Thingiverse Alternative: Multiverse of 3D Printing, or should we say the vast multiverse of STL files is probably Thingiverse. 3D printing might seem new to many people, but it has been for around for almost 30 years. However the recent trends of creator economy has boosted 3D Printers and their reach to a next level and people have truly started realizing the value of 3D printing.
In early days 3D printing was predominantly used for prototypes, toys and to build some trendy cosplays. Nowadays, it has got into industrial applications and widely adopted by major players in industrial sector.
We all know the core of 3D printing in STL file on which the product is made real time. Thingiverse has been the largest pool of STL files, however there some really cool Thingiverse alternatives which are worth to consider. They have a really inspiring models and budding designers portfolio.
These are the best Thingiverse alternatives to consider below, But, Before we jump in to see other alternatives lets see about Thingiverse
So, What is Thingiverse?
Thingiverse is a open source platform created by makerbot when the 3d printing was still in an early stage. Founded in 2009, MakerBot was one of the first companies to make 3D printing accessible and affordable with our first 3D printer, the Cupcake CNC.
In 2010, they became the first company to present a 3D printer at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Now, 3D printing is its own category there with a multitude of 3D printing companies in attendance each year. After being acquired by Stratasys in 2013, makerbot has introduced the first Wi-Fi connected desktop 3D printer in 2014.
Thingiverse is world’s largest 3D printing community with millions of models easy to download and start printing through your 3D printer.
Lets have a look at the best thingiverse alternatives:
Best Thingiverse Alternatives
1. GrabCAD : Professional-verse – Step models and much more
GrabCAD was initially created as a platform for 3d models mainly to be used by CAD professionals in their career or freelancing journey. It has CAD models from different formats of design software which helps any design professionals in their assembly or simulation journey.
If you have little bit of experience in design, then platform provides you a lot of CAD files in different software formats such as stl, obj, .nx and much more.
GrabCAD is ahead of thingiverse , since it offers a workbench where professional team can share and work on CAD projects.
They have separate repository for 3D Printing with a lot of free models.
Pros:
User friendly platform
CAD models for professionals
Interactive helpful community and members
Cons:
Not advisable for beginners
Slightly costly plans for community beginners starts at $1999 per year
2. Cults3d :
Cults3D by far the next biggest site to thingiverse, a lot of designers and helpful categories makes it a most useful site to download 3d models.
They have a wide range of categories which will reduce the amount of time you spend to search your particular STL file. Cults3D has both free and paid models and the price is decided by the designer. You can also search for a particular keyword which will fetch you the design you’re searching for.
With over 680,000 design files this makes it a huge repository of different 3d models. They also have the makes and ideas section which gives more insights on the type of product you want to print
Pros:
Different categories of parts
More than 680,00 design parts
Unique feature ideas
Free models
Cons:
No filter for free models
Also few paid models specific designs
3. MyMiniFactory
Since its start in 2013, myminifactory has evolved into a platform with over 80,000 designs. Initially it was started as a collective platform having small designs to share, later it has onboarded a lot of designers to help 3D enthusiasts with STL files.
Myminifactory has some set protocols and testing methods before publishing models in their site. They also make sure to test for print errors if any. ‘
Also, they have opened up a store in 2018 which allows fellow 3D enthusiasts to monetize their hobby or passion. They have exciting competitions to win attractive prizes.
MMF has a good community backed support which will enable beginners to print tested parts and receive online support from experienced people
Pros:
The platform in intuitive and has a good range
Many free models available
Community Verified prints to remove print failures
Cons:
We haven’t found any such disadvantages on MMF
4. Printables
Printables by Josef Prusa, is not just a 3D Printing platform, it had so many filters and categories which makes you easy to select and find the part in a short time.
You can filter designs based on categories, type of filament, Printer, printing time and type of nozzle a printer uses. All these categories will help in reducing the amount of time you spend in selecting a part.
