One of the most challenging steps in 3D printing can actually come before any printing happens. Learning how to 3D model can be exhausting, fun, and, overall, time-consuming. But what if you could cut it short — by building on others’ designs, and using a simple, intuitive interface to create 3D printable objects? We’re working hard to make it just that easy, which is why we’ve partnered up with VECTARY. The free online 3D modeling tool makes it easier than ever for you — or anyone with an idea — to turn that idea into a 3D printed object.

VECTARY lives in your browser, so there’s no need to download anything. And, since anything shared publicly on VECTARY falls under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license (CC BY-NC-SA), you don’t have to start from scratch. You can reuse and remix things, as long as you say where they came from and don’t use them for commercial purposes.

And, the most exciting part for us: now you can order a 3D print from Shapeways without leaving VECTARY. Shapeways will make sure your model is 3D printable, let you choose your preferred material, and give you a price estimate:

Then, a few days later, it’s more than just a design:

Here’s a video that shows how it works:

 

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking you through a simple set of tutorials to help you make the most of VECTARY, so stay tuned. Do you already use VECTARY? Let us know about your experience with the tool in the comments below.