3MF Reader

3D Manufacturing Format
File Extension	3MF
Supported Versions	1.2.3
Platforms
Tessellation	Read from file
B-rep	N/A
PMI	N/A

3MF (3D Manufacturing Format) is an open-source file format designed specifically for additive manufacturing. Developed by the 3MF Consortium, which includes major industry players, the format aims to provide a comprehensive and interoperable model. 3MF supports detailed specifications of object geometries, colors, materials, and other properties essential for 3D printing, ensuring that designs and their intentions are transmitted accurately and effectively between different software applications and printers.

Our support for 3MF covers reading and writing version 1.2.3 of the file format for Windows, GNU/Linux and macOS. As a tessellation-only format, we only import tessellation data.

How to Import From 3MF

To load a 3MF file, use A3DAsmModelFileLoadFromFile(). The A3DParamsLoadData structure is used to customize the loading behavior:

A3DAsmModelFile* pModelFile = 0;

A3DRWParamsLoadData sReadParam;
A3D_INITIALIZE_DATA(A3DRWParamsLoadData, sReadParam);
sReadParam.m_sGeneral.m_bReadSolids = true;

// ... set other A3DRWParamsLoadData fields as necessary

A3DAsmModelFileLoadFromFile("path/to/file.stl", &sReadParam, &pModelFile);

See Simple Load and Export for more about loading model files.

Tessellation

Due to the nature of the 3MF file format, tessellation information is directly read from the source without additional treatment.

Upon reading, use A3DRWParamsGeneralData::m_eReadGeomTessMode to decide whether tessellation is read. The A3DRWParamsLoadData::m_sTessellation member is used to decide how this is performed.

For more information about tessellation in HOOPS Exchange, see Reading Tessellation.