Blender 3MF Format

Note

This is an actively maintained fork of the original Blender 3MF add-on, updated for modern Blender versions (4.2+) and ongoing development.

Blender 3MF Format is a Blender add-on for importing, editing, and exporting 3MF (3D Manufacturing Format) files with real slicer-aware data intact.

It covers far more than raw mesh export. The add-on handles geometry, materials, textures, metadata, triangle sets, Orca/Bambu modifier parts, MMU paint workflows for most slicers, slicer profile round-tripping, and spec-compliant 3MF packaging.

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Status

• Version 2.8.0
• Compatible with Blender 4.5+ | Blender 4.2 EOS has passed, while still compatible no support will be given.
• Primary development target: Blender 5.0
• Actively maintained

For Blender versions 2.80–3.6, see the original releases.

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Why Use It

• Import and export real 3MF files instead of flattening everything to STL-style geometry
• Preserve colors, materials, textures, metadata, and slicer-specific project data
• Export for standard 3MF, Orca Slicer / BambuStudio, and PrusaSlicer / SuperSlicer workflows
• Author Orca/Bambu mixed-filament recipes in Blender, including gradients, color recommendations, and per-object slot assignment
• Create paint, seam, and support data directly in Blender with the built-in MMU Paint Suite
• Bake existing textures and vertex colors into quantized slicer-ready paint data
• Save and reuse slicer profiles so exports open with the right machine and filament setup
• Turn objects into slicer modifier, support, blocker, or negative parts from the 3MF side panel
• Automate import/export/inspection through the public Python API

Slicer	Round-Trip Support	Notes
Standard 3MF	Full	Spec-compliant geometry, materials, textures, metadata, and extension-aware export
Orca Slicer / BambuStudio / PrusaSlicer / SuperSlicer	Feature-specific	Orca/Bambu per-slot mixed-filament authoring is implemented; manual slicer validation is pending. FullSpectrum mixed-filament definitions are not supported.

Documentation

The full user guide lives on CloneCore and covers the add-on in much more detail than this README.

• Start here: Getting Started & Importing
• Choosing the Right Mode / Standard Export
• Object or Face Colors
• Painting or Texture Baking
• Metadata, Part Types & Triangle Sets
• Slicer Profiles
• Troubleshooting & FAQ

API and developer-facing docs:

• Generated API docs in this repo
• Local API reference source
• Orca/Bambu mixed-filament authoring guide
• Manual slicer validation checklist

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Installation

Blender 4.2+

Official Blender Extensions Platform (Recommended) – Includes automatic updates!

1. Open Blender
2. Go to Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions
3. Search for "3MF"
4. Click Install on 3MF Import/Export

Manual Installation

Option 1: Drag & Drop

1. Download the ZIP from Releases
2. Open Blender
3. Drag the downloaded ZIP file into Blender
4. Enable the add-on

Option 2: Preferences

1. Download the ZIP from Releases
2. Open Edit → Preferences → Add-ons
3. Click Install… and select the downloaded ZIP file
4. Enable 3MF Import/Export

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Quick Start

After installation, the add-on shows up here:

• File → Import → 3D Manufacturing Format (.3mf)
• File → Export → 3D Manufacturing Format (.3mf)
• 3D Viewport → N → 3MF tab for metadata, object info, triangle sets, and MMU tools

Importing

Import from File → Import → 3D Manufacturing Format (.3mf).

The main import choice is Material Mode:

• Import Materials: best for viewing colors, materials, textures, and round-tripping files
• Import MMU Paint Data: converts supported slicer segmentation into an editable paint texture
• Geometry Only: ignore color/material data and bring in mesh data only

The importer can also preserve:

• Geometry and component hierarchies
• Basematerials, colorgroups, textures, and PBR properties
• Orca paint_color data and Prusa mmu_segmentation data
• Scene/object metadata
• Triangle sets
• Embedded slicer config files for later round-trip export
• Orca/Bambu plate assignments, plate names, and assembled positions

Exporting

Export from File → Export → 3D Manufacturing Format (.3mf).

The key export setting is Material Export Mode:

• Auto: inspects the scene and picks the right exporter
• Standard 3MF: writes a spec-compliant single-model 3MF
• Paint Segmentation: writes slicer-oriented paint segmentation for MMU workflows

Use Standard 3MF when you need a clean spec-compliant file for general tools or print services.

Use Auto or Paint Segmentation when targeting slicers with object/face colors or painted filament regions.

That includes both workflows the add-on supports:

• a simple per-object or per-face material color workflow
• the full paint workflow with editable paint, seam, and support layers

The external guide pages walk through both workflows in detail:

• Standard export guide
• Multi-color export guide

Assemblies and Multi-Plate Projects

In the 3MF → Assemblies sidebar, select meshes and choose Create Assembly to group them under an Empty without moving them. Use the adjacent clear button to remove selected meshes from their assembly. Assign Plate and Clear Plate manage Orca/Bambu plate assignments for objects or assemblies.

