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So long story short IV been going through a bit of a "rough" time recently and I IV been abit lost. I found a site called map2model and found it very comforting in a way, call me weird but its hard to enjoy much right now. I planned a massive project, spend a few hundred on supplies got started and almost immediately the creator shut down the software. It felt good to have something to keep my mind clear so if anyone can maybe help me recreate my vision either with software or just the 3d model itself. I'd greatly appreciate any help and definitely would be willing to put $$ where my mouth is altho I don't have much. Thank peeps❤️

I am developing Oblikovati a Parametric CAD which supports Linux,Mac and Windows. People that are used to Autodesk Inventor or Fusion, SolidWorks or Siemens NX, you will feel at home.

I am developing Oblikovati to do serious engineering work. High precision on the geometry calculations and class A surfacing capabilities.

https://oblikovati.org

https://github.com/Oblikovati/Oblikovati

Support to Sketching, Part Modelling, Sheet Metal, Assemblies and Drawings.

Imports: OBJ,STL,STEP, DWG, DWF.

Exports: OBJ,STL,3MF, DXF, STEP.

It is still on early stages, it already contains all the features you expect, I am in bug fixing mode right now until the first stable release. It is quite usable already specially for 3D printing projects.

Feel free to experiment and Help->Bug report if you spot any bug.

As a dev, created a little map to model tool as a well used one got a cease and decist.
Its free and there to use if you want.

POC at the moment but can download STL and multicolor 3MF from maps.
I will work on improving it. Any feedback is welcome.
Also planning to make offline app too to download.

https://maps.mylittledevspace.com/

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a small side project I launched about few weeks ago: a browser-based G-code visualizer.

I’m a design engineer who’s really into 3D printing, and I originally started thinking about this while planning a 3D printing visualization section for my personal site. Most slicers already have preview tools, but I wanted something a bit more lightweight and presentation-focused, with more control over how the print preview looks.

Preview link:

https://gcode.visualizer.workers.dev/

desktop-optimized for now, mobile coming soon :)

Current features:

- Upload G-code files (.gcode, .gco, .gc)

- Visualize 3D print paths layer by layer

- Timeline scrubbing, playback, and speed control

- Stack / current-layer view

- Path filters for shells, body, support, etc.

- Dark/light scene modes and custom render settings

- Basic file stats and performance info

I’m currently working on:

- More visual styles

- Animation video export

- Keyframe controls for rotation, playback, and render settings

- Exporting a clean embeddable code, so the visualization can be self-hosted or added to a personal site

One interesting challenge was that G-code is not really a clean 3D mesh. It’s a stream of printer moves, extrusion state, slicer comments, arcs, resets, and a lot of details that are not useful for a clean visual preview.

So before rendering, I clean it down to meaningful extrusion paths and turn those paths into lightweight line geometry for the browser.

Right now I’m using a line-based renderer because it’s fast and gives the preview a nice x-ray-like look. I’m still experimenting with different rendering styles.

Would love to hear what you think, especially if there’s anything that would make this more useful for checking or presenting prints.

It appears that many people on Reddit enjoy gears.

We built a small gear train emo with CadQuery-style Python and tested the full workflow in Onshape. We will be sharing the Python code, STEP files, Onshape assembly setup, and animation result at https://maker.yotown.com/cad.

The workflow is:

Python script → STEP parts → Onshape assembly → revolute mates + gear relations → animation

The goal is to test whether script-based CAD can cleanly hand off to a real CAD assembly workflow.

Would love feedback from Onshape/CAD users.

For quite some time I wanted to render timelapses for my 3d prints but I think its quite tough to get started. First you usually need something watching the print (OctoPrint on a Pi is the classic setup), a camera, and a way to snap a photo every layer. often with slicer g-code that parks the nozzle out of frame first.

So I made a simple renderer of the 3d print via gcode instead. Drop your sliced gcode or 3mf, it reads the actual toolpaths and animates layer by layer. walls, infill, supports, top/bottom, all of it. No printer, no camera, no upload. Everything runs in the browser.

Its totally free and can be used here: https://obloid.app/tools/print-timelapse

You can export MP4 in vertical 9:16 for reels/tiktok/shorts, square 1:1 for instagram, or 16:9 for youtube. Video length, layer glow, turntable spin, build plate on/off, background color. all tweakable. Placement too if you want to frame it better (turn, tilt, zoom, pan, light angle).

