Thingiverse

Thingiverse is a website dedicated to the sharing of digital design files created by users. The site, which primarily offers free, open-source hardware designs licensed under the GNU General Public License or the Creative Commons license, allows contributors to choose a user license type for the designs they share. 3D printers, laser cutters, milling machines, and a variety of other technologies can be used to physically create files shared by Thingiverse users. Thingiverse is popular in the DIY technology and Maker communities, as well as among 3D printer and MakerBot owners. Thingiverse is used by a number of technical projects as a repository for collaborative innovation and public dissemination of source materials. Many of the object files are designed for repair, decoration, or organization.

Thingiverse was founded in November 2008 by Zach Smith as a companion site to MakerBot Industries, a manufacturer of DIY 3D printer kits. Stratasys purchased Makerbot and Thingiverse in 2013. Thingiverse received an Honorable Mention in the category of Digital Communities at the 2010 ARS Electronica, Prix Ars Electronica international cyber-arts competition. Thingiverse had 25,000 designs as of November 2012; by June 2013, the total had surpassed 100,000. On July 19, 2014, the 400,000th Thing was released.

Ultimaker owns the site, which was previously owned by MakerBot Industries and run by one of its founders, Bre Pettis, in Brooklyn, New York. Thingiverse's terms of service require users not to include content that "contributes to the creation of weapons, illegal materials, or is otherwise objectionable". Thingiverse removed an uploaded design for an entirely 3D-printed gun in 2012. In response, the gun's creators created the website DEFCAD, which is intended to host Thingiverse's "censored" files.

Website: thingiverse.com