3D printing lets us manufacture, adapt, and repair all kinds of objects, but art holds a privileged place in this world. Miniatures of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty are very popular when it comes to creating a “first object” to evaluate how your printer works, but if you want to go a step further and turn your home into a global museum of plastic, then you need to visit the portal Scan the World, where you'll find free 3D models of sculptures and other objects of high cultural value.
The 3DBenchy project has become the “Hello World” of 3D printing. Once your printer is installed and configured, this little boat helps us check how the whole system works and detect problems, but from a certain point of view, 3DBenchy also works as a work of art. The rest depends on the user. A small Parthenon, a Moai from Easter Island, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum... if the model exists, its printing isn't far off.
So, where are those models? Who offers them? The first stop for any 3D printing enthusiast is Thingiverse, but it would be a very rude mistake on our part not to mention MyMiniFactory Scan the World, a project that started in June 2014. Its goal is to share representations of cultural artifacts from around the world, or rather, enable the download of free 3D models of sculptures.
Scan the World: Free 3D Models of Sculptures at a Click
Want Michelangelo's David? No problem. The bust of Nefertiti? It's within reach too. Discobolus, La Pietà, the Venus de Milo? They're all there, ready to be printed. Some models present a greater challenge, and others require complete intervention because of the number of supports they use. You'll have to correct and adjust a lot in those cases, but the final result is excellent.
As far as licenses are concerned, we've verified that the vast majority of models are very flexible. Some fall directly into the CC0 domain and require little attention. Others are Creative Commons with attribution, and you'll need to mention the author if you have a more elaborate project in mind. Finally, we come to MyMiniFactory's internal license, which may prohibit or allow remixing and commercial use, as well as limit hosting on other sites.
Obviously, Scan the World gives you the option to join the community with a free account, but it's not mandatory to access the free 3D models of sculptures. Explore their catalog, download, print, throw a couple of insults into the air when the print fails (!), and try again! Good luck!
Official site: Click here
