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Hey ala, Welcome back to Day 4 of the 3D Printing For Woodworkers Mini-Course! We’ve gotten a lot of the nitty-gritty details out of the way in the last three emails, so it’s finally time to start printing!! While there’s no such thing as a “correct” first print, I’ll spend some time here guiding you on where to start, how to find free models, and I’ll even give you a list of some of my favorite free STL files for woodworkers that you can start printing right away! Where to Find Free ModelsThe 3D printing community is one of the best ones on Al Gore’s internet! From the early days (before Bambu) the 3D printing community has always been helping each other improve their machines, troubleshoot, and share their 3D models. There’s even dedicated websites for hosting free, open source 3D models for you to browse and print! Some of the most common sites for these models include: Makerworld is Bambu’s dedicated site for 3D models, and you can even send these files directly to your printer without downloading them first (and you can even do it from your phone) so I often start here, but it’s the newest marketplace of the three. As a result it doesn’t have the same back catalogue of prints that Thingiverse and Printables do, so I often end up checking those sites as well. That being said, Makerworld seems to be getting way more new files compared to the older sites (at the time of writing this) so it’s only a matter of time until they have the most offerings. Another unique thing about Makerworld is their new crowdfunding feature. Read more here if you’re interested. Each of these websites has its own method of displaying the ‘licensing’ of these prints (examples below), and those are details you don’t want to skip over. Attempting to sell a design from one of these websites that doesn’t say it’s available for commercial use can get you into serious legal trouble, so be cautious, and don’t be a jerk who steals other people’s work just to make a quick buck. Thingiverse: Printables: Makerworld: The Benchy (short for benchmark) is a small 3D model specifically designed to test the accuracy and performance of your printer. It’s shaped like a little tugboat and includes nearly every feature that challenges a 3D printer — overhangs, bridges, curved surfaces, fine details, and text. By printing a Benchy, you can quickly see how well your machine handles dimensional accuracy, cooling, extrusion, and layer alignment. It’s the most popular calibration print in the 3D printing community because it reveals so many potential issues in a single, fun model. This also makes it a great diagnostic tool if you're struggling with certain settings, or comparing filaments or nozzle sizes. Printers work better out of the box than ever before, so the Benchy isn't the staple it once was, but here's a great video on it's uses. Lots of printers even come pre-loaded with this print sliced and ready to test! Depending on which printer you bought, you may want to print some upgrades for it before you get into your own models! Here’s a few common upgrades prints:
These prints are in no way necessary, but they’re just some examples of the upgrades you can print for your own 3D printer! Name another hobby with that level of print-ception. My Favorite STLs for WoodworkersHere’s the rest of my free STL file recommendations! These are some useful prints across multiple marketplaces that my partners and I compiled to give you a practical starting point!
That’s a wrap on this chapter of the course! Tomorrow is a great one too, I’ll give you an introduction into designing your own 3D printed files! This step is what truly unlocks the unlimited potential of a 3D printer, so don’t skip it! |
