Format

3MF File

A 3MF file (3D Manufacturing Format) is a modern 3D printing format storing geometry, color, materials, and print settings in one file, built to replace STL.

Convert 3MF to STL

What is a 3MF File?

A 3MF file (3D Manufacturing Format) is a modern, open format for 3D printing that stores a model's geometry along with color, materials, textures, and even printer settings in one self-contained package. It was created by the 3MF Consortium to overcome the limitations of the decades-old STL format. Under the hood it is a compressed archive of XML data, so a single file can describe a complete, print-ready object.

How it works

A 3MF is really a ZIP container holding XML documents that define the mesh, plus optional color, texture, material, and thumbnail data, all validated against a shared specification. Unlike STL, it stores units and full scene information, so a model arrives in the slicer at the correct size with its colors and multi-material assignments intact. Modern slicers such as Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer even embed their print profiles inside the 3MF, letting you save and reopen a project exactly as it was set up. Backed by Microsoft and major printer and software makers, 3MF is steadily becoming the preferred interchange format for color and multi-material 3D printing, though STL still leads on raw ubiquity.

3MF vs STL

ZIP archive of XML parts

Container

2015 (Microsoft-led)

Consortium founded

6 (micron to meter)

Unit options

3MF

STL

Stores

Mesh plus color, materials, textures

Triangle geometry only

Units

Declared in the file, micron to meter

None, slicers assume mm

Mesh validity

Spec requires manifold, oriented shells

Leaky, broken shells are common

Slicer projects

Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer embed print profiles

Settings stored outside the file

Adoption

Rising, backed by Microsoft and HP

Universal default since 1987

STL remains the lowest common denominator every printing tool reads. Switch to 3MF the moment color, multiple materials, or a saved slicer setup needs to travel: one file arrives at the correct scale with everything intact.

In Meshy Every Meshy generation exports 3MF directly for slicing in Bambu Studio or PrusaSlicer, and the free File Converter turns an existing STL, OBJ or GLB into 3MF in the browser. Community models on the free 3D print files page download as 3MF too.

Use cases

Saving a full print project with settings, color, and materials
Sharing multi-color or multi-material models between slicers
Replacing STL where color and print metadata matter

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Last updated October 27, 2026

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Other terms

STL File OBJ File 3D Printing Mesh AMF G-code 3ds file Alembic BLEND

Frequently Asked Questions

A 3MF, or 3D Manufacturing Format, file is a modern 3D printing format that stores geometry together with color, materials, textures, and print settings in a single package. It was developed by the 3MF Consortium to replace the limited, geometry-only STL format. Internally it is a compressed archive of XML data describing a complete, print-ready model.

A 3MF file is structured as a ZIP archive containing XML documents that define the mesh and optional color, material, texture, and thumbnail data. Because everything is bundled and validated against a shared specification, a single file can carry a full, unambiguous description of the object, including its real-world units. Slicers can also embed their own print profiles inside the archive.

STL stores only triangulated geometry, with no color, units, materials, or print settings, so all of that must be re-added in the slicer. 3MF bundles geometry, color, materials, and configuration into one file, arriving at the right scale with its data intact. 3MF was designed specifically to fix STL's shortcomings, though STL is still more universally supported.

A 3MF is a model file that describes the object, its color, materials, and often the slicing settings, but it is not yet machine instructions. G-code is the final, printer-specific set of movement and temperature commands the slicer generates from a model. In short, you slice a 3MF into G-code, and the printer executes the G-code, not the 3MF.

3MF is supported by major slicers including Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, Ultimaker Cura, and Orca Slicer, as well as CAD tools like Fusion 360 and Windows itself. Many of these can save an entire project as a 3MF, preserving models, arrangement, and print settings together. This broad support is a big reason 3MF adoption is growing quickly.

Yes. Recent versions of Blender include a 3MF-compatible workflow, and an add-on is available for importing and exporting the format when native support is missing. You can bring the mesh in to edit or clean it, then export it again for slicing. For full color and print-setting round-tripping, however, dedicated slicers handle 3MF most completely.

Yes. 3MF is an open, royalty-free specification published by the 3MF Consortium, and its reference libraries are available under open-source licenses. Any developer or company can implement it without paying fees, which has encouraged wide adoption across slicers and CAD tools. The format itself costs nothing to use.

3MF carries far more information than STL, including color, materials, textures, correct units, and print settings, all in one validated file. This removes the ambiguity and data loss common with STL, where scale and color must be reconstructed by hand. For color and multi-material printing especially, 3MF produces a cleaner, more reliable workflow, even though STL remains more universally supported.

Yes. Meshy exports 3MF directly, alongside STL, FBX, OBJ, GLB, USDZ, BLEND, and DXF, so a generated model is ready for a modern slicer such as Bambu Studio or PrusaSlicer. If you already have a model in another format, the free Meshy 3D File Converter turns it into 3MF in the browser.

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3MF File

What is a 3MF File?

How it works

3MF vs STL

Use cases