Future plans for Printables.com (formerly PrusaPrinters.org)
I'd like to start by just saying a big thank you to the team for releasing Printables.com. It is fast becoming the thing that Thingiverse should have always been, and whilst there's still improvements to be made, it's already far better designed and built than Thingiverse ever was.
I just had a couple of suggestions and/or discussion points on features and changes to Printables.com that I feel would be a great step forwards for it!
- Allow design uploads for other file types
I understand that laser engraving/cutting isn't a feature yet offered by Prusa printers, but as Prusa has openly said that Printables is designed to be there for people regardless of what printer they have, I feel that allowing uploads of files for laser cutters would be a great step forward. Having a drop-down (defaulted to 3D printer) when creating a new design on there to select whether it's for a 3D printer or laser cutter would mean that they could easily be separated in search results. - Orientation suggestions
Generally it's pretty obvious which way up to print something that's been uploaded, but it's a question I've seen countless times. As Printables already features a 3D model viewing system, I was wondering if it would be possible so, once you've uploaded your STLs, you're given a 3D view of each of them with the option to select a side (Exactly like the "Place on face" option in Prusa Slicer). Then it generates an image of the files showing which orientation they should be printed in. - Stronger focus on community (Groups)
It may sound like a strange suggestion as I'm posting it on an already active forum, but I feel the forum is tucked away from the Printables environment and it doesn't always play into the sort of discussions going on there. There are obviously the groups, which is a great start, but there are a number of limiting factors on there that are holding them back.
I think it's great that you can add the location when creating a group for real world communities, but I feel rather than it being a requirement, you should be able to tick a box which says it's an "Online group". - Separate Makes & Comments
This one I'm a little surprised about. I'm not really sure why the decision was made to have makes and comments on a design indistinguishable from each other. Having a separate tab for each would make FAR more sense and would encourage community interactions in the comments discussions. - Print Settings
Now, I really like the flexibility and freedom Printables has with being able to structure the text however you like it, and with a nice built in mark down system. I especially like that users are then able to download a copy of it in PDF. I just wonder if there's some way that there could be more incentive for people to post print setting recommendations ?
On the whole though, I love it and it's definitely become my main focus for where I upload new designs now.
RE: Future plans for Printables.com (formerly PrusaPrinters.org)
On the orientation side of things, its always been possible to upload a PS project (.3mf) file. When you do that you can add all the details needed for your suggested orientation. You can also pre add in modifiers, paint on supports etc etc. This is a bit limited if the model/plate is quite detailed though as the website has trouble rendering it. Downloading and opening works though. For example https://www.printables.com/model/107821-dune-2021-crysknife (might as well use one of mine as an example 🙂 )
While opening someone else's project loads in all their settings including filament and printer its just a matter of a few seconds to select your printer and chosen filament from the dropdowns to put it into a form to slice on your setup.
RE: Future plans for Printables.com (formerly PrusaPrinters.org)
I would add a filter-able size of the object. I have P_Mini printer and quite often I found out that the object is bigger as my printer can print. This is bad mostly on objects that cannot be re-sized, like functional things.
RE: Future plans for Printables.com (formerly PrusaPrinters.org)
I really like the idea of it auto-registering the size of the largest uploaded file so you can filter things based on your pint area size.
RE: Future plans for Printables.com (formerly PrusaPrinters.org)
The ability to show gallery images by printer, if you want to gauge things like print quality (useful if you're looking for a new printer).
Also, the ability to filter creations by printer, if you're looking for specific upgrades.
RE: Future plans for Printables.com (formerly PrusaPrinters.org)
I would like to have:
+ when I look My 3D models I would like to sort them by Latest download or similar. Now I see that downloads SUM is growing but no idea which was the last one.(most active model)
+ see list of makes others made from my models on one place (like i can see makes I made for others)
I like Printables.com
RE: Future plans for Printables.com (formerly PrusaPrinters.org)
One thing I think that Prusa should disallow, or at least discourage, are 'prints' that are simply a link to another print site.
This afternoon I noticed some retro joystick models that looked interesting, as I play around with RetroPie occasionally.
I went to download and found not the model files for the joysticks, but one .stl for a trivial keychain or something, and a link to one of the 'usual suspect' other print sites.
On that site, LOL, I did not find the .stl files, but only .gcode print files for who knows what printer, plus, the same original trivial .stl file.