Hello, Makers!

We’ve got something good for you, but one question first:

Why do you 3D print?

Maybe you are a craftsman who likes to create novel or useful gadgets.

Maybe you are an ACG lover who is keen to make garage kids of your favorite characters.

Maybe you are a designer who wishes to animate your works.

Maybe you are a mechanical engineer who loves to design customized parts and accessories.

Maybe you are an educator, a science geek, or a researcher…

No matter who you are, when you enjoy the sense of achievement and satisfaction that 3D printing has brought you, have you ever wondered what other makers are 3D printing?

In this article, we will introduce to you 17 3D model websites, through which you can get to know what makers all around the world are imagining, making, and enjoying!

General

General websites usually feature wide and detailed categories, mostly including art, fashion, gadgets, household stuff, hobbies, tools, etc. The complexity of 3D models in the same website could be greatly varied or evenly distributed, so most people can find what they want.

Thingiverse

Bonus:

1. An education section in which models can be filtered by subjects or grades.
2. Interest groups with numerous topics yet less activity than before.

Summary:

With highly detailed categories and an enormous database, Thingiverse is undoubtedly a heaven for most makers. Just as the name tells, it is a universe full of things that are practical, helpful, beautiful, funny, or weird…

CGTrader

Bonus:

1. Blogs about AR or 3D technologies, 3D model trading guides, and community updates.
2. A freelance platform for customers and designers to facilitate trading and cooperation.
3. ARsenal, a solution for e-commerce retailers and brands to get 3D visualization for better management, promotion, and business strategies of their goods.

Summary:

With three million registered users, CGTrader is more like a free and large-scale 3D model trading market, providing more-than-expected convenience for every role. Through CGTrader, customers can search for existing models or hire designers to get customized service, while designers can promote themselves with high-quality designs and get freelancing or part-time jobs. More than that, customers can even negotiate the model price with its designer or request other file formats. Note that CGTrader has a particular section for printable 3D models, and models in other sections may not always be designed to print out.

Pinshape

Bonus:

1. An education section that emphasizes more on tutorials other than models, mainly about 3D printing hardware or software using tips, post-processing methods, and printing tricks.
2. A study section including blogs and guides about 3D printing for newcomers to get started and recommendations of featured models.
3. A 3D printer section to collect and present community-sourced reviews and 3D printer data for makers to choose the most suitable printer according to their needs.

Summary:

Though the poor maintenance (the blogs, tutorials, and guides have not been updated for a long time) of Pinshape in recent years has discouraged many devoted followers, and the community is not so active anymore, its large-scale 3D model repository is still worth your exploration.

Cults

Bonus:

1. Blogs with abundant topics, such as classic 3D printing cases for important festivals, Choose & Buy guides for 3D printers, and the latest development of the 3D printing technology.
2. Online contests on design and 3D printing with attractive prizes.

Summary:

Cults has gradually taken shape as a mature and vibrant 3D model website over the years. Not only does it value the interaction with users, but it also has many user-friendly website designs. For example, the model price displayed on the website can be converted between over 20 monetary units, allowing users from different countries and regions to get straighter pricing information; it also provides a Random button to create more opportunities for users to encounter their favorite models.

3DShook

Bonus:

1. Blogs about 3D printing tricks and classic printing cases.
2. APPZ, an online creating tool for users to customize their own door sign, phone case, keychain, and many other interesting things with plenty of ready-made templates.

Summary:

3DShook features a subscription mode with a stable bimonthly updating pace. Meanwhile, it also supports the purchase of single models and provides a small free trial gallery. The 3D models of 3DShook are exclusive, meaning you cannot find them anywhere else, which might make the customers or subscribers feel their money well-spent. More importantly, all models must pass a strict printing test before they are uploaded and posted.

Libre3D

Bonus:

Some 3D models may have a corresponding tutorial (about modeling or printing) attached to their pages.

Summary:

Libre3D is a completely free and open-source 3D model website in which users can convert SCAD files to STL files online.

Practical

Websites under this category often focus on useful 3D models. From 3D printer accessories, mini pool tables, desk lamps, down to special-sized screws, hooks, and keychains, you can find the corresponding 3D models of basically most of the common things you’ve seen in real life.

