Blender Quick Tip: Set Up Units for 3D Printing
Set Blender's unit scale to 0.001 so one unit is one millimeter, export STLs at scale 1.000, and stop parts arriving in the slicer a thousand times too small.
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Custom Planter Saucer with Blender Geometry Nodes
A parametric planter saucer in Blender Geometry Nodes: eleven inputs for size, corner radius, taper and drain ribs. Free STLs on Printables, .blend on CGTrader.
3D Printing vs. Store Run: Putty Knife Cost
A 3D printed PETG putty knife cost 20 cents and 7 minutes of effort. The store run would have cost $58 counting mileage and time. The math and the free file.
3D Printed Imperial/Metric Diameter Gauge
A thicker 3D printed tapered-slot gauge that reads screw, bolt, drill and wire diameters in inches and millimeters without slipping into threads. Free.
Why I Moved My 3D Print Files to Printables
Why 3D print files now go to Printables (reward points for filament and printers) while rendering models stay on CGTrader.
Fix Missing SolidWorks Thumbnails in Windows 11
SolidWorks thumbnails vanished after a Windows 11 update. The fix is three regsvr32 commands that re-register the SolidWorks shell DLLs, not folder options.
3D Printed Altoids Tin Rack (Free STL)
A 3D printed rack for Altoids tins that grew into three versions for hardware boxes of different heights. Modeled in Blender, free STL on Thingiverse.
Tilt Pad Bearing Preload Explained (Video)
Second of four videos comparing tilt pad bearings, this one on preload. Animations in Blender, audio in Adobe Audition.
Why Tilt Pad Bearings Have 5 Pads (Video)
First of four tilt pad bearing videos: why five pads beat four or six. Made with Blender line art, the video sequencer, Audition and an AI voice clone.
Blender Tip: Results Differ from the Tutorial?
Typed the exact values and the result still looks wrong? Check scene units. Tutorials use meters; a startup file in inches breaks shaders and geometry nodes.