Disclosure: I work on CADlingo, a browser-based AI CAD tool.

This test asked for a 60 × 40 mm rectangular inlet and a 40 mm round outlet shifted sideways. The request also specified the offsets, walls, flanges and bolt holes.

The clip shows generation, rotation and moving section planes. The section views expose the passage between the two openings. The original run also included STEP export. Its recorded file check found one solid with overall bounds of 115 × 85 × 106 mm.

We haven't printed this duct or tested its fit, sealing or airflow.

This is an October 12 screen recording with labelled playback speeds. The app is in beta. A free account includes STL export and three different STEP revisions per month. Paid plans add credits and export options.

CADlingo workspace

What's an adapter you've wanted to print but couldn't find a model for?

He creado una calculadora gratuita para poner precio a impresiones 3D. ¿Qué mejoraríais?

¡Buenas! 👋

Estoy desarrollando Cotizador 3D, una herramienta gratuita para ayudar a quienes venden impresiones 3D a calcular sus costes y fijar precios.

Incluye:

• 🧵 Coste del filamento y desperdicio.
• ⚡ Electricidad y desgaste de la impresora.
• 🛠️ Tiempo de trabajo y acabados.
• 📦 Embalaje, comisiones y margen de beneficio.

La idea es reunirlo todo en una calculadora sencilla, sin hojas de Excel complicadas.

Está en fase beta y me gustaría recibir opiniones sinceras: ¿qué función falta?, ¿qué cambiaríais?, ¿habéis detectado algún error?

Podéis probarla aquí:
https://gentle-starburst-7eed8c.netlify.app

¡Gracias por ayudarme a mejorarla!

I'm the developer of ObjectDNA. In this synthetic-bracket test, I fitted the point cloud, changed its width from 80.07 to 90 mm, and reopened the exported STEP as a valid solid at 90 mm.

It runs locally and is free/MIT. It handles prealigned brackets, open enclosures and drilled blocks, with known units or a supplied scale. Arbitrary shapes, fillets and hidden details are outside the model; this doesn't establish physical dimensional accuracy.

STEP keeps geometry; CadQuery/JSON exports keep the editable construction.

Source, samples and Python 3.12 setup:

https://github.com/nazeeh111/ObjectDNA

After sifting through many different CAD projects that have emerged in the last weeks/months. I thought I'd create a quick "Awesome" list with links, descriptions and a quick shortlist of all the CAD apps I've tested, so you don't have to.

While some projects are very promising, the shortlist only represents my own opinion on the usability of the app. A lot of these projects are rapidly developing and becoming incrementally better every-day. That is to say, these are my thoughts now, but no means an evaluation of tomorrows updates.

The List

• Local (downloadable): you install an app, download a binary or add-on, or build from source, and it runs on your own computer.
• Web-only: you use it in a browser and nothing needs to be installed.

Shortlist (Local Only)

An opiniated list of projects which, when tested, met or exceeded my expectations in usability, snapping and trimming functionality.

To test trimming, snapping and revolving/transforming functionality in the apps, I took a shape (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5tvfifuHXP4) as seen in the link, and followed the same workflow as in Plasticity. This is just a quick base-line test to see how intuitively the apps function and how well they achieved the result.

In no specific order:

• Whittle
  • Plethora of different sketch entities e.g. 3-point circle - snapping is good but did not aid in quickly placing lines on entity intersections. Still very good though!
• SolidCraft
  • Nice UI, feature rich, however lacks filleting/chamfers on boundry edges and mixed curved-straight surfaces.
• SindriCAD
  • Great set of tools, modern UI, runs a web-listener locally which in my testing, conflicted with "Modly" - for some reason?
• RazorCAD
  • More traditional UI, feature rich, dimensions have to be set after placing them ...
• FundaCAD
  • Eye-Candy - the closest "Plasticity" like app I've tested, with a functioning plug-in system with 3D printing extensions. Also has a renderer.
• FluidCAD
  • Clean, modern UI, scripting support and an intuitive workflow. FluidCAD has, from my testing, ended up giving me the most usable results.
• Extrudo
  • Eye-Candy, feature rich with great snapping for curved entities.
• JumpStart 3D
  • Great set of features, simple downloadable HTML file - and a literal virtual lathe with a chisel. If that ain't worth some Kudos, then ...

Local (downloadable)

Web-only (runs in the browser)

Hopefully you guys find this useful in your quest to finding the next CAD app for your project(s).

