A Year of 3D Printing

Post by micw » Sat, Jan 24, 2026, 10:55 AM UTC

storystarling wrote: post #118

micw wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since I'm a developer with no experience in 3D design, I just automated my process with freecad and vibe-code my models with GitHub copilot. That gives me instant visual feedback plus 3d model code I can check in into git: https://github.com/micw/freecad-automation

Is this robust enough to run headless? I'm thinking of sticking it in a Celery worker to generate parametric variants, but I'm not sure if the LLM output is reliable enough to run without that visual feedback loop.

The workflow here is:

1. 3D Model code generation

- generate the model via AI, using plain text - review the result (using FreeCad for visual feedback) - iterate until the model is fine - tell the AI which parameters shall be customizable

(see my tablet holder example, there I have parametes for a Huawei MediaPad and also for an old Samsung Galaxy Tab, both using the same model)

2. 3D Model export

This can be done entirely headless and it's very robust. No AI involved, only the python code previously generated by AI.

Currently a generic 3mf file is exported, so It needs to go though a slicer and you need to apply your printer's settings (printer type, nozzle type, all that stuff).

But the generated 3mf is just a ZIP with 3d model and the settings within. So this could also easily be automated.

Post by bborud » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 2:19 PM UTC

jijijijij wrote: post #76

bborud wrote: post #21

I would encourage people who have never designed physical objects before to try to only print things they have designed themselves as an exercise. For perhaps a year or so. If you have never designed physical objects before it is really challenging at first. The learning curve is pretty steep and, at least in my case, I discovered that I didn't have a mental language for thinking about functional 3D and mechanical de…

You can get pretty quickly at it with Blender instead of proper CAD. Just do the "donut tutorial", set the correct workspace dimensions and go for it. You can learn basic modelling in a day. Blender is overwhelming at first glance, but it becomes incredibly intuitive once the UI clicks. Of course modelling for printing in Blender has drawbacks and limitations. It's more fiddly, but unless you are super stupid, you ca…

Both Blender and Fusion have pretty steep learning curves, so you will have to dedicate a significant amount of time to get to the point where you can just sit down and go from an idea you have to something that is of use whatever you choose.

But.

The thing is that Blender and Fusion do not even exist in the same universe. If your goal is to make mechanical parts it doesn't help you to learn something that is only good at creating meshes. Just as there is little point to learning Fusion if you want to create 3D characters for, for instance, animation.

Everyone tends to start by making shapes, but if you are making 3d printed mechanical parts you soon realize you have to graduate to learning how to do CAD in general. If you are making mechanical parts you tend to deal with precise geometry and geometric relationships. It is usually 2D geometry that drives most of the design. CAD models are often also parametrized so that you can change dimensions, angles, multiples of features etc.

Re: A Year of 3D Printing

Re: A Year of 3D Printing