Useful Resources
Find what you need to get started 3D printing!
Tinkercad
If you are looking to design your own 3D-printable projects, Tinkercad is the program you need! All TeachMe3DP design tutorials use Tinkercad.
Tinkercad is free and online so there is no need to download anything. You can access it from anywhere you have Internet access, and it automatically saves so you should never lose your hard work!
It is easy to get started, but don’t let the cute name fool you; it is a powerful 3D design tool.
PrusaSlicer
After you have designed your project, you need to “slice” it so that your 3D printer will know what to do.
PrusaSlicer is my preferred slicing program and the one that I use in the tutorials. You can download it for free directly from Prusa’s website.
There are a lot of different slicing programs out there (Cura is another popular one), and they all do essentially the same thing. So if you prefer a different slicing program, go for it. Some of the buttons may look different or be in a different spot than in the tutorial, but the process will be very similar.
Thingiverse
As much fun as it is to design your own projects, sometimes it is fun to print something that someone else designed.
Thingiverse is a website that allows users to upload 3D designs that they have created so that other users can download them. It is a library of 3D prints!
After you have downloaded a file from Thingiverse, just slice and print. Or you can even import a file you find on Thingiverse into Tinkercad (as long is it isn’t too complex) and make changes to it!