Contributing FreeCAD Models to Thingiverse

Contributing your source files to Thingiverse is what makes the sharing site valuable. Thingiverse is the key resource I use for finding existing models to print. When I explain 3D printing, I bring up Thingiverse. When I have an idea for something to create, I bring up Thingiverse. Someone has probably already created it.

My beef with Thingiverse is that most items don’t include source materials. It’s not the site’s fault. The users don’t include the source files necessary to modify a model. Being able to easily modify a model adds so much more value to me. Yes, you can import STL and modify that, but it isn’t a simple workflow. Maybe it is, but I haven’t found a simple workflow for it yet.

I decided to make a point of including my source files from FreeCAD whenever I contribute a design. Given that FreeCAD is FOSS, anyone can modify the designs without needing a costly workflow. You can download and get more information about FreeCAD from http://www.freecadweb.org/. I got started with FreeCAD by following a set of videos from user “bram de vries“. Starting with FreeCAD Tutorial Part 1 Primitives His videos walk you through the basics and conclude by covering the majority of features you would need to get started and be productive as a first time user. I highly recommend his series.

I’ve only done a few designs to date, but feel free to check them out and modify them. The designs are available from my page: http://www.thingiverse.com/luckyfishlab/designs. Each of the designs include all of the source material necessary to recreate and modify as you desire.