The 3MF Consortium announced a new release of their specifications that introduces some interesting new features.
3MF is intended to succeed prior “dumb” 3D model formats such as STL. STL is simply a description of a series of adjacent triangles that make up the “skin” of an object. It doesn’t even use measurement units!
For that and a myriad of other reasons, a consortium of companies formed the 3MF Consortium to develop a new standard that can carry additional information about a 3D model, including elements such as color, ownership, materials, and much more.
Today we see 3MF gradually seeping into 3D model processing software tools, where it will eventually overcome STL. There’s still a long way to go before STL evaporates, but there’s at least a way forward.
The new release includes formalized ways to specify voxel-based information in the volumetric extension. 3MF Consortium explains:
“This extension provides additional support for voxel data within 3mf files. This will enable the representation of objects with variable material properties throughout their volume, like opacity, color, strength etc.”
Former 3MF Consortium Executive Director Duann Scott wrote in a LinkedIn post:
“The volumetric extension allows for communication of data within an object, whether that be for multi-materials, variable build parameters, or just lossless high resolution communication of geometry with infinite complexity.”
The new extension release enables emerging voxel-based 3D print processes to fully exchange 3D models between environments. Without such a standard, each would have to develop their own methods of representing the information, and it would surely be incompatible.
The implication is that future designers would be able to apply their 3MF designs against a variety of technologies, which would each interpret the information properly for their environments.
The change may not seem particularly significant at the moment, but in the future when we are swamped with advanced voxel-based 3D print technologies we will be thankful for this extension.
Via 3MF Consortium, GitHub and LinkedIn (Hat tip to Benjamin)
