STL 2.0 / AMF Advances

The 1980's era STL file format most commonly used for 3D printing has been quite successful, but it does have issues, some of which will become more acute in the future when 3D printing technology advances. To rectify the situation, discussions have been underway for some months to develop a new standard, initially referred to as "STL 2.0", but now named "AMF".  

 

This week the ASTM Committee on Additive Manufacturing Standards announced that the ballot on the proposed standard passed. According to team leader Hod Lipson:

 

I am pleased to report that the ASTM subcommittee ballot on AMF has just completed with 100% affirmative votes: 27 Positive, 6 abstentions, and 0 negatives. There was one unofficial negative vote (from a new member that joined after the balloting had started).

 

This is a big step, as the next stage is to have the higher-level ASTM F42 committee vote on the proposal. However, Lipson intends on resolving the unofficial negative vote before that proceeds. 

 

What's different between STL 1.0 and AMF? We'll post our analysis soon. 

 

Via Google Groups