Plate per Material is off by default. When enabled for Orca/Bambu export, objects sharing a material use the same plate; the optional Split Assemblies by Material setting separates mixed assemblies while preserving their assembled positions. Explicit plate assignments take precedence. Grouping uses each object's dominant material or default paint extruder; it does not split different colors within a single mesh. Arrange overlapping parts in the slicer.

Import restores saved plate names and assignments for multi-plate projects and removes the slicer's plate-grid offsets when bed dimensions are available. With Selection Only, select an assembly's Empty to export it as an assembly; selecting only its parts exports them as separate objects. See the API reference for custom properties, limits, and round-trip details.

Metadata, Part Types, and Triangle Sets

The 3MF sidebar tab exposes more than import/export dialogs:

• Scene metadata editing
• Object info and preserved object metadata
• Orca/Bambu modifier part types including modifier, support enforcer, support blocker, and negative part
• Slicer info from imported files
• Triangle set naming and export via the Triangle Sets extension

See the full walkthrough here:

• Metadata, Part Types & Triangle Sets

MMU Paint Suite

The add-on includes a built-in texture-based multi-material painting workflow for slicer-ready color zones.

• Paint filament zones directly in Blender's Texture Paint mode
• Switch between color, seam, and support painting layers
• Reassign filament colors across an entire painted texture
• Start from scratch with a guided panel in Texture Paint mode
• Bake materials, textures, or vertex color-driven looks down into MMU paint data
• Quantize and clean painted regions before export
• Export painted results as slicer-native paint data that Orca/Bambu and Prusa-family slicers understand

Full guide:

• Painting or Texture Baking

Slicer Profiles

You can save printer/filament configuration extracted from existing slicer-generated 3MF files and embed it into future exports.

• Load profiles from Orca/Bambu or Prusa-generated 3MF projects
• Reuse saved profiles across Blender sessions
• Embed the correct config during export so slicers open with the expected machine and filament setup

Guide:

• Slicer Profiles

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Programmatic API

Version 2.0.0+ includes a public Python API for headless and scripted workflows without bpy.ops:

from io_mesh_3mf.api import import_3mf, export_3mf, inspect_3mf

# Inspect without importing
info = inspect_3mf("model.3mf")
print(info.unit, info.num_objects, info.num_triangles_total)

# Import
result = import_3mf("model.3mf", import_materials="PAINT")
print(result.status, result.num_loaded)

# Export specific objects
result = export_3mf("output.3mf", objects=my_objects, use_orca_format="AUTO")

# Batch operations
from io_mesh_3mf.api import batch_import
results = batch_import(["a.3mf", "b.3mf"], target_collection="Imports")

Use the API when you want to:

• batch process 3MF files
• inspect archives without creating Blender objects
• integrate 3MF import/export into another add-on
• build custom automation around Blender 3MF workflows

Docs:

• Generated API docs on github
• Nicer Generated docs on CloneCore

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Feature Summary

Import

• Standard 3MF geometry and build data
• Materials Extension data including colors, textures, and active PBR properties
• Production Extension projects
• Slicer-style MMU segmentation data
• Metadata, custom fields, and preserved slicer config blobs
• Triangle sets and slicer-specific object annotations

Export

• Standard spec-compliant 3MF archives
• Slicer-style multicolor, paint, seam, support, and modifier-part exports
• Embedded thumbnails
• Component hierarchies or flattened exports for stricter downstream tools
• Metadata and preserved round-trip data

Blender Tooling

• 3MF sidebar panels for metadata and object info
• Modifier part type assignment for Orca/Bambu workflows (Not Prusa-compatible)
• Triangle set naming UI
• MMU painting, bake-to-paint, support/seam painting, and cleanup tools
• Saved slicer profile management in add-on preferences

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Specification Support

This add-on targets 3MF Core Specification v1.4.0 and supports modern 3MF workflows beyond plain geometry.

Supported extension families include:

• Core materials / basematerials
• Materials Extension
• Production Extension
• Triangle Sets support
• Vendor-specific Orca/Bambu and Prusa-compatible data paths

For malformed or incomplete files, the add-on tries to recover where practical while still enforcing critical export-side requirements such as valid archive structure, model XML, units, and build definitions.

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Troubleshooting

If something looks wrong on import or export, start here:

• Troubleshooting & FAQ

Common issues covered there include:

• missing colors after import
• MMU paint data not appearing as editable paint zones
• slow import/export on dense painted meshes
• slicers not picking up filament assignments
• print services rejecting component hierarchies

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Project History

Forked from Ghostkeeper’s original Blender 3MF add-on and modernized by Jack (2025–).

• Original author: Ghostkeeper (2020–2023)
• Fork & maintenance: Jack (2025–)

All original attribution and GPL v2+ license are preserved.

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License

GPL v2+

Orca mixed-filament prediction and recipe data include portions ported from OrcaSlicer and are attributed in the source files; those portions and data are provided under AGPL-3.0-or-later. See io_mesh_3mf/common/AGPL-3.0-or-later.txt.