Export OBJ Files with Textures from Blender 4.x
Blender OBJ export missing textures? Set Path Mode to Copy, ship the .obj, .mtl and image files together, and avoid the three setups that silently drop a texture. Tested in Blender 4.5.
3D Models
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.
Thingiverse: Diamond Cutter Box
A 3D printed box for a Harbor Freight diamond wheel set, with a slot so the arbor stays assembled. Designed in Blender, free on Thingiverse.
Cross-Polarized Photogrammetry: Charred Log
Photogrammetry of a burned log with cross-polarized light, a ring light, AESUB scanning spray and 180 photos through Lightroom and Zephyr on a DIY turntable.
Photogrammetry Fuse Model: Fixing Label Textures
A clean photogrammetry workflow: Zephyr scan, low-poly Blender remodel aligned and re-textured in Zephyr, then baked. Plus how a heat sink blew a 60 amp fuse.
Start/Stop Combo Button
A bandsaw start/stop button in Blender: baking a hi-poly diffuse map onto a low-poly mesh, why sharp corners lost their color, and the Photoshop fix.
Garden Trellis
A wooden garden trellis modeled in Blender from a catalog design and converted to a single mesh with game-ready textures. Available on CGTrader.
Safety Barrier Video
A product-reveal style animation of the safety barrier model, made in Blender and posted to YouTube.
Safety Barrier
A yellow industrial safety barrier modeled from curves in Blender with a procedural paint material, made for crowded industrial scenes. On CGTrader.
Luggage Cart
A hotel luggage cart modeled in Blender as a more useful companion to the platform truck. Available on CGTrader.
Platform Truck
Back to Blender modeling after a break: a hardware-store platform truck, now on CGTrader.
Hotel Nightstand
A nightstand, lamp and alarm clock modeled on a laptop during a power plant night shift, plus how the Loop Tools loft and twist function works. On CGTrader.
Pressure Gauge
A pressure gauge modeled in SolidWorks, then rebuilt from scratch in Blender because SolidWorks conversions give triangulated meshes with bad face rings.
Residential Oil Tank
A low-poly 275 gallon Granby vertical oil tank modeled in Blender 2.9, with notes on the fill, vent and gauge ports. On CGTrader.
Dirty Plastic Bottle
A grimy hydraulic oil jug from the machine shop, photo-scanned in Zephyr, shrink-wrapped to a low-poly mesh in Blender and texture-painted. On CGTrader.
3D Models in Microsoft Office
Export a Blender model as GLB and insert it into Word, Excel or PowerPoint with Insert, 3D Models, This Device. Rotate, scale and light it inside the document.
Blender Tutorial: How to Model a Knurled Cylinder
Model a knurled cylinder in Blender 2.8 in six steps: 60-vertex cylinder, 24 loop cuts, un-subdivide, extrude individual faces, scale from individual origins.
Resistor Collection
Building a parts library in Blender: 57 resistor configurations, 19 color-coded values in three lead shapes, with toggleable labels on one material.
Picnic Table
A weathered picnic table modeled from Home Depot product photos using fSpy for camera matching and overlapping UVs for sharp wood without huge textures.
Handscrew Clamp
A wooden handscrew clamp that pairs PBR materials with a low-poly mesh, skipping modeled threads to save render resources. On CGTrader.
A collection of knobs
Twelve knobs modeled in Blender and the trouble with fillets on subdivision-ready meshes: bad topology shows as artifacts once the modifier is added.
Air Pressure Regulator
An air pressure regulator for an industrial brake: modeled in SolidWorks, retopologized over the STL in Blender, with diffuse, metal, roughness and normal maps.
Pedestrian Crossing Sign
A crosswalk pedestrian sign with a Photoshop graphic and a quick Blender mesh, posted to CGTrader after finding nothing similar there.
Traffic Cone 3D Model from Photogrammetry
A traffic cone from 26 photos: Zephyr produced a 586,920 face scan, baked onto a simple Blender mesh in clean and dirty versions. Cycles render, on CGTrader.
Lamp Model
A hotel room table lamp modeled while waiting for a night shift to start. Available on CGTrader.
Texture Painting
Blender texture painting not working and every search answer is for beginners? Check Local View. Toggling it off with the slash key fixed it instantly.
Soccer Goal
A soccer goal whose net has realistic slack from Blender's cloth simulator, with corner brackets and net clips most goal models leave out. On CGTrader.
Blender Denoise Node: 21x Faster Cycles Renders
Blender 2.81's compositor Denoise node with normal and albedo passes: a clean render at 5 samples in 7 seconds instead of 156 seconds at 150. Setup and results.
CG Models
Why the free CGTrader models became paid ones: giving work away undercuts other sellers, and the prices are a token anyway. A mix of free and cheap since.
3″ Swing Check Valve: Free SolidWorks Model
A free SolidWorks model of a KITZ 3 inch class 300 stainless swing check valve, 12.5 inch face to face, for piping design. On GrabCAD, cross-section explained.
Bayonet Adapters
Thermocouple bayonet adapters modeled in SolidWorks 2017 from the AutomationDirect drawing, in every available length. Free SolidWorks, STL and OBJ on GrabCAD.
Photo Reconstruction without Photogrammetry
A textured model from a few photos without photogrammetry: fSpy for the camera, a simple Blender mesh, baked and clone-painted photos, Materialize for maps.
My Free 3D Printable Models on Thingiverse
Free 3D printable models on Thingiverse: a lamp post skull, cork board corner mounts and a Workmate replacement part.
Quadcopter
An animated quadcopter modeled in Blender after the real drone ended up in a tree. On CGTrader with a short video.
Fireplace Model
A low-poly fireplace modeled in Blender to go with the mantle clock. Available on CGTrader.
Clock Model
The mantle clock from the author's fireplace, modeled in detail in Blender. Available on CGTrader.
Art Station Portfolio
A 13.5 inch Kingsbury-style tilting pad thrust bearing, the first ArtStation post, with load, oil flow and power loss at 1,800 and 3,600 RPM. On CGTrader.
1/8″ NPT Grease Fitting: Free SolidWorks Model
A 1/8 inch NPT grease fitting SolidWorks model with over 2,100 downloads on GrabCAD. Free.