I've designed a number of 3D models since I got a 3D printer and discovered OpenSCAD. Most of them were pretty niche, but I wanted to have a public place to share the code/documentation/notes/etc.

I started by putting the models on Thingiverse and then into a GitHub repo. Both were a faff, which meant I didn't bother. I also didn't really like that I was always using someone else’s servers. I wanted something easier, more engaging, more fun and under my control.

Being a developer, I obviously turned to building a little app. I wanted it to be simple and set about making a list of requirements:

• Easy to add to - Low barrier to entry
• Index is a grid of images, not even a title
• Automatically generate an image from the OpenSCAD source
• 3D viewer of the STL
• STL download
• Inline OpenSCAD source
• Short description
• Optional IRL pictures

I let the idea simmer for a bit and got building. I had a couple of goes at it, but something didn't feel right. I stepped back and realised that I was rebuilding this blog, the 3D model viewer, Markdown parsing, code highlighting, image sizing, etc.

It took me a couple of days to realise I didn't need another app. Each model would fit nicely as a blog post.

The time I'd spent wasn't wasted. Most of the work was in the templates and the OpenSCAD thumbnail renderer both of which were used.

It took a couple of hours to collect all the models together and create the posts but it felt good to have them all in one place. I also loved that there is now at least one post per year since I started the blog back in 2015. All the new posts are tagged with <3D MODEL>, and there is a gallery which links to each post.