The Complete 3MF to PRC/U3D Conversion Guide
Table of Contents
- General Information
- Converting and Optimizing 3MF Files to PRC/U3D
- What are 3MF and PRC/U3D files commonly used for?
- Comparison of Features Supported by 3MF and PRC/U3D
- Limitations of 3MF Files to PRC/U3D Conversion Workflow
- What's the best way to get 3MF files into my 3D applications, and are there alternatives to using PRC/U3D?
General Information
This guide is part of the RapidPipeline 3D Formats Knowledge Database. It shows how to convert 3MF to PRC/U3D, if you'd like to know more about the formats, please check out the following links:
Converting and Optimizing 3MF Files to PRC/U3D
RapidPipeline can import 3MF files, but currently doesn't support exporting to PRC/U3D format yet.
If you specifically need PRC/U3D export functionality for your workflow, please feel free to get in touch with us - we'd be happy to discuss your requirements and potential timeline for adding this export capability.
If you need, you can import PRC/U3D files and convert them to any of these 8 formats: FBX, glTF, OBJ, PLY, STL, USD, USDZ, and VRM.
In the meantime, you can explore other options on the 3D Formats Knowledge Database, which might serve as suitable alternatives for your workflow depending on your target applications and use cases.
Comparison of Features Supported by 3MF and PRC/U3D
| Feature | Supported by 3MF | Supported by PRC/U3D |
|---|---|---|
| Morph Targets | No | Partial0 |
| Rigid Animations | No | Yes |
| Skinned Animations | No | Partial1 |
| Animations | No | Yes |
| Free-Form Surfaces | No | Yes |
| Geometry Compression | Partial2 | Yes |
| Quad Meshes | No | Yes |
| Basic 3D Geometry | Yes | Yes |
| PBR Materials | Partial3 | No |
| Transparent Materials | Partial4 | Yes |
| Vertex Colors | Yes | Yes |
| Materials | Yes | Yes |
| Scene Composition | Yes | Yes |
| Hierarchical Scene Graph | Yes | Yes |
| Scene Nodes | Yes | Yes |
| Standardized Format | Yes | Yes |
| Embedded Textures | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple UV Channels | Partial5 | Yes |
| Normal Mapping | No | Partial6 |
| Procedural Textures | No | No |
| Texture Compression | Partial7 | Partial8 |
| Texture Transforms | Partial9 | Yes |
| Texturing | Yes | Yes |
Limitations of 3MF Files to PRC/U3D Conversion Workflow
The following limitations should be taken into account when converting 3MF files to PRC/U3D format:
| 3MF Feature (not supported by PRC/U3D) | Limitation Details |
|---|---|
| PBR Materials | PBR Materials Support: 3MF: Partial support | PRC/U3D: No support   3MF Notes: Basic PBR material properties Impact: PBR materials enable Physically-Based-Rendering (PBR) for a standardized, photorealistic look of rendered images. PBR uses concepts like metallic-roughness or specular-glossiness properties and a microfacet-based modeling of the surface, using a concept called BRDF (Bi-Directional Reflectance Distribution Function). In this example, PBR materials are used to achieve realistic looking plastic and metal materials. Without support for PBR materials, only basic colors and shading can be used (for example, based on more simple shading models, such as the Blinn/Phong model). |
What's the best way to get 3MF files into my 3D applications, and are there alternatives to using PRC/U3D?
Doing 3D conversion right, especially at scale, can be tricky, as 3D data is in general a rather complex (yet very powerful!) medium. This also applies to 3MF and PRC/U3D files - the conversion guide above provides a rough first idea about that. Once you know what you would like to do, tools like RapidPipeline can help you perform the necessary steps, and to even automate the process for thousands or even millions of files.
Especially when introducing pipelines and workflows at scale in an enterprise context, it is usually good to rely on dedicated tools and expertise, making sure you do not introduce any steps into your 3D workflow that are detrimental to the final output's quality, or that take your team too much time (and money).
If you're interested to hire dedicated expertise from the best in the field to help your company reach your goals fast and reliably, please do not hestitate to contact DGG. Being the creators of RapidPipeline, and ambassadors for open 3D standards for more than a decade, we have been building some of the world's most advanced 3D pipelines, having processed many millions of 3D assets.
Therefore, our expertise will help you to reach your goals faster, at scale, and with the least possible friction, since we are focused on maximum interoperability.
To get started with 3D data conversion and optimization today, sign up for a free account!
If you have any questions, feel free to chat with our human team.
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