| Extension | 3MF |
| Full Name | 3D Manufacturing Format |
| Type | 3D Model |
| Mime Type | application/vnd.ms-package.3dmanufacturing-3dmodel+xml |
| Format | Binary |
The 3MF file format was created as a standard storage medium for 3D models for use within the area of 3D printing. A 3MF file will contain 3D model data stored within an XML-formatted document with additional assets such as image previews and material data. These files are wrapped up within a compressed ZIP file (using the 3MF extension).
The 3MF format was created in response to the constraints of the STL format, which is the most popular format for storing 3D printable models. Unlike the STL format, which can only store triangular information, the 3MF format can store mesh geometry along with material, units of measurement, and other relevant 3D printing information that is impossible to store within an STL file.
Storing the 3D data within a ZIP file container ensures the file size is kept to a minimum while making it easily extendable in the future. 3MF files are widely supported by 3D printing slicer software and are a common export option within 3D editing software.
3MF Converter Capabilities
When converting 3D model or mesh files using our 3MF converter, we will attempt to convert colour materials into a suitable format for use in the converted file.
| Extension | PNG |
| Full Name | Portable Network Graphics |
| Type | Image |
| Mime Type | image/png |
| Format | Binary |
| Opens With | Paint.Net, Photoshop |
PNG files are a widely used graphics file format used in areas where high-quality images (often with transparency) are required while also retaining a small file size. They are one of the most common formats of file used for web and print mediums and are particularly useful for logos, icons, and other images where multi-level transparency is desired.
The format itself was created in the 1990's with the main aim of storing computer graphics in a high-quality format while minimizing the required storage space. The longer-term aim was to displace the GIF file format and make PNG the number one format for non-lossy, high-quality image formats on the then-burgeoning world wide web.
One of the selling points of the PNG format is its support for multiple levels of transparency, making it superior to the GIF format, which can only handle a single level of transparency. Also, like GIFs, the PNG format supports palletizing image colours down to 256 or 16 colours to help reduce the file size of the PNG.