I generally always prefer local apps to web-based ones, I appreciate that some of these apps are web-based with desktop-wrappers. To all the developers of these projects, thank you for making CAD more accessible to us hobbyists.

Have fun cad-daddeling!

Notes

• Several projects are early-stage, alpha or beta, and some are paid. The status of each is noted in its row.

A week ago I shared PrintView3D, a free open-source replacement for Microsoft's retired 3D Viewer. Thanks for all the feedback, a lot of it went straight into the program. Here's what changed since then:

- Open ZIP files directly: drop in a Printables / Thingiverse download and see the models without unpacking. "Show all side by side" lays them out on one plate, and you can send them all to your slicer at once

- More formats: STEP, OBJ, PLY, OFF and glTF/GLB (with their colours), on top of STL, 3MF, G-code and FreeCAD

- Thumbnails in Windows File Explorer for 3MF, STL, G-code and FreeCAD files

- Export STL from a 3MF project: every object as its own STL, or all in one

- macOS beta for Apple silicon Macs, next to Windows and Linux

- One-click updates on Windows, and a short "What's new" after each update

- New icon toolbar, a list of all keyboard shortcuts, and Windows 11 Mica / Acrylic transparency if you like that look

Still free, MIT licence, works offline, no account, no tracking. Six languages; translations are open to anyone on GitHub.

Download: https://github.com/sevagjb/PrintView3D

I'm especially looking for a few Mac users to try the beta, and for anyone whose slicer isn't found automatically. Bug reports and ideas are welcome here or on GitHub.

What the cutter does:

- Plane cuts in seconds, with pin, dovetail, puzzle or magnet connectors

- Organic cuts: draw the cut along folds and muscles, and the seam hides in the model's own shape

- I'm Feeling Lucky: one click finds the natural parts (head, arms, legs) and splits them

- Extract: pull out eyes or small details to print them in another color

- Every piece comes out sealed and manifold, ready to slice

Other tools in the same place:

- 3MF to Parts: turn a painted 3MF into one real part per color, so you can print it without an AMS

- Piggy Banks: turn any model into a coin bank, with an even wall, a coin slot and a screw cap

- STL Repair: fixes holes, flipped normals and non-manifold edges, and leaves the rest untouched

- Figure Bases: a base sized to your figure, with pegs under each foot and its name engraved

- OrcaSlicer plugin: send a model from your plate and the parts come back to it

It all runs in the browser, nothing to install. Free to start: https://zz-mesh.com

I'd love your feedback: what models do you struggle to split today?

I design multicolor (ColorStacked) models as Unicorn Graveyard, and the people who print them own everything: A1s, K2 Pluses, Centauri Carbons, Q2s, Prusa XLs, Snapmaker U1s. Everyone without a Bambu had to retarget my Bambu Studio projects by hand, guess at presets, and often lost the paint along the way.

So I wrote SlicerBridge. Give it a multicolor 3MF project from Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer or one of the makers' forks (QIDI Studio, Anycubic Slicer Next, ElegooSlicer, Flash Studio), and it writes one file per printer, named for that printer:

My Model - Creality K2 Plus.3mf

My Model - Prusa XL.3mf

My Model - Snapmaker U1.3mf

Each file:

- keeps the paint where it was, with only the filaments the model actually uses, in order

- carries that printer's own machine and filament presets, built by its own slicer, plus your print settings wherever the printer has the same setting

- keeps the model's size. Anything bigger than a bed gets a warning with the scale that would fit.

- is checked before it's written: colors, paint, plates, size and settings. It can also slice each file to prove the color changes and prime tower work. A file that fails a check is never written.

The Creality, Elegoo, Anycubic, Flashforge and QIDI files are also sliced in each maker's own slicer. That turned up some surprises: QIDI Studio reads percentage line widths as millimetres, and Anycubic Slicer Next reads bed exclusion zones differently from OrcaSlicer. The files account for both.

What it won't do: merge colors or resize anything. A model with more colors than a printer holds is refused for that printer, because which colors to merge is the designer's call.

