Over the past year, the 3MF file format has evolved into a comprehensive, open standard for additive manufacturing data exchange, with growing adoption in both industrial and consumer environments.As its presence expands, 3MF is rapidly positioning itself as the preferred format for 3D printing.Further advancing these capabilities, two notable additions—the volumetric and displacement extensions—are now publicly available on GitHub.The Volumetric/Implicit Extension (https://github.com/3MFConsortium/spec_volumetric) marks a significant step forward, introducing capabilities that go beyond conventional surface-based mesh models.
This approach enables the representation of internal structures and material gradients within a part’s volume, ensuring that every point in space is defined not by a tessellated mesh but by voxels, and/or pure mathematical functions.Within this extension, the use of implicit or signed distance function (SDF) representations offers a means to encode highly complex geometries in a fraction of the file size typically required by traditional polygonal formats.The result is a zero-discretization workflow: rather than approximating curves, surfaces, and intricate internal features, the printer receives a mathematically precise description of the design.This approach eliminates resolution loss, preserves fine details, and allows for geometry that would be prohibitively large or complex to represent via meshes.Another key resource supporting this new volumetric extension is Gladius, a development tool released by the 3MF Consortium as an experimental playground for working with implicit geometries and the volumetric extension’s implicit namespace.Gladius (available at https://github.com/3MFConsortium/gladius) provides a baseline environment for processing, testing, and experimenting with volumetric 3MF files.By offering a reference implementation, Gladius aims to help developers, researchers, and software vendors understand and leverage these new data structures and accelerate the integration of implicit and volumetric capabilities into mainstream design and production workflows.On the other side of 3MF’s latest enhancements, the Displacement Extension (https://github.com/3MFConsortium/spec_displacement) focuses primarily on surface-level modifications.
Rather than defining external textures, patterns, or reliefs through complex and bulky geometry, displacement enables the encoding of these details as parametric data.This yields more manageable file sizes and a cleaner design-to-print pipeline.Textures can be applied directly to a part’s surface through displacement instructions, ensuring that the printer understands how to deform or modify the part’s skin without requiring separate image mapping or external software steps.Beyond textures, the same displacement principles can be extended to distortion compensation, allowing engineers to embed corrections for known geometrical shifts, simulation, or scan data within the file itself.Such a capability could reduce trial-and-error iterations and bring final printed parts closer to their intended shape from the start.Beyond software and specification improvements, the growing adoption of 3MF in the hardware landscape underscores its value to software developers, machine manufacturers and end users.Once mostly seen in professional and industrial circles, the format is now gaining traction among desktop and prosumer fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers.
Along with 3MF Steering members Ultimaker and Prusa, Bambu Lab (https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/software/bambu-studio/3mf-compatibility) also utilizes 3MF Production Extension (https://github.com/3MFConsortium/spec_production) to handle complex build configurations that span multiple build plates.Speed of loading 3MF Core Vs.3MF Production Extension right.Rather than relying on a collection of disjointed STL files, designers can use a single 3MF file to control every aspect of the build.This holistic approach reduces the risk of errors, streamlines setup, and offers a level of repeatability and consistency that simpler formats cannot match.Designers can trust that their engineering intent—be it intricate geometry, material gradients, or surface textures—remains intact from CAD software to the printer’s nozzle.For those interested in gaining further insights into these developments, the Additive Manufacturing Strategies (AMS) event in New York City, scheduled for February 4–6, provides an opportunity to connect with experts and contributors to the 3MF specification.Attendees can learn about the latest advancements, discuss implementation details, and explore how the volumetric and displacement extensions might enhance their own workflows.
More information is available at additivemanufacturingstrategies.com and 3mf.io.By moving away from legacy file formats, the 3MF Consortium and its partners continue to refine a data standard that captures the full complexity of today’s additive manufacturing challenges.As engineers and designers embrace richer representations, such as implicit geometry and displacement-based textures, 3MF stands poised to deliver the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability the next generation of additive manufacturing demands.Subscribe to Our Email NewsletterStay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
