Useful links.
Where to find models, what to slice them with, and where to look when a print goes wrong.
Find models
- Printables printables.com Prusa's library. The best-curated of the big ones, and print profiles ride along with the model.
- MakerWorld makerworld.com Bambu Lab's library — one-click print profiles if you run their printers.
- Thingiverse thingiverse.com The oldest and largest. Slow and dated, but some things only exist here.
- Thangs thangs.com Searches across the other libraries, including by shape.
- Yeggi yeggi.com A plain search engine over every model site at once.
- NASA 3D Resources nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov Printable spacecraft, asteroids and terrain, straight from the source.
Slice
- OrcaSlicer github.com Open-source slicer with the built-in calibration tests everyone else lacks.
- PrusaSlicer prusa3d.com The slicer most of the others are forked from. Works with any printer.
- UltiMaker Cura ultimaker.com The other family tree. Huge printer-profile coverage and a plugin marketplace.
Design
- OpenSCAD openscad.org CAD as code. Parametric by nature — change a number, get a new part.
- FreeCAD freecad.org Full open-source parametric CAD. Exports STEP, which is what you want to share.
- Tinkercad tinkercad.com Blocks and holes in the browser. Unbeatable for a quick bracket.
- Onshape onshape.com Professional parametric CAD in the browser; free tier makes documents public.
- Blender blender.org For sculpted and organic shapes, and for repairing meshes nothing else will open.
Tune and troubleshoot
- Ellis' Print Tuning Guide ellis3dp.com The reference for dialling in a printer, in the order it should be done.
- Teaching Tech calibration teachingtechyt.github.io Step-by-step calibration that generates the test g-code for you.
- Print quality troubleshooting simplify3d.com Find the photo that looks like your failed print; read what causes it.
- Prusa Knowledge Base help.prusa3d.com Material guides and failure write-ups that apply well beyond Prusa machines.
Run the printer
- Klipper klipper3d.org Firmware that moves the maths to a Raspberry Pi: input shaping, pressure advance.
- Marlin marlinfw.org The firmware most printers ship with. The g-code reference alone is worth a bookmark.
- OctoPrint octoprint.org Web interface for a printer: upload, start, watch and cancel from another room.