Finding and using models
Where to find models
There are several popular web sites used to publish models. Many, if not most, models on these sites are available for free under Creative Commons licenses.
- Printables by Prusa. This is where I publish models I've made or remixed.
- Thingiverse by UltiMaker. Thingiverse has been around longer than many other sites and has a wide selection of models.
- Thangs, with models both on their own site and search results from Printables, Thingiverse, and other sites
- Yeggi, a model search aggregator with search results from Printables, Thingiverse, and other sites
Licensing and permissions
When a creator publishes a 3D model, they choose a license which describes what other people are allowed to do with that model.
Free models published on the above sites are nearly always published under permissive open source licenses. These are usually Creative Commons licenses or sometimes open source software licenses such as the GNU General Public License.
Info
Usually you can download and print a model for yourself with no restrictions. Most models require you to give the creator credit if you re-share or modify the model, and some creators do not allow people to print and sell copies of their models without permission.
Finding model licenses
A model's license is displayed on the model's web page.
License examples
Tip
Click on the various tabs to see each of the examples.
Public domain permissions (no restrictions)
Creative Commons Attribution license permissions. If you share the model, you must give credit to the author (for example, by linking to the model page).
Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike license permissions. If you share the model, you must share under the same license and give credit to the author (for example, by linking to the model page).
Creative Commons Attribution - Non-commercial - Share Alike license permissions. You may not sell copies or prints of this model without permission from the author. If you share the model, you must give credit to the author (for example, by linking to the model page).
Creative Commons Attribution - No Derivatives license permissions. If you share the model, you must not make any changes to the model and you must give credit to the author (for example, by linking to the model page).
GNU General Public License (v2) license permissions. If you share the model, you must give credit to the author (for example, by linking to the model page).