Where do you get your STL files?

rshousha

rshousha

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Montreal, Canada
On the one hand, more and more people seem to have 3D printers at home. On the other hand, I have seen people struggling to design very simple items using free, or almost free software. I have been using SolidWorks professionally for about ten years now. SolidWorks is a CAD platform that is very good to draw manufactured parts. This means I can draw all sorts of parts for models in a short time. I do not need a "learning curve" to draw parts. All I need are requests from people who would like parts made up.

Where do people find their STLs for their printers? Which are the best sites? Which are the worst, and why?

I would love to register for one of these sites and upload designs, designs, designs, so people can have access to them. I have fished through a few of these sites and I am not impressed. In particular, I have found nothing in the way of decent parts for ships. I would like to fill that void.

Cheers,

Rick
 
these are the top 3


www.thingiverse.com

Thingiverse - Digital Designs for Physical Objects

Download millions of 3D models and files for your 3D printer, laser cutter, or CNC. From custom parts to unique designs, you can find them on Thingive
www.thingiverse.com www.thingiverse.com

Cults・Download free 3D printer models・STL, OBJ, 3MF, CAD

World’s leading independent website for 3D printer files・Download the best objects for 3D printing・Share your designs on Cults3D the biggest DIY community.
cults3d.com cults3d.com

yeggi - 3D Printer Models Search Engine

6.06 million indexed printable 3D model files worldwide! We collect 3D models from all websites and communities for your 3D printer.
www.yeggi.com www.yeggi.com
 
couple more

3D models database | Printables.com

Community site for 3D printer users. Discover thousands of great printable 3D models, download them for free and read interesting articles about 3D printing.
www.printables.com www.printables.com

www.allthat3d.com

3D Printing Files: 13 Best Sites For Free STL Files And Models in 2024

Are you looking for STL files to print? Do you want to know what’s the best 3D model repositories? An STL (Standard Triangle Language) file is the standard file that is used in 3D printing. It represents a 3D model which needs to be sliced into many layers, so 3D printers can 3D print it. […]
www.allthat3d.com www.allthat3d.com
 
Hi Dave; same questions. Which have you used? Which do you prefer? And why? I am ready to start drawing. I don't want to waste dozens of hours uploading stuff only to find the "other" site would have been better.

Cheers,

Rick
 
rshousha said:
On the one hand, more and more people seem to have 3D printers at home. On the other hand, I have seen people struggling to design very simple items using free, or almost free software. I have been using SolidWorks professionally for about ten years now. SolidWorks is a CAD platform that is very good to draw manufactured parts. This means I can draw all sorts of parts for models in a short time. I do not need a "learning curve" to draw parts. All I need are requests from people who would like parts made up.

Where do people find their STLs for their printers? Which are the best sites? Which are the worst, and why?

I would love to register for one of these sites and upload designs, designs, designs, so people can have access to them. I have fished through a few of these sites and I am not impressed. In particular, I have found nothing in the way of decent parts for ships. I would like to fill that void.

Cheers,

Rick
Click to expand...
In my opinion, they are all about the same. One may have something that other doesn't. I would use them all. If you can't find something in one then look in the other.
Also please keep in mind that some of those stl files are not free. Just a heads up
 
I would love to register for one of these sites and upload designs, designs, designs, so people can have access to them. I have fished through a few of these sites and I am not impressed. In particular, I have found nothing in the way of decent parts for ships. I would like to fill that void.

the reason for not finding files for ship parts is because they are unique to the ship these sites are more for novelty items or figures for gaming etc.
I think you would be much better off if you plan to sell files to download talk to Zoltan or Marc at model expo and deal directly with the ship modeling community. Or use the buy trade and sell section on the forum
 
Hi Jack,

It is the reverse. I draw parts every day. I want to sell STL files, not buy them. I certainly have no intention of giving stuff away. What I am asking is which site. or sites, you use regularly and which ones are easiest to use.

Right now, I sell 3D printed parts pretty well every week. I have sold hundreds and hundreds of parts, but I don't feel my site has enough traction. Of course, I may simply not have enough parts on my site to create buzz, but that's another story. The nice thing about using an established site is that I don't have to worry about updates, hacking, etc. etc.

Thanks
 
i use them all and as Jack said they are pretty much equal
i am involved in an art installation that requires 3d printed parts and i use all three searching for the right files.
 
Dave Stevens (Lumberyard) said:
the reason for not finding files for ship parts is because they are unique to the ship these sites are more for novelty items or figures for gaming etc.
I think you would be much better off if you plan to sell files to download talk to Zoltan or Marc at model expo and deal directly with the ship modeling community. Or use the buy trade and sell section on the forum
Click to expand...
I already have a nice following of clients who buy directly from me. I have been selling kits for about twenty years now but I have now pretty well completely turned off selling kits and I am now selling frame sets for large-scale R/C models. That part of the business is growing quickly. What I want to do now is reach into the other modelling communities, where they seem to use 3D printers a lot more than the ship-modelling people.
 
rshousha said:
Hi Jack,

It is the reverse. I draw parts every day. I want to sell STL files, not buy them. I certainly have no intention of giving stuff away. What I am asking is which site. or sites, you use regularly and which ones are easiest to use.

Right now, I sell 3D printed parts pretty well every week. I have sold hundreds and hundreds of parts, but I don't feel my site has enough traction. Of course, I may simply not have enough parts on my site to create buzz, but that's another story. The nice thing about using an established site is that I don't have to worry about updates, hacking, etc. etc.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Sorry about that I misunderstood. I have used all three, although mostly thingverse but I have yet to find a lot of model ship content. Is that where you fit in?
 
Yes, the idea is to create sections specifically for ship modellers. On my own site, I am struggling to set up sections for the various large-scale R/C models that I design because the Wordpress site is cumbersome and needs to be updated. Also, it gets hacked from time to time. If I change the site and remove access through "back doors", it can be more secure.

I can then turn around and use one of those 3D-printing sites for uploading STL files, etc.

But, yes, there are very few decent parts for large-scale boats, and even fewer for wood ship models. I want to fill that space, and as soon as possible.

Cheers,

Rick
 
the file sites are just that sites that list files
the company Creativity sells everything you need plus their cloud based library of files.. my 3 grandsons in collage uses creativity products and the labs in engineering, robotics and art also use their printers, When talking 3d printing creativity come up in the conversation.


Find all 3D models to download - Creality Cloud

Here you can find all 3D models, 3D model collections. Select whatever you like to download and print.
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