Adding to it, the platform gives you opportunity to share designs, participate in attractive design competitions and clear your doubts by forums
With over 200,000 designs the platform is well equipped to provide fellow 3D Printing enthusiasts gear up with the right tools to select the right design for their printing needs. Printables was rebranded in March 2022 as a strategic move after 32 GB data breach in Thingiverse, which enabled a lot of loss.
Printables now is a stable platform which only has open source products and printable files, also has a huge support by the worldwide expert users which will help you in terms of printing the right part and save time and reduce printing errors.
Pros:
User friendly interface
Fine tuned categories
Active forum for support
Over 600,000 printable parts
Cons:
We did not find any such disadvantages
5. Thangs3d
Thangs is fast growing 3D community with a wide universal products. If you’re a beginner this is the best site next to thingiverse. They have over 13,500,000 models overall including the thingiverse integration
They have integrated 3D view – orientation which is pretty cool, you can rotate the model in 3D and analyze the part
Thangs also helps in finding similar products with the search synch with thingiverse and thangs standalone. You can find many filters which will help you in reducing the time required for analyzing the right part for your print.
Thangs Sync is workbench platform, secure 3d-native revision on cloud to meet clients demands. This as a professional will help in revising the part file
Thangs Sync also allows to modify and improve the print quality by tweaking the required parameters in the cloud workbench.
However, You should sign up to download parts
Pros:
3D view orientation of the models
More than 13,500,000 models
Sync with cloud for revisions
Pretty good social media presence for cool product ideas
Cons:
You have to sign up to download parts
6. CGTrader
CGTrader is the old platform trusted by many industrial designers which has helped many to build seamless 3D designs of architectural projects or project assembly/design.
This is widely trusted by a lot of professional designers. You can find a lot of models of different native type. CGtrader was created in 2011 for mainly to sell and purchase digital models.
One of pretty cool feature which makes it better than thingiverse is that it can convert 2D drawings to 3D models. Users can sell, purchase and proactively evaluate designs to content and get value
You can find 3d models of multiple formats. STL files library is huge here when compared with thingiverse. So definitely should be in your radar to find your next STL file.
Its a free and paid platform as well. You can expect some high quality designs from the top rated designers. The trusted platform is an exchange for 3D models since a decade and thrives to be the best alternative for Thingiverse
Pros:
Straight to point interface
Neat and seamless categories
Trusted by industry experts
Alot of community interactions
Cons:
Trade loyalty programs offers discounts to premium members which is a bit defensive for many beginners and intermediate
7. 3Dexport
3Dexport is the all-time competitor to Thingiverse. Started in 2004 with the aim to sell and buy 3d models. This is oldest platform in 3DP ecosystem.
In their catalogue you can find more than 350,000 models, sadly most of them are paid. With very limited free models this might have lost the charm of competing thingiverse. With a few well designed filters you can find the right products you are looing for.
Beginners can make use of some step-by-step process on 3D software’s and tutorials. They are pretty dated, most of the models in 2017.
3Dexports offers the type of models you need, and if it doesn’t work you can always get back a refund with 24 hours.
Pros:
3Dexports wide part library
Some of the tutorials
Cons:
Kind of dated platform
Very limited selection of free parts
8. Youmagine
Youmagine – YOuimagine they are your host
Youmagine is the better alternative to Thingiverse due to the boatload of STL files. If you are a 3D designer then this website is for your to sell new or modified designs of an existing one to make an impact.
Youmagine is on its goal to be the best STL universe for your 3Dprinter. We could see it has one of the best designs since they have more than 15000 reputable designers involved in their platform
Pros:
Friendly interface for browsing the models
Most suitable for Designer to sell the product
Browser based file 3D Viewer
Supported API
100% free
Cons:
No subcategories
9. Pinshape
Pinshape was announced by Formlabs as a platform to connect makers. In practice, it works as both a repository of available free 3D print STL files as well as long-priced paid STL files.
