
Files are free to download, but you can tip the designer if you like. If you choose to download a 3D model from Thingiverse you should find a model and then click the ‘Download all files’ button. Thingiverse as an example, from which you can freely download 3D models in STL format under a Creative Commons licence. There are dozens of sources online, and you may even choose to create your own in a separate 3D modelling app.

Now you’re ready to bring in a 3D model to prepare for printing. Cura will remember these settings, so you won’t have to add them each time. Go to Settings, Printer, Manage Printers and, with your model selected, click Machine Settings. If you have to manually add a printer, you’ll also want to specify the dimensions of your printer bed. We selected Other, Creality CR-10, entered Ender 3 as the printer name and then clicked Add Printer. It most likely converted into several loose parts that you’ll need to tie together with a box or baseplate Remember, if you don’t put your logo on a base you’ll end up with alphabet soup.We’re using a Crealit圓D Ender 3, a great budget 3D printer that you can buy now from If you’re told the image is too big, reduce the largest dimension to 100mm, which fits comfortably in the 200x200mm default workplane.Ģ. Open a new design in Tinkercad, then import your SVG file. If you’ve never used Tinkercad, Matterhackers has a great 10 minute introduction to this simple modeling software. You can get creative with this part of the tutorial, but for now let’s stick to placing our logo in a simple box.įor the next step we’re going to assume you know the basics of Tinkercad.

You only need to sign up for a free account. A fancy word for this is called tessellation. This can be likened to the way a tiler covers a floor with tiles. They break down or cover the surfaces of 3D models with many little triangles that connect together. Tinkercad is also cloud based so you won’t need to download anything. An STL file describes the geometrical surface of 3D models as triangular facets.

Tinkercad was developed to introduce students to modeling software, so this is not only a free option but an easy program for beginners. Now that you have an SVG file you’ll need to convert it into an STL file. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) Convert to an SVG in Tinkercad