YouMagine

Bonus:

There are blogs about the 3D printing industry, the development of popular and mainstream 3D printers, website tricks, and community news.

Summary:

About a quarter of resources on YouMagine are 3D models of parts and components, some of which can be printed by users to DIY their 3D printers. In addition, users can also modify the model files online through 3D Slash.

Redpah

Summary:

Most of the 3D models on Redpah must be paid to download, but don't be scared off—nearly 95 percent of the charging models cost less than $5! Most of them are related to household and life scenarios.

Repables

Summary:

Repables mainly provides 3D models related to mechanical components that are practical in real life. If you are keen to take advantage of the 3D printing technology to make a variety of tools and accessories for real use, you might as well come here for a look.

Artistic

The websites below are mainly for art lovers. Generally of high quality, most of the 3D models are related to art, garage kits, toys, jewelry, architecture, movie, or games, which can match the artistic preferences of different groups of people.

MyMiniFactory

Bonus:

1. Blogs with varied topics and exciting content, regularly updated and contributed both by the administrator and the users.
2. Scan The World, a project that is designed to spread art and culture around the world. Users are encouraged to scan and upload the 3D models of various sculptures and artistic works for free download by other users.

Summary:

The 3D models of MyMiniFactory are mainly related to art, games, garage kids, and pop culture. All models must pass a printing test before being released to ensure the model quality. Among them, nearly 30,000 models are made by professional designers. In addition to regular purchasing, users can also obtain high-quality 3D models at preferential prices through crowdfunding.

RIGModels

Summary:

RIGModels features mainly character models, and the file for 3D printing will be specially listed on the download page. Additionally, users can also download the low-polygon version of the model as needed.

Threeding

Summary:

Several history museums sell 3D models of their exhibits on Threeding, so history enthusiasts may have the chance to get their favorite exhibits home with Threeding and a 3D printer. Beyond that, Threeding considerately provides a Compare button for users to carefully compare the price, file size, file format, and other information of different models.

3DKitbash

Bonus:

There are blogs about 3D printing technologies, 3D printers, 3D filament, etc.

Summary:

On 3DKitbash, you can find attractive 3D models sold by kit, many of which are ball-jointed. These models are usually of high quality, although the overall number of resources is quite small.

Search Engine

Besides the 3D model websites introduced above, search engines for 3D models are also treasures for makers.

yeggi

On yeggi, you can search for more than three million free or paid 3D models. Considering that users sometimes do not have a specific search target, yeggi also provides browsing prompts like random and popular to keep your 3D printer always occupied. Run into a model you like but don’t want to download it for now? Just click add to list, and yeggi will collect them for you.

Thangs

What makes Thangs stand out is that it supports geometric search, of which the search speed might be slightly slow, but the results are often full of surprises. Registered users can also upload their favorite models to Thangs for free download by other users or invite others to collaborate on 3D model projects.

3dMdb

Through the powerful searching system of 3dMdb, you can search for nearly 7.5 million 3D models. To improve the search efficiency, 3dMdb also provides options for more than 30 well-known 3D model websites as filters, so users can directly choose to search for models on one of these websites. In addition, you can also set a price range to achieve quick positioning based on your budget.

STLFinder

As a well-known search engine for 3D models, STLFinder can be used to search for millions of resources. When you have no target but want to see something new, you could try the hottest search tags in 24 hours provided by STLFinder. However, the user needs to click twice to jump to the source website for downloading, and its filter system seems to be less satisfactory than its counterparts above. Regardless of these minor flaws, it is still one of the preferred search engines for many 3D printing enthusiasts.

Equipped with these websites and their countless resources, you are now one of the “richest” makers! Go find and print your FAVORITE!

In the future, Snapmaker Academy will continue introducing useful and interesting resources and knowledge about 3D printing, such as mainstream slice software, modeling software, and filament guides, so STAY TUNED!

Disclaimer

Snapmaker recommends the websites and software to you in no particular order and for resource-sharing purposes only.

Snapmaker does not in any way endorse, control, or assume responsibility for the content, views hosted on, and services provided by these websites.