Novus Convert
Convert files
Vector & CAD format

3MF converter

3MF, the 3D Manufacturing Format with extension .3mf, is the modern replacement for STL in 3D printing. One .3mf file carries a complete print job — watertight meshes with declared units, colors, materials, multiple objects, and even slicer settings — inside a compact ZIP-based package.

Private for supported formats — processed in your browser

Convert supported files

Runs on your device

Drop 3MF files here

Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.

Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.

Where 3MF comes from

The 3MF Consortium, founded in 2015 under Microsoft's lead with Autodesk, HP, Shapeways, and other manufacturing companies, released the specification that same year, and Windows adopted it as a native 3D format shortly after. Slicer vendors embraced it through the 2020s: PrusaSlicer, Cura, and Bambu Studio all use .3mf as their project format today.

How 3MF works

  • An OPC package — the same ZIP-with-XML convention as .docx — whose 3D payload is an XML model part.
  • Units are mandatory and declared in the model element, eliminating STL's millimeter-versus-inch guesswork.
  • Meshes must be manifold and share vertices by index; per-triangle materials, colors, and textures are part of the core specification.
  • Extensions cover production data, beam lattices, slice stacks, and secure content, negotiated via declared XML namespaces.
  • Multiple objects, build-plate arrangements, per-object transforms, and thumbnail previews live in a single file.

When to use 3MF

  • Saving complete print projects with slicer settings preserved
  • Multi-color and multi-material printing jobs
  • Distributing models with a guarantee of manifold, unit-correct geometry
  • Embedding printable content in Windows applications

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Fixes STL's canonical gaps — units, color, materials, manifold guarantees — in one open, royalty-free specification
  • ZIP compression makes files far smaller than equivalent STL
  • A single self-contained package including thumbnails and settings

Limitations

  • Ecosystem support outside 3D printing is still thinner than OBJ or STL
  • Slicer-specific project data stored in vendor namespaces does not transfer between competing slicers

Compatibility

Windows has treated .3mf as a first-class format since Windows 10, with built-in preview support, and every major slicer now reads and writes it — several use it as their default project format. CAD support is solid in Fusion 360, SolidWorks, and FreeCAD, while general 3D graphics tools like Blender need an importer add-on.

The core specification defines metadata elements for title, designer, description, license, and creation date, and vendor extensions attach slicer and production settings.

Convert 3MF to another format

Convert other formats to 3MF