3MF to IV - Pro-Grade Precise 3MF Converter

Convert 3MF to IV

3MF to IV Conversion

Step-by-step instructions to help you transform 3MF into IV with ease:

  1. Download & Install:

    Convert your 3MF files to IV format seamlessly using Autoconverter - simply install and launch the software on your system.

  2. Import 3MF File:

    Either click Open... to browse for your .3mf file, or drag and drop it anywhere in the application window.

  3. Export to IV Format:

    Use Save As... to specify both location and filename (with .iv extension) for your exported file.

Finding it hard to convert 3MF to IV? These professional resources simplify 3MF files conversion:

3MF 3D Manufacturing File

An open-source XML file format developed by the 3MF Consortium, a collaboration of companies and organizations in the 3D printing industry. It was designed to overcome the limitations of older formats, such as STL, which only store geometric data, by providing a more comprehensive and extensible framework for additive manufacturing workflows.

Main Advantages Over STL

Unlike STL, 3MF can store additional information, making it a more advanced and versatile choice for additive manufacturing:

  • Color Support:

    Defines the color of individual triangles, enabling more realistic and visually detailed prints.

  • Transparency:

    Specifies opacity levels for triangles or vertices, allowing for the creation of transparent or translucent objects.

  • Textures:

    Supports texture mapping by associating 2D images with 3D models, enhancing realism in prints.

  • Metadata:

    Allows embedding custom data such as author, title, description, and license, facilitating better file management and sharing.

3MF File Conversion

Our products, Autoconverter and Automesher Application, are fully compatible with the 3MF file format. They utilize the official lib3mf library to enable seamless import and export of 3MF files. A significant limitation of the 3MF format is its lack of support for group hierarchies. When converting a 3D model containing nested subgroups - often used for organizational purposes - these structural relationships are not preserved in the 3MF file. Despite this, 3MF remains a powerful and modern format for 3D printing, offering a rich set of features that go beyond traditional STL files.

IV Inventor File

The IV format is a 3D graphics file standard developed by Silicon Graphics (SGI) for representing complete 3D scenes. As a text-based format, it stores hierarchical scene graphs containing geometric shapes, materials, lighting, textures, and environment properties. Closely tied to the Open Inventor toolkit, this format served as a foundational C++ library for 1990s 3D graphics development.

Key Features of IV

  • File Structure:

    Uses human-readable ASCII encoding with nested node hierarchies that organize 3D scene elements.

  • Format Origin:

    Developed by Silicon Graphics in the early 1990s as the native file format for their Open Inventor 3D graphics toolkit.

  • Scene Representation:

    Implements a directed acyclic graph (DAG) structure to define parent-child relationships between 3D objects.

  • Visual Attributes::

    Stores comprehensive material definitions including ambient/diffuse/specular colors, shininess, and transparency.

  • Texture Mapping:

    Supports both procedural and image-based textures with UV coordinate mapping.

IV File Conversion

Autoconverter simplifies the process of converting your 3D models into the IV format, ensuring seamless compatibility with both legacy and modern 3D tools. Our IV files converter preserves your geometry, materials, and scene hierarchy in a human-readable structure that remains editable across workflows. Still using legacy Open Inventor tools? Convert modern FBX/glTF models to pristine IV format with Autoconverter today!

3MF vs. IV Comparison

Property 3MF IV
Extensions .3mf .iv
Name 3D Manufacturing Format Inventor
Versions
Textures
Colors
Geometry components
Readers
Writers