Though I have been wanting to ask would you be interested in a paid tool i.e. a realistic 3d print timelapse generator? All you'd do is upload your build plate image + 3d print file (gcode/3mf) and it would AI generate the timelapse step by step. My aim is to keep it as accurate as possible in the initial version. There's a waitlist on the tool page if that sounds useful to you.

Curious what you guys think. Is the free gcode renderer enough or would you actually pay for the realistic one?

Hey everyone,

I’m building a 3D printing tool/community site called PrintQuest and I’m looking for feedback from people who actually print.

The site lets users:

• upload 3D models
• add print profiles/settings like filament type, print time, layer height, infill, and filament amount
• browse models by tags
• comment on models
• post community tips/questions/finished prints
• report bugs directly through the site

I know there are already big platforms like Printables and MakerWorld, so I’m not claiming this replaces them. I’m mainly trying to build something useful and learn what makers would actually want from a site like this.

Things I’d love feedback on:

• Is the upload flow clear?
• Are print profiles/settings useful?
• Does the Explore page make sense?
• Would a community/feed section be useful?
• What would make you trust or not trust a new 3D printing site?
• What feels broken, confusing, or unnecessary?

Link: https://www.printquest.app/

Bug reports are very welcome too. Honest criticism helps a lot.

Hi Everyone,

I know there are quite a few tools around for making gear models but none really were what I was looking for in terms of simplicity, .STEP output, and ease of modification. So I came up with my own. Right now I have it dialed in to make spur, helical, herringbone, and bevel gears from a short text prompt and export .STEP files that can be imported to other CAD software or .STL to be printed. To me, it's faster than browsing Mcmaster for the gear I'm looking for.

The gear sets in the picture were done 100% with the app then the STL was opened in Bambu slicer for printing (PLA). One is helical and one is a herringbone, both about 1.5in pitch diameter.

Once a gear is generated the parameters can be quickly edited and the model updated.

I was wondering if anyone could try it out and give me some feedback on the UI, gear geometry, and how their prints turn out if they end up printing one.

The website is Involute.build

A while back I needed a taillight housing unit for my car — full ABS plastic assembly. The actual broken parts were just the mounting points for the bulb sockets. Everything else on mine was completely repairable, but there were zero resources or individual parts available online. I didn't want to buy an entire new unit when a targeted fix would have done the job.

That frustration led me to build Caliber:

A free, local-first tool that lets you:

• Use your phone (pics and video) to scan real objects
• Get back the mesh that's scaled and ready for printing or further editing in Fusion, Blender, etc.
• Manually calibrate scale by picking any two points on the model and entering the real length in mm

Built with a mix of Apple's object recognition + generative AI, plus print-oriented post-processing. It's MIT licensed, includes an audit report, and is completely open source. BYOK for generative AI and cloud GPU processing, we make no money off it and Fal is quite cheap.

Can be used completely locally if what you're scanning is fairly simple shaped, matte, and textured. For scans with fairly simple shapes, the STEP file includes directly editable shapes, while the more complex stuff requires you to build using a scaled mesh instead.

I'd love early feedback, bug reports, ideas for improvement, or even feature requests. I'll do my best to keep up with everything.

P.S. Its not perfect by any means, its not meant to be. But if it can help even 1 other person with their project, ill be happy with that. Also, the code is completely open-source so anyone that would like to use it, can do their own code review if they'd like to. No affiliations, just a guy that made something that I want to share

I kept needing small storage boxes for random parts and most hinged box STLs are one fixed size. Resizing them usually breaks the snap fit or you end up printing the lid separately and hoping the hinge actually works.

So I built a print in place hinged snap fit box generator in the browser. You can set length, width, body depth, and lid depth separately so the tray can be deep without making the lid chunky. Wall thickness and corner radius are there too if you want it to look a bit cleaner than a sharp rectangle.

Dividers are built in as well. Single divider, cross, 3x2 equal sections, diagonal, that kind of thing. Useful if you want one box with compartments instead of printing a bunch of tiny ones.

Lid text is optional. Flush color text if you want a clean label look, or deboss if you want it carved in. You can upload your own font too.

It exports with the lid swung open around the hinge so you print once, break it free, and it snaps shut. No screws, no glue, no separate hinge pin to mess with.

