Research Guides: 3D Printing Resources and Tools: 3D Model Libraries

Download a Pre-Existing 3D Design

Online libraries of 3D design files offer designs in a range of formats. The following offer free downloads often licensed under Creative Commons open access licenses. Note that not all files uploaded to these sites have been tested for quality. Please read usage guidelines.

BodyParts3D
A dictionary-type database for anatomy in which anatomical concepts are represented by 3D structure data that specify corresponding segments of a 3D whole-body model for an adult human male.
Dentistry Library - Ready-to-use 3D files
A list of sources for dentistry-related 3d design files, prepared by the U of T Dentistry Library. Some sources charge a fee for download.
Dalhousie University - 3D model repository
Browse and download a small collection of primarily marine 3D models created by the Dalhousie University community.
Gear Generator
Gear Generator is a tool for creating involute spur gears and downloading them in SVG format. In addition, it lets you compose full gear layouts with connected gears to design multiple gear systems with control of the input/output ratio and rotation speed. Opera and Firefox are the most compatible browsers.
Makers Making Change
Makers Making Change has an open source library of 3D models for assistive devices and technology solutions.
NASA 3D Resources
NASA's collection of aerospace and astronomy 3D models, textures, and images are free to download and use.
NIH 3D Print Exchange
NIH 3D is an open, community-driven portal to download, share, and create bioscientific and medical 3D models for 3D printing and interactive 3D visualization, including virtual and augmented reality.
Printables 3D models database
A 3D model library maintained by the Prusa 3D printer research group. Contains user-generated designs for popular items in a range of categories. Files can be sliced for printing on Prusa printers from this platform.
Smithsonian X 3D
Smithsonian X 3D content from Smithsonian museums can be browsed or searched by collection, such as sports, portraiture, fashion, and outer space. High resolution mesh files can be downloaded in OBJ format and converted to STL for use in 3D modelling or printing software.
Thingiverse
Browse the world's largest 3D design community for discovering, printing, and sharing 3D models. Join over 130,000 community members in downloading, sharing, and remixing 3D designs.

Open-Access Medical Image Repositories

Online libraries of medical imaging datasets in a range of formats (2D, 3D, and 4D) for various specialized applications. The following repositories offer free downloads, some requiring registration with a university email. Please review the usage guidelines for each source.

The Allen Brain Map
An interactive resource on high-resolution datasets of the brain structure, gene expression maps, connectivity data, and neuroanatomical models across various species. Developed by the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
Awesome DICOM Repositories
Collection of resources related to the DICOM standard for handling, storing, and transmitting medical imaging data. A one-stop reference for finding open-source projects, tutorials, and software packages that help in building applications and workflows around medical imaging. An open-sourced contribution.
Cancer Imaging Archive - National Institutes of Health
The Cancer Imaging Archive includes a large archive of medical images of cancer for public download. Part of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's Cancer Imaging Program.
Cell Centered Database
A collection of high-resolution 2D, 3D, and 4D data from light and electron microscopy, including 3D reconstructions of cellular ultrastructure. This page is part of the University of California, San Diego Library’s Digital Collections.
Hugging Face
A search engine of trending datasets, an example illustrated here relates to CT scans. Community-contributed datasets for research in radiology, computer vision, and machine learning applications.
Imaging Data Commons - National Institutes of Health
A diverse range of cancer-related imaging data: CT, MRI, and PET, linking imaging datasets with complementary clinical, genomic, and pathology data. Provided by the National Cancer Institute’s Data Commons initiative.
Medical images - NYU Health Sciences Library
The page aggregates links to various external medical image repositories, databases, and search tools that cover areas such as radiology, anatomy, and pathology. Part of the New York University.
MedPix
A free, online medical image database of clinical images organized by disease location (organ system); pathology category; patient profiles; and image classification. Maintained by the National Library of Medicine.
Open-Access Medical Image Repositories - Aylward.org
A comprehensive, curated directory of publicly available medical imaging resources and links to various open-access databases and image collections. It’s a roadmap for various 3D libraries and datasets from modalities like MRI, CT, and radiological scans to support detailed anatomical reconstructions for research, education, and clinical reference. Organized by Stephen R. Aylward, Ph.D.
Open-i
A search engine for open-access biomedical images sourced from peer-reviewed journals, clinical studies, and textbooks. Provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Pilot European Image Processing Archive
Collection of benchmarking databases for evaluating image processing, with a section for specialized medical applications. Hosted by the University of Essex’s PEIPA project.

Research Guides

3D Printing Resources and Tools: 3D Model Libraries

Download a Pre-Existing 3D Design

Open-Access Medical Image Repositories

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