About the 3MF file format
3D Manufacturing Format
3MF was created by the 3MF Consortium (Microsoft, HP, Prusa, Ultimaker, and others) as the successor to STL for additive manufacturing. It is a ZIP-based container holding an XML mesh description with real units, colors, materials, and printer metadata.
Modern slicers like PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, and Cura prefer 3MF because a single file can carry the full print project.
Format reference: 3MF Consortium core specificationStrengths
- Real units and manifold guarantees
- Color and material support
- Native format of modern slicers
Commonly used for
- 3D print project exchange
- Color/multi-material printing
- Slicer-ready model delivery