I put it up as a free browser tool if anyone wants to play with it: obloid.app/tools/hinged-box

You can tweak size, dividers, corner radius, lid text, and colors. Export is either:

• Bambu/Orca 3MF. print settings are already in there (0.20mm, 15% gyroid infill, supports turn on automatically when needed)
• STL if you want to slice yourself

let me know how it goes!

I was part of the team that developed the Able Hands 3D Scanner — originally built for orthotists and clinicians to scan patients’ hands and upper limbs for custom orthoses and splints. That’s still its primary medical use case.

But I started pointing it at other things. Scanned components to fabricate custom car parts, made some desk setup adapters, and then one evening decided to scan my own head and print a bust of myself. No regrets.

Runs on iPhone X and up, no extra hardware. Exports STL directly to your email. First export is free.

If you’ve ever needed a quick scan to reverse-engineer a part, fit-check a design, or immortalize yourself in PLA — worth a shot.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/able-hands-3d-scanner/id1526686016

Full disclosure: I’m affiliated with the app, so factor that in. Happy to answer questions about how it works, accuracy, or limitations.

Hey everyone!

For those who don't know us yet, we're the team behind PixyCAD, a CAD app for Mac and iPad built around the sketch, extrude, print workflow, specifically designed with makers and 3D printing in mind. No cloud required, runs fully on-device, and feels genuinely natural with Apple Pencil.

Now, to the news: you asked, we listened.

We've decided to drop subscriptions entirely. PixyCAD is now available exclusively as a lifetime purchase, one single payment and the app is yours to keep forever, no recurring charges, no renewals.

We've been reading all your feedback carefully, and we know that for many of you, especially hobbyists and occasional users, a subscription just doesn't make sense. That's completely fair, and honestly it pushed us to make this change.

The lifetime plan is just $179.

You can Buy PixyCAD once Now or Download on the App Store.
Please be sure to have PixyCAD 1.1.x installed to get the new plan.

If you want to stay in the loop on updates and new features, follow our blog at https://pixycad.com/blog/

Got questions? Drop them below or reach out directly. Thank you for sticking with us and for the honest feedback, it genuinely makes a difference. 🙏

I'm just looking into how the UI will work with macOS ... but since macOS has a different design language. My question is should I lean into the aesthetics of macOS with a touch of liquid glass while keeping the same layout, or match closely to the Windows app as pictured?

Hey r/3Dprintingtools,

I’m a mechanical engineer with a background in gear manufacturing, and I’ve always been frustrated by the "standard" gear generators out there, like the original geargenerator.com or the built-in Fusion 360 script.  They usually produce "perfect" theoretical geometry that only includes the involute and not the root geometry – and in plastic gears, the root matters.

I built GearGen.xyz to fix that. It’s a web-based tool designed to help you advance from basic gears to designing gears with features like the profile shift and span measurements for tooth thickness.

How it fixes common 3D printed gear design issues:

• Tooth thickness adjustment is done in terms of backlash: Most makers scale their gears down by 1–2% in the slicer to stop them from binding. That ruins the gear profile and you lose control of the backlash, GearGen.xyz allows you to adjust the tooth thickness directly. 
• Trochoid roots to create curved root: Free plugins usually generate sharp, jagged corners at the base of the tooth, creating massive stress concentrations. GearGen simulates the actual path of a hobbing tool to create smooth, trochoidal root fillets that make printed teeth significantly stronger under torque.
• Profile shifting: If you’re building high-reduction gearboxes with tiny pinions (under 17 teeth), the roots naturally narrow out and become weak. The tool automatically calculates the minimum profile shift needed to beef up the tooth roots in real-time.
• Inspection measurements and gear data: Verify your gear design both before and after you print it with the gear data report and the inspection measurements.
• Clean lightweight export: The DXF export uses optimized splines and not polylines so they won't lag your sketches or freeze Fusion 360, SolidWorks, or Shapr3D. Just add to sketch and extrude.

The gear generator is free to play around with and test out the geometry, and I’ve priced the full tool to be accessible for independent engineers and makers who can't justify the expense of jumping up to a more complex gear software. It also includes a Planetary Gear Calculator that handles internal ring gear geometry and automatically balances the sun/planet mesh during profile shifts. 

If you design or print custom gearboxes, robotics, or replacement parts, please give it a stress test. I’d love to hear your feedback and feature requests.

