LibGuides: 3D Printing Services: 3D Modeling Software & Resources

3D Modeling Software

Below are websites and resources for creating and editing 3D models, and, for preparing files for 3D printing. Many of the resources are free/open source, and some of the fee-based products have free versions available to students. The list below is only a partial list of the 3D modeling software options available; for more information please contact Chip Larkin (clarkin@ncwc.edu) or reference@ncwc.edu.

TinkerCAD
Tinkercad is a simple, online 3D design and 3D printing app for everyone. It is free to use and a good place to start for beginners.
SculptFab
A free, web-based sculpting tool based on Stéphane Ginier's SculptGL
Meshmixer
Free software from Autodesk that can clean up a 3D scan and/or add to existing files.
SketchUp
Downloadable software, students can get a free version (Intermediate).
Blender
Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
ZBrushCoreMini
A free downloadable 3D modeling/sculpting software, with a more advanced version (ZBrush) available for a fee (Intermediate).

The software we use to print on our Lulzbot TAZ6 3D printer is Cura. Cura is a free, open-source software that prepares files for printing by converting to GCODE. If you would like to preview the print layers, print size. amd potential costs before submitting your file for printing, you can download Cura here.

Files to 3D Print

Below are websites that have 3D models available to download and print. Some of the models are free creative commons downloads, others are fee based.

General

Thingiverse
MakerBot's Thingiverse is a design community for discovering, making, and sharing 3D printable things. Designs are encouraged to be licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Sketchfab
Publish, share, and discover 3D content online and in VR. Free to join, PC and mobile apps available.
STL Finder
Search engine for 3D printable stl files.
YouMagine
Website hosted by Ultimaker with open source designs.

Science/Technology

NASA 3D Models
NASA has converted some 3D models to the .STL format for 3D printing.
NIH 3D Print Exchange
The National Institutes of Health 3D Print Exchange is a collection of biomedical 3D files that are both scientifically accurate and/or medically applicable.
Embodi3D
The biomedical 3D printing community, some free files available.
Digital Morphology
The Digital Morphology library is a dynamic archive of information on digital morphology and high-resolution X-ray computed tomography of biological specimens. Browse through the site and see spectacular imagery and animations and details on the morphology of many representatives of the Earth's biota. Note: only a limited number of scans are in the stl format.

History/Art/Artifacts

Asian Art Museum
British Museum (on Sketchfab)
Note: some downloads are .obj files and may need to be converted to .stl files for 3D printing.
Metropolitan Museum of Art - 3D Models
Downloadable files from the Met available through Thingiverse
MicroPasts
Crowd and community fueled archaeology.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Cambridge
Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History
Smithsonian 3D Digitization
3D models of artifacts in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution
Virtual Curation Lab
Animals and artifacts.

Other SItes

Convertio
Web based site converts many different file types.
Image to Lithophane
Web-based tool that converts a 2D image to a low relief, flat 3D file.
PaleoTEACH
STEAM Integration through Paleontology & 3D Technology
Xometry
Pay service that will print a 3D model and send by mail.

3D Printing Services

Library Help

3D Printing & Makerspace eBooks

3D Modeling Software

Files to 3D Print

General