Unlike most other marketplaces, Pinshape does not feature paid content over and above the free STL files available, which allows you to check if a file is free, but not pay for it. Perhaps the greatest strength of this marketplace are their relatively cheap and hugely valuable STL files.
10. Treatstock
Ready for some e-Treats. ?
TreatStock is a multiverse of Thingiverse. You can find a lot of models for 3D Printing as well as CNC based models
They allow you to publish a document and manufacture is and sell it on their marketplace. More like an online marketplace for e-treats.
They believe in building this platform with an aim to establish 3D printing and its unique value proposition and monetize it. This platform is interesting, it lets to collaborate with the manufacturer and align with the material needs and hire a designer for your manufacturing needs
You can find plenty of products to buy and sell and offer your services. Helpful community to guide in initial journey.
11. Instructables
Instructables, operated by AutoDesk, Inc., is an educational website for makers of all backgrounds, including 3D printing. If DIY projects are your thing, you’ll absolutely love this website.All projects on Instructables come with freely downloadable project files, instructions, and easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.
The community is lively and friendly too! That’s why Instructables has become one of my favorite places on the web to pick up new projects.
12. Turbosquid
TurboSquid-Charge your 3D printed squids
Turbosquid is one of the oldest markets for 3D models. Most of the websites only deal with animation renderings and 3D models, but a good portion of these 3D models are also available in STL format, so they can be 3D printed. Turbosquid offers a wide range of free and paid 3D models. This is a market, so the paid options far outweigh the free options, both in terms of quantity and quality.
13. Threeding
Threeding.com claims to be an online marketplace for 3D models suitable for 3D printing. The site has been around since his 2014, and while its design is clearly stuck in its time, the 3D printer files available at least make 3D printing look easy and thoughtfully designed which we can see.
Threeding.com also offers a 3D Print on Demand feature, but access requires a marketplace registration (it’s free)
14. Smithsonian – Digitalization Era – Print Museum parts
3d.si.edu this is a website created by Smithsonian museum. Smithsonian Digitalization Project is a 3D Scanning project by the Smithsonian museum.
A lot of unique artifacts and models are available for public viewing and downloading them. 3D models available range from sports memorabilia, fossils, aquatic creatures, satellites, which are among the many models which hold a special place in history.
Imagine, now with the help of this 3D Scanning and 3D Printing era now you can easily just download the historical part from the museum and print it in your home are wherever.
You can even print a Dinosaur model like below.
Search Engines for STL files
We all have been at that point where we are surfing so many websites and still couldn’t find the right part you want.
After going through multitude of sites, then you’re thinking whether to make it yourself or hire a freelancer to do it if you have resources.
Well, there are few search engines which offer us a wide range to search STL files, there is no need to join any community or register.
Try some of these search engines which might helpful to your STL exploring journey…..
These will help your STL search journey…
STLfinder
Its a tool where you can type your desired design term, for example: “Lattice 3D vase” and this search engine will source the required file for you linking with various communities or available repository.
yeggi
These STL search engines are a good tool to find the required models from different repository.
Conclusion:
3D printing has been widely adopted by a lot of people these days. With a printer at your home you can easily download STL files from major websites and start printing it. Also, due to the up rise of many 3D Printing companies and the growth of communities. Nowadays, we can easily access the files, thanks to the designers who create 3d models and upload to these sites and let us download and print it.
Thingiverse still remains the top most provider of 3d models, be it either free and paid. However, depending only on one site might limit your access and visibility to other types of models which you can download and print it. These 14 websites which mentioned above are just a small part of it.
Recently, Printables has now become the most desired platform in terms of 3d printing community for free and paid models. You can consider these above websites to which will add edge to finding your desired models whether its paid or free based on your budget.
So, which website you found to be helpful? Did you come across any such interesting website which provides valuable models? Do let us you know your thoughts below. Cheers 🙂