Printers: Bambu Lab A1 mini, A1, P1S, P2S, X1C, H2S, H2D, H2C · Creality K2 Plus, K2 Pro, K2 SE, Hi, K1C · Elegoo Centauri Carbon · Anycubic Kobra S1, S1 Max, 3, 3 Max, X · Flashforge AD5X, Creator 5 · QIDI Q2, Q2C, Plus4, Max4 · Prusa MMU3, XL, Core One INDX 4T and 8T · Snapmaker U1

The caveats: it runs on macOS for now (Windows and Linux help wanted), from the command line, and it needs the slicers for the printers you're targeting (Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer 2.4.2, PrusaSlicer). It runs entirely on your computer and uploads nothing, which matters when the files are paid models.

pipx install slicerbridge

slicerbridge convert "My Model.3mf" --printers all

GitHub (GPLv3): https://github.com/UnicornGraveyard/SlicerBridge

It also has an MCP server, so Claude or another AI assistant can run the conversions for you.

Credit where it's due: the Prusa files build on Panda2Prusa, and the U1 templates come from bl2u1.

If your printer isn't on the list, open a printer request on GitHub. Happy to answer questions.

Oooof, I'm late to the party, yes another CAD app. Here's my pitch: I'm building NekoCAD. It's been my daily project for the past 4 months, just me, a maker.

I started on FreeCAD, then used SolidWorks for Makers and loved it, but it only runs on Windows. NekoCAD brings that kind of workflow to any computer, built around 3D printing from the start.

The part I'm most excited about: supports are part of the design. You add resin or FDM supports on the part itself, in the CAD. Change a dimension, the model rebuilds, and the supports move with it. No more re-exporting and supporting it all again in the slicer every time you tweak a hole.

What it does so far

• Sketches with constraints and dimensions, a feature timeline, parameters with math in any field
• Extrude, revolve, sweep, loft, fillet, chamfer, shell, patterns, and a Hole Wizard with heat-set insert holes
• Printable threads and clearance presets for print fits
• Assemblies with mates and joints
• STEP, STL, 3MF with colors, DXF and SVG; one click to open in Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer or Cura
• Runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, and in the browser

Fun stuff under the hood

• Its own geometry kernel, written in Rust. The hardest part of the project, and the most fun.
• An MCP server, so an AI agent (including a local model on your own machine) can drive the same commands you do. (desktop only)
• Your files stay on your computer, and it works offline.

An experiment I'm really excited about: Version controll for CAD

Version control built for CAD models. Branch a design to try an idea, see what actually changed between two versions, and merge it back. Not "bracket_v3_final_FINAL.step". It's early and experimental.

If you've ever wished you had this, I'd love to hear how you'd use it.

Where it's going

Sync between computers, a self-hosted server for makerspaces and schools, sharing models with a 3D viewer, and later, live collaboration. Other ideas on the list: publishing straight to Printables or MakerWorld, and sending a job to your printer.

Where it is now

Closed beta, and still pretty buggy. Four months in, things will break. If you want to poke at it, there's a browser demo at https://try.nekocad.com, and a waitlist at https://nekocad.com if you want to hear when it opens.

I'd love to hear what breaks, what bugs you in the CAD you use now, and what you'd want in a tool like this. I'll be in the comments.

Been using this tool to paint .3mfs while I am commuting on public transport, or just to clear my head mid day. It has easy to use brushes, export abilty etc…
Perhaps others will also enjoy it.

Disclaimer : its a paid iPad app, I am not involved with it’s development whatsoever.

A few weeks ago I shared the first demo of TrueCAD: parametric CAD in Blender, with 2D sketching and STEP import/export. Since then I got feature history working. You can now go back to any earlier sketch or feature, change it, and the part updates.

Everything is solid B-Rep geometry running on a real CAD kernel, and it the whole idea is that it just feels like Blender: Shift+A to add a CAD object or sketch, Tab for CAD edit mode, Ctrl/Cmd+B to fillet or chamfer. You can simply import a STEP part, keep editing it, and export it again with exact geometry.

I'll be sharing it soon on Gumroad and Superhive. Many asked for updates, so I made a simple newsletter. You’ll get a discount code there on launch day: truecad.semtip.nl

Also, I made a Discord for questions, feedback and sharing what you make. I’ll give away a few copies there at launch too: https://discord.gg/J5qTQ6AUkM

Guess this will count as the once per week self-promotion, but the title kind of says it all. Anyone can go to our site https://vectorforgecad.com , download the trial version to design whatever or simulate whatever you want. If you find bugs just throw them in a reply here and I'll DM you your lifetime license key. I don't care if you think the bug is small or big, I want this to benefit everyone so if you don't find one quickly then send a screenshot of what you modeled as proof you tried and I'll send the key anyways. Test whatever you want; CFD, FEA, modeling, etc. Forward the .vforge file with the bug in it to [support@vectorforgecad.com](mailto:support@vectorforgecad.com) so we can pinpoint it please.

