Convert IGES to AMF
Free IGES to AMF converter that runs in your browser. See real dimensions before you download.
How to convert IGES to AMF
- Drop your IGES file onto the converter — it opens in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
- Check the preview and the dimensions in mm; fix units or the up axis in “Units & orientation” if the size or orientation looks wrong.
- Choose AMF as the output and click Convert. Several files download as one ZIP.
What carries over from IGES to AMF
| IGES | AMF | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour / materials | No | Yes | — |
| Textures | No | No | — |
| Units stored in file | Yes | Yes | Written as mm |
| Separate parts | Yes | Yes | Kept |
| Usual up axis | Z | Z | Unchanged |
About IGES files
IGES was first published in 1980 by the US National Bureau of Standards, with participation from Boeing, General Electric and others, as one of the earliest standards for moving CAD data between different systems. Files use the .igs or .iges extension and are fixed-width 80-column text records divided into Start, Global, Directory Entry, Parameter Data and Terminate sections, a layout that reflects its punched-card heritage. IGES describes wireframe curves, trimmed and untrimmed NURBS surfaces, and, in later revisions, solids, but in practice it is mostly used for surface data. The format has not been updated since version 5.3 in 1996; STEP replaced it as the preferred standard. Even so, aerospace, automotive and tooling companies keep large IGES archives, and some CAM and surface-modelling programs still ask for it.
About AMF files
AMF was standardised as ASTM F2915 and later ISO/ASTM 52915, with the aim of fixing the shortcomings of STL for additive manufacturing. A file is XML, optionally compressed as a ZIP, and describes one or more objects made of a vertex list and volumes of triangles. Unlike STL, it declares units, such as millimetre, inch or micrometre, and can attach colours and materials to volumes or even to individual triangles, with gradients between them. The specification also allows curved triangles, constellations that arrange several objects, and custom metadata. In practice it was overtaken by 3MF, which came from industry backers and gained support in Windows and the main slicers. AMF files still appear from some multi-material printers and research tools, and from older exporters in Cura, Slic3r and Meshmixer.
3D printing notes
IGES is not a printing format, and slicers do not open it. The file must be tessellated to STL or 3MF first, and the surface-only nature of many IGES files creates the main difficulty: if patches are not stitched into a closed shell, the resulting mesh has holes and slicers report it as non-manifold. When that happens, stitch or sew the surfaces in your CAD program, or run a mesh repair afterwards. MeshShift reads IGES and IGS through OpenCascade in the browser, with draft, normal or fine tessellation, and then offers the print check to find open edges and rebuild a closed solid at the same size. It does not write IGES; STEP is the better target for CAD.
Frequently asked questions
Is this IGES to AMF converter free and private?
Yes. The conversion runs in your browser with JavaScript and WebAssembly, so your IGES file is never uploaded to a server. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit; very large files are limited only by your device's memory.
Is IGES the same as IGS?
Yes. IGS is the three-letter extension used by systems that limited file names, and IGES is the full form. They contain the same data, and software that opens one will open the other, so renaming a .igs to .iges is safe.
Is AMF better than STL?
On paper, yes: it has units, colour, materials and several objects. In practice STL is accepted everywhere and AMF is not, and 3MF now fills the same role with much wider support. Use AMF only when a specific tool or workflow requires it.