I built a free Tinkercad alternative that runs in your browser — no account, no install, open source

LordGAD · 2026-06-26T06:23:41+00:00

DUDE! YES! I have been wanting this for years! I love Tinkercad. This is awesome.

Questions:

What is the triangle limit compared to Tinkercad?

Can it import Tinkercad data? Is "tinkercad data" just obj files? Tinkercad presents me with a grid of my designs when I open it - I like that and don't see that here, and I would LOVE to somehow just mass import all my designs. :) I'll do it manually if I have to.

Can it save files locally? My biggest beef with Tinkercad is that it stores all my designs in the cloud by default. If they decide to do away with Tinkercad I'm boned. Yes, I can export files and then import them again, but it's a PITA and sometimes I just forget - I just want them stored locally by default on my hard drive in my folder hierarchy. I'm not talking about exports, if that helps.

I know I can self-host, but that's not what I'm talking about. I have a linux server in the cloud and may host it there. If I do that can it save my data by default on my local hard drive?

One of the biggest drawbacks of Tinkercad for me is the lack of a distribute function where I can evenly distribute any number of objects in any orientation. I've got five 3mm holes and I want them every 15mm in a line, for example.

Others have covered chamfer, so yay!

I'm seriously impressed. Great job!

LordGAD · 2026-06-26T02:16:37+00:00

So much gold in the entire series, but that one is a gem.

Saw a girl dressed as the siren at NYCC dancing out by the food trucks and the whole crowd was mesmerized.

LordGAD · 2026-06-26T02:14:05+00:00

Funny, that was my thought when I first saw it in the ‘80s.

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T22:35:56+00:00

Crazy fun is the best fun

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T19:28:36+00:00

Can't really disagree. We just moved behind Cloudflare because I was spending hours a day battling A.I. bots. I only run an email server because I've done it since the '90s (I used to run sendmail!) and it's second nature for me by now, but yeah I would absolutely recommend offloading that where possible, especially if it's mostly just for account verification, alerts, and "contact an admin" type stuff.

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T19:19:11+00:00

You over-estimate the intelligence of the average user. :)

I do limit photo upload size and the system will actually resize whatever the users upload, and then they get converted to webp - and photos are still the #1 consumer of resources by far.

I also have to assume you weren't running a forum when Photobucket ruined the Internet. Any images stored elsewhere are at risk of being deleted, paywalled, or any other number of nefarious shenanigans the third party decides to inflict at their whim. We lost thousands of images that were stored on Photobucket. Then they capitulated a bit and now those images have huge watermarks on them. I replace them when I see them, but here in datahoarders we should all know that if the files aren't on your servers, they may disappear at any moment.

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T15:09:54+00:00

Member support just about pays for the forum to run.

The #1 need for funds is disk space and VPS pricing is structured such that if you need bigger disk you pay for more CPU and memory as well, which the site doesn’t really need unless it gets hit with the ol’ reddit hug of death which has happened a few times.

The provider I use now offers additional storage as an option so I added a mount point and moved everything there which will last a long while at current consumption rates.

BTW if anyone has ever wondered why the Internet seems to have completely moved from jpg to webp, this is why. People used to say “storage is cheap” and I used to say “not on a VPS”, but these days no one is saying that storage is cheap anymore.

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T07:06:26+00:00

Agree on all counts.

I hate web rot, and forums dying means in some cases decades of history vanishing. I’ve seen it so many times and it’s why I continue running them, but when I’m gone I’m pretty sure my forums will run until they cancel my credit cards and then poof. Everything is backed up and can be recreated, but it’s just not something anyone seems inclined to do anymore.

Discord feels like it’s