Online resources for 3D printing

When you’re first looking to buy a 3D printer or looking for models to try printing, you might quickly find yourself lost in all the online printing resources. To help you, we’ve compiled a list of some good places to start.

3D printer brands

There are several 3D Printer manufacturers nowadays, and they vary in price and features. The best place to start your search would be to go to the websites of 3D printer manufacturers and look through the products to understand what they can do. From there, you can do your own research into prices and stockists locally. Here are some good brands we recommend to start your search:

• Bambu Lab
• Creality
• MakerBot
• Prusa
• UltiMaker

There are many options for choosing a 3D printer, but competition in that space generally means the price reflects the quality and features available. It is also worthwhile checking out the website after purchasing your printer. The online support documentation is very effective at helping you troubleshoot issues you may be having.

3D modelling software

Sometimes you will need to adjust the 3D models you downloaded. To help you with this, here is a list of great and free modelling software:

3D model viewing software

You may sometimes just want to view a 3D model rather than edit it. Model viewing software generally performs well in this regard, taking up much less space in your computer’s storage and memory. Here’s a list of some free model viewing software, as well as the platforms they are available on:

Shapeways

While Shapeways primarily deals in selling printed models, they have some good resources for learning about 3D modelling. In their tutorials section, you can find many tutorials primarily focusing on usage tips for the different 3D modelling software on the market. This will be particularly helpful for Printable Scenery products, as it will help you acquire skills to alter our models if you have any ideas that are not included in the original.

Thingiverse

Thingiverse is another great website. Brought to you by MakerBot, Thingiverse is similar to Shapeways in that it allows designers to upload their 3D models for others to download. However, on Thingiverse, you download a digital file (though the option for them to print for you is available). This website is a crucial resource for someone new to 3D printing, as there are tutorials available under their education section to help you learn more about some of the most popular 3D modelling software. What’s more is that with the number of freely available models on the site, Thingiverse will enable you to try out some simple prints without having to spend money first. This will help familiarise you with the process of printing.

3DPrint.com

3Dprint.com has great articles on just about every element of 3D printing. Perhaps most importantly, they have a forum which could prove helpful if you’re looking for solutions to particular problems you may be having with printing.

Reddit – r/3Dprinting

r/3Dprinting is an excellent source of information and inspiration. There’s a high chance that if you’re experiencing an issue, someone else has as well, and there is an answer for it on r/3Dprinting.

Other useful blogs

Stay up to date with 3D printing news and releases with these blogs:

• All3DP.com
• MatterHackers
• Prusa Blog
• Sculpteo Learning Hub