • Publishing models professionally
  • Archiving print projects
  • When exact scale matters

Converting

Most slicers can:

  • Import STL and save as 3MF
  • Open 3MF and export as STL
  • Bambu and Prusa project files are 3MF-based