NASA 3D Resources have been a favorite place to start for the 3D printing community looking to create space-themed objects. There’s nothing like downloading an actual NASA model of the Apollo Lunar Module even though the model itself is not suitable for directly 3D printing without a lot of rework to find ways to print the thin features sturdy enough to print the module at a desktop 3D printing scale. I have printed hundreds of astronauts spacesuits and astronaut gloves from the same collection since around 2009 when many of these items were shared.
Well, recently NASA has taken steps to bring other types of models into their public free resources — asteroids, craters, etc., — and are taking additional steps to push these items more towards printable than in the past. They are offering both STL and Blender files for free download. This move is also paralleled by the rise of better and better affordable desktop machines that can potentially handle more of the surface features of the objects.
Even if you have checked out the NASA 3D models before, take a look at the new 3D Printing section and see if you spot something you’d like to try!
Our team’s goal is to provide a one-stop shop for 3D models, images, textures, and visualizations. We offer these assets for your use, free and without copyright. We recognize that the site is only as good as its contributors and thank them kindly.
We welcome feedback and comments. Tell us how you’re using our models, and let us know what you think: [email protected]
3D Printing
These .stl-formatted printable models are scaled to approximately 4 inches (100 mm) in the longest dimension.
We understand that 3D printing often involves trial and error. If you have to make adjustments or changes when printing these models, please share your experience with us:
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Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!