[cobbal]

I suspect, but have no evidence, that it's the Maya side of AutoDesk

[bsimpson]

When Pixar launched USD, the release included a Maya plugin. That's a totally reasonable assumption.

[LightFog]

I doubt it - for 3D CAD there are STEP/IGES etc. Most of the 3D printing issues are from triangulation/voxelization of analytical surfaces rather than interchange format.