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Posted on September 22, 2026

Fix 3D Models in PrusaSlicer, Not Blender

Open cube with its top face missing, the open edges highlighted in red, next to a warning triangle reading 4 open edges

A model that prints has to be a closed, manifold solid: every edge shared by exactly two faces, every face pointing outward, no faces crossing each other.…

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Filed under: 3D Printing, Blender Tips

Posted on September 21, 2026

Blender Quick Tip: Set Up Units for 3D Printing

Blender Scene Units panel with Metric, Millimeters and Unit Scale 0.001

Slicers read STL files in millimeters. Blender's native unit is the meter. Switching the display to millimeters does not change that, so a 40 mm bracket…

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Filed under: 3D Printing, Blender Tips

Posted on May 20, 2026

Custom Planter Saucer with Blender Geometry Nodes

PlanterSaucer(0)

Every plant pot seems to come with a saucer that’s almost the right size — too small, too big, wrong color, or just plain ugly. I got tired of that, so I…

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Filed under: 3D Printing, Blender Tips

Posted on March 13, 2026

3D Printing vs. Store Run: Putty Knife Cost

PuttyKnifeOnPrintables

Total active effort: 7 minutes . The printer handled the rest (23 minutes of PETG stacking up while I went back to actual work). Material cost: $0.17 in…

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Filed under: 3D Printing, Shop Stories

Posted on March 1, 2026

3D Printed Imperial/Metric Diameter Gauge

3D Printed Imperial/Metric Diameter Gauge

A while back, I purchased a GAGE-IT from Home Depot. It’s a handy little tool made from a thin sheet of durable plastic, designed to quickly measure drill…

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Filed under: 3D Printing, 3D Models

Posted on September 17, 2024

Why I Moved My 3D Print Files to Printables

PrusaMK4S

I started posting to Prusa’s Printables . You can trade in reward points for filament, Prusa merchandise or vouchers for a new 3D printer. If you are very…

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Filed under: 3D Printing, 3D Models

Posted on May 20, 2024

Fix Missing SolidWorks Thumbnails in Windows 11

During a Windows or Solidworks update, my system lost the ability to show me an icon preview of my Solidworks files. This makes it difficult to find parts…

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Filed under: SolidWorks

Posted on March 15, 2024

3D Printed Altoids Tin Rack (Free STL)

thingiverse cycles iso 3

It started with a handful of empty Altoid tins. I saved them because they fit the Arduino. They seemed like a good project box and who can’t use a little…

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Filed under: 3D Printing

Posted on March 15, 2024

Tilt Pad Bearing Preload Explained (Video)

Today I released the 2nd video in a series of four comparing two different tilt pad bearings. Like the previous video, the animations were done in Blender.…

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Filed under: Video, Animation, Engineering

Posted on March 8, 2024

Why Tilt Pad Bearings Have 5 Pads (Video)

highland games lifting a large rock that 2

Today I released the 1st video in a series of four comparing two different tilt pad bearings. I created animations and 3D renders for the video in Blender.…

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Filed under: Video, Animation, Engineering
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Recent posts

  • Fix 3D Models in PrusaSlicer, Not Blender
  • Blender Quick Tip: Set Up Units for 3D Printing
  • Custom Planter Saucer with Blender Geometry Nodes
  • 3D Printing vs. Store Run: Putty Knife Cost
  • 3D Printed Imperial/Metric Diameter Gauge
  • Why I Moved My 3D Print Files to Printables

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Topics

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SIMMER3DBLENDER · SOLIDWORKS · 3D PRINTINGEST. 2016SHEET: blog/index.html

Simmer3D

Blender, SolidWorks, photogrammetry and 3D printing notes from an engineer's workbench. Posts since 2016 on Blender, SolidWorks, photogrammetry, free 3D models and practical 3D printing. About the author.

Topics

  • 3D Printing
  • Modeling for 3D Printing
  • Photogrammetry
  • Photoreal Rendering
  • Modeling for Photoreal Images
  • What is Blender?
  • What is SolidWorks?

Categories

  • 3D Models
  • 3D Printing
  • Animation
  • Blender Tips
  • Engineering
  • Photogrammetry
  • Photography
  • Shop Stories
  • SolidWorks
  • Video

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