See It Before You Download It

Content is king once you have a 3D printer. You need things to print, after all! But one of the main repositories for free printable 3D models, Thingiverse, has prepared a wonderful upgrade to their service: 3D viewing of models - before you print them!

 

While there are a ton of models at Thingiverse, it's sometimes difficult to understand what they are because the associated picture is taken poorly or the model itself doesn't lend itself to 2D rendering. The new Thingiview javascript feature solves this entirely by showing you a rotating 3D view of the object in question. Here are the key features:

 

• Solid or wireframe views
• Instant X, Y, Z or perspective view
• Smooth automatic rotation
• Near instant use by clicking a button on the item's image.

 

Sounds great, but is there a catch? Yes! Your browser must be WebGL-enabled. This means you must have a really recent version of Chrome, Firefox or Safari, and for heaven's sake, put away that old Internet Explorer version 6!  

 

Via Thingiverse