See It Before You Download It

By on February 24th, 2011 in Service

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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!  
 

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!

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