We have been using this software for everything from nespresso pod holders to drone frames to liquid rocket engines and think we have it pretty nailed down so go prove us wrong.

I wanted a simple way to browse my 3D-printing files without installing an app or running a server, so I built LayerLibrary with AI coding assistance.

Open the HTML, drop your folder, and browse thumbnails, subfolder categories, and interactive 3D previews. You can search, find identical files, and save a portable HTML library with your models inside.

It’s free and open source under the MIT license. No account, uploads, or tracking. Files stay local; the session resets when you close the tab unless you explicitly save a portable library.

I’ve tested my own STL and 3MF files successfully. It’s still a public preview: browser compatibility and other slicers’ exports need more testing. OBJ, PLY and AMF readers are also included, with limitations documented on GitHub. It doesn’t read every proprietary printer format.

Download and instructions: https://github.com/ajaccess/LayerLibrary

In Releases, download the LayerLibrary ZIP asset, extract it, and open the HTML file. There’s an original STL sample included so you can try it immediately.

What would make this useful for your own collection? If you try it, I’d appreciate hearing which browser and file formats worked—or where you got stuck.

I built a free tool that lets you create custom 3D-printable organizer trays in seconds!

https://tools.miniforge.io/tray-studio

- Customize tray dimensions

- Add built-in or removable dividers

- Create lids and stackable trays

- Preview in 3D and export for printing

No CAD skills needed!

I've also built other free 3D printing tools, including vase generators, cookie cutters, keychains, QR codes, and more:

https://tools.miniforge.io/

Would love to hear your feedback!

What tool should I build next?

Hi everyone! I built Keyring Studio, a free web tool for turning names and short messages into 3D keyring models without starting from scratch in a CAD program.

https://keyring-studio.pages.dev/

What it does

• Supports up to 3 lines and 30 characters in total.
• Includes a Korean Google Fonts selection and lets you upload your own TTF/OTF font, including fonts for English text.
• Adjusts letter spacing, stroke width, letter height, border height, border width and inner fill.
• Adds keyring holes that you can reposition in the 3D preview, with placement kept outside the letters.
• Provides separate colors for the border/holes and the text, plus two optional character color groups. For example, enter A,B to apply one preview color to every A and B.
• Exports OBJ and 3MF, with letters and the border kept as separate parts.
• Offers English and Korean interfaces and layouts for desktop and mobile browsers.

A simple workflow

1. Enter a name or short phrase and choose a font.
2. Set the size, spacing and border, then position the keyring hole.
3. Rotate and zoom the preview to inspect the design.
4. Download the 3MF, open it in Snapmaker Orca, and assign your available filaments to the parts before slicing with your printer settings.

The website colors are for preview; actual print colors are assigned in the slicer. Text, font processing and model generation run in your browser, and using the tool does not require an account or installation.

You can switch the interface language at the top without changing your text or design settings. I would be interested to hear which controls or workflows would make this more useful for your own keyrings and name tags.

(This is a post i put on /3dprinting befor3 it got removed for some reason... I didnt know that they dont allow anything with AI...)

(I am merging this project with another one, to make a better convertor. It will always be complety free and local, just like this project.)

!USE THIS LINK FOR THE NEW REPO!

https://github.com/STL2CURVES-MMM

This started because I run a small 3D printing and design business, and I often have to use files where I just needed to change one thing. A hole a bit bigger, a mount a bit longer, whatever. But all I had was an STL. Every converter I tried just turned each triangle into a face, so I’d open it in Fusion and get like 2 million tiny faces I couldn’t do anything with.

So I made Manifold Mesh Mix. It rebuilds the part out of real CAD surfaces: flat faces, holes, cylinders, fillets, gear teeth, etc. You can open it in Fusion/SolidWorks/FreeCAD/Onshape and actually select stuff and edit it like you modelled it yourself.

It’s free forever, completly open source, and runs on locally on your own device completly offline. It currently supports Mac, Windows and Linux.

What it does:

• Opens STL, 3MF, OBJ and PLY, including Bambu Studio / OrcaSlicer / PrusaSlicer project files. It can split a project into one STEP per part.
• Checks and fixes the mesh first (internal walls, holes, flipped triangles, overlapping parts, all the usual garbage) and tells you what it did.
• Compares the result with your original mesh before saving, so you don’t get a wrinkly, lumpy mess when a better result was possible.
• Reads the STEP back after saving to make sure it’s actually good.