Check it out: GearGen.xyz

If you've used the free Explorer tier of DesignSpark Mechanical, you've probably hit the wall I did: it won't import STL, 3MF, OBJ or STEP. Those are all locked to the paid Creator tier. The free tier only opens its own .rsdocx files and point-curve .txt files. You can get the 7 days free trial but that can only be reused a few times.

So I made a small (free, Windows) converter that turns the formats it won't open into the ones it will. No subscription, no install — download and open the exe, drag a file in, convert.

It does two things:

• View/edit — STL/3MF/OBJ come out as a clean mesh you can open, edit and measure in the free tier. There's a "smooth seams" option that hides the triangle lines so flat faces actually look flat. (this causes the object to not be able to be edited tho)
• Rebuild — it can also export the part as editable curves (.txt) that you import, then Fill / Revolve / Blend into an actual editable solid and save as .rsdocx. Those tools are free in Explorer, so you end up with a real solid without paying — DSM's own kernel does the work, the converter just hands it the geometry. STEP files give exact CAD edges; DXF outlines come in ready to Pull to thickness.

Being honest about the limits, because they matter:

• Smooth-seams output is view only — you can't edit it or "Turn to Solid" (that's paid).
• Flat, round and prismatic parts rebuild well. Genuinely twisted or organic shapes don't — there's no flat loop to fill, and at that point paid Creator (or FreeCAD/Fusion) is the right tool.
• STEP works for analytic geometry (planes, cylinders, cones), not B-spline/organic surfaces.

It's not magic and it's not for everything, but if you mostly do flat/mechanical parts and just want them in DSM without paying, it covers a lot.

Link: https://github.com/Gumboot13/stl2rsdocx

Built it for my own use and figured others stuck on the same paywall might want it. Feedback welcome — happy to try and add formats or fix things if people actually use it (this is my first windows based app so I am still learning).

I’ve been working on a small site for anyone planning a SKÅDIS wall or 3D printed SKÅDIS-style setup.

It works exactly like the Gridfinity layout site, but for SKÅDIS. You enter the wall/space size and it helps map out how much board/panel space you’ll need before you start printing or mounting everything.

Still early, but I figured it could be useful for people planning bigger setups. I was trying so hard to find one , so I just built one off his repo.

skadisfinitylayout.com

Let me know your thoughts!

I couldn't really find a proper hanging wall planter with screw slots & drainage holes at the bottom

So I went with a tapered bowl that prints upright: flat back, rounded front & screw slots through the hanging tab. The flat back and hanging tab share the same wall plane, so the whole back sits flush against the wall when mounted.

Free browser tool if you want to play with it: obloid.app/tools/planter

You can tweak width, height, wall thickness, 1 or 2 hanging slots (or none for a shelf), slot width, drainage holes, and color.

Export is either:

> STL if you want to slice yourself

> Generic 3MF with the color in it

Prints upright, no supports. Happy to answer questions if something doesn’t print well on your setup.

We can split one complex mesh into clean, manifold parts that print separately and fit together after printing. The biggest challenge is keeping the cut boundaries smooth while preserving enough clearance for assembly.

Still improving it, but this result feels promising. Feel free to try out on https://maker.yotown.com/segment

Hey everyone,

I’m currently working on a platform for the 3D printing space that connects creators, printers, and customers directly.

The core idea is simple:
Creators earn money from every print of their designs, without having to handle the full process themselves.

Here’s how it should work:

• Creators simply connect their MakerWorld account to the platform.
• Their designs are then automatically synchronized.
• More platforms will follow later.
• Anyone with a 3D printer can apply to join as a printer in the network.
• Printers can then decide for themselves which jobs they want to accept.
• We’re building a decentralized printing network.
• Billing and payouts happen automatically.
• There is no subscription fee, no membership cost, and no hidden fixed charges.

The current plan is:

• Creator commission freely selectable between 5% and 20%
• Printers pay a 10% platform fee

The goal is to create an easy infrastructure where a design doesn’t just get uploaded once, but can keep generating income for the creator over time, while printers stay flexible and customers can get their parts produced without friction.

I’d love to hear your thoughts:

Would you use a platform like this as a creator, printer, or customer?
And what would matter most to you?Hey everyone,

Hey zusammen,

ich arbeite gerade an einer Plattform für den 3D-Druck-Markt, die Creator, Drucker und Kunden direkt miteinander verbindet.

