this post was submitted on 23 Dec 2025
15 points (89.5% liked)

3DPrinting

20639 readers
212 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: or !functionalprint@fedia.io

There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe/ may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Like where is a good place to buy stl files online, so far ive only printed free files but i think i want to try those neat paid ones, im just not sure where to buy stl files from?

I mostly like useful prints like tools or anything that can help in day to day living.

What site would you suggest i checkout and why so?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] the16bitgamer@programming.dev 1 points 12 hours ago

Printables has paid models now if you want to support a designer. I remember being recommended MyMiniFactory for more premium print a while ago.

With that said, I think it depends on what you are looking for and what you are trying to make. I see a lot of comments recommending Blender and FreeCAD. So I wanted to give you alternatives.

With that said, Blender is for 3D Modeling (think molding with Clay), where as FreeCAD is more like blueprints. Both have a high learning curve, and Blender has a large community to help new users. FreeCAD is getting there, but has a steep learning Curve. TinkerCAD and Fusion from Autodesk may get some hate here (for many good reason), but are the easiest softwares to get into if you want to make mechanical design.