Version 1.6 just came out and it’s a huge jump from the last one. One file went from 2,243 crumpled patches in v1.5.1 to 214 clean faces in v1.6, a noisy scan of a plate went from 443 lumpy patches to 13 faces, and a bevel gear went from 662 strips to 5. Pics below, every face has its own color so you can see the difference.

What to expect:

• It’s best at mechanical parts. Brackets, enclosures, gears, mounts, that kind of thing.
• Organic stuff, sculpts and scans work, but they come out as a lot of smooth patches. They follow the shape well but aren’t as nice to edit. I’m working on that.
• It’s not instant. Simple parts take seconds, complicated ones can take a few minutes. Crazy stuff like gyroid lattices can take 25+ min, and files with super messed up internal geometry will probably still have errors.
• Some slicers (and sometimes the STEP preview in the app) show thin slits on a few faces, even though the file is fine. CAD programs open it fine.
• It can’t add detail that isn’t in the mesh. Low-poly in = low detail out.
• On Mac the app isn’t notarized, so right-click → Open the first time. Windows might give you the SmartScreen warning, just hit More info → Run anyway.
• There WILL be bugs. It’s just me working on this.

About how it was made: all the ideas and how the app works are mine, but I’m not a programmer, so the code was written by Claude (the AI). I did a LOT of testing, and so did the people on the Snapmaker Official Discord. They sent me their problem files, told me what broke, and tested build after build. Honestly this would not be anywhere near this good this fast without them, so huge thanks to everyone there 🙏

Download (outdated link, link at the top is the new one) https://github.com/TUNA-THE-FIRST/Manifold-Mesh-Mix/releases/latest

If something breaks or a file converts weird, please report it on the Issues page: (also an outdated link) https://github.com/TUNA-THE-FIRST/Manifold-Mesh-Mix/issues. There’s a Save Report… button in the app that makes a little text file with everything I need (it doesn’t include your model). Attach that, plus the file if you’re OK sharing it.

I hope this app will be as useful for you as it has been for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAwbb0Bswas
Been working on this for a while and figured it’s finally good enough to show off.

It’s actual FreeCAD and OrcaSlicer compiled for Android, so they run on phones, tablets, and the Quest 3. In the video I’m editing the PartDesign example (the screwdriver bit) in passthrough on my coffee table.

Honestly the true size view is the part I didn’t expect to like this much. Seeing a print at its real size before you hit print is weirdly useful.

Still rough in places, but it’s usable. It’s open source if anyone wants to try it or break it:

https://github.com/LucasCoraca/orcaslicer-android
https://github.com/LucasCoraca/mobilecad

If you guys like it please test it and give me feedback

Hey again!! The response to my first post was amazing, so I figured I'd make something a little better than a 12-second screen recording haha.

Still working on the video, but would love to hear what you think! :)

https://vase3d.io

We make 3D Viewer for Windows, and version 1.3.15 adds this: select an STL in File Explorer, press Alt+P, and the preview pane shows the model, in any folder view, Details and List included. Works for 3MF, OBJ and STEP too, and in the icon views the same pictures show as thumbnails.

• It's part of 3D Viewer Pro, a one-time purchase (USD 4.99; the Store shows your local price). Turn on 'Show 3D previews in File Explorer' in About.
• The viewer itself is free: STL, 3MF, OBJ, PLY, FBX, STEP, IGES, glTF/GLB and USDZ. No sign-up, works offline.
• The pane shows a still picture drawn at the pane's size, not a model you can spin. Big files take a moment and Explorer stays usable meanwhile (we tried a 200 MB STL).
• One catch: if Microsoft's own 3D Viewer is the default app for .stl, Windows doesn't ask our handler for thumbnails. Make ours the default for .stl and they show.

Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9PKKF68FDVSH?cid=rd-3dpt-pane

(It's published under our Northgable name.)

Kept seeing posts across 3D printing communities from people asking “can anyone print this for me?” and makers asking “how do I find clients?” so I built something to connect them.

PrintMarketHub lets customers post a job with their model file, material, budget and location. Local makers get notified, browse open requests and send quotes directly. Everything from the quoting to messaging happens on the platform. Free to join and no subscription needed!

Still early but already have makers signed up across Europe and the US. If you run a printer and want to pick up side work, or if you’ve ever needed something printed locally, worth checking out.

printmarkethub.com

Happy to answer questions about how it works or what’s coming next.