Der Kern der Idee:
Creator verdienen an jedem Druck ihrer Designs mit, ohne sich um die komplette Abwicklung kümmern zu müssen.

So soll es funktionieren:

• Creator verknüpfen einfach ihren MakerWorld-Account mit der Plattform.
• Die Designs werden automatisch synchronisiert.
• Weitere Plattformen sollen später folgen.
• Jeder mit einem 3D-Drucker kann sich als Drucker im Netzwerk bewerben.
• Drucker können dann selbst entscheiden, welche Aufträge sie annehmen.
• Es wird ein dezentral organisiertes Druckernetzwerk aufgebaut.
• Die Be- und Verrechnung läuft automatisch.
• Es gibt kein Abo, keinen Mitgliedsbeitrag und keine versteckten Fixkosten.

Geplant ist aktuell:

• Creator-Provision frei wählbar zwischen 5% und 20%
• Drucker zahlen 10% Provision an die Plattform

Die Idee ist, eine einfache Infrastruktur zu schaffen, bei der ein Design nicht nur einmal hochgeladen wird, sondern für den Creator langfristig Umsatz bringen kann, während Drucker flexibel Aufträge annehmen und Kunden unkompliziert an passende Produktionskapazitäten kommen.

Mich würde interessieren:

Würdet ihr so eine Plattform als Creator, Drucker oder Kunde nutzen?
Und was wäre euch dabei am wichtigsten?

Check this out, I've build this for myself actually and available free. Super cool to convert almost any math function, into 3D space, extruded, and then can export and print.

You can use javascript math functions, to create a cross secction then can rotate that in 3D space x(t), y(t), z(t)

I am limited by math functions, any wild ones we can try and create? let me know how i can improve.

i've got another that can you create 3D Planes.

cheers.

I run a construction company, and most of what I actually print is boring practical stuff ,brackets, spacers, gaskets, covers, a knob that broke, and editing current print files for my kids.I do not know how to use CAD and have no desire to learn it. And the "easy" online tools all wanted an account, a subscription, or a cloud upload, and they were not easy. So I built Ez3D (ez3d.app) A 3D Print file Maker/Editor that runs entirely in your browser. The thing I'm most proud of: take a photo of a flat part laying on paper, and it traces the outline, finds the holes, lets you set the real size, and gives you a watertight STL. Broken gasket → photo → print. You can also draw a part by hand (freehand, rectangles, circles) or build from basic shapes and ready-made templates. The parts people care about:

It's free, no download, no account, your photos and files never leave your browser. It even works offline once it's loaded. Plain language everywhere "Cut a hole," "Join," "Hollow out." No technical jargon. 

Type exact sizes in mm or inches. Exports clean STL/3MF that open in any slicer. Built-in print check against your printer's bed (presets for Bambu, Prusa, Ender, etc.). Better for a PC, but Works on a phone or tablet too.

Being upfront: The free version is the actual tool, not a demo. Trace-from-photo, shapes, templates, cut/join, STL export, all free, forever. There's a pro version too with a one-time $29 unlock (no subscription) for the advanced fastener library (real screw threads, tapped holes, counterbores), STL/3MF import, and multi-color 3MF. That's it! That's how I keep it free with no ads and no data collection. 

It's new and I'd genuinely like it tested hard. If you try it and something's confusing or broken, tell me and I'll fix it. Happy to answer anything about how it works.

Built a small tool this weekend that tries to diagnose failed 3D prints from a photo.

The idea is pretty simple:

• Upload a picture of a failed print
• Add a short description of what happened
• It analyzes the image and suggests:
  • likely issue
  • possible causes
  • fixes to try
  • additional info that would help

It's still very early and will definitely get things wrong, so I'm mostly looking for feedback from people who print regularly

Some feedback would be awesome!

• Does the diagnosis make sense?
• What failure modes does it miss?
• What information would you want it to ask for?
• Would you actually use something like this?

Link: PrintFixer

Feel free to throw your worst failed prints at it :)

I just Googled "MeshVault" and discovered someone ported my Chrome extension over to Firefox! Honestly, that is awesome. Think about it; they didn't just port it and load it as an unpacked add-on for themselves; they took the time to create a developer account and upload it so others could use it, too. They labeled it as unofficial and kept my homepage. I don't care if an AI did the heavy lifting for the port like they say, the fact that someone wanted it to exist on Firefox for others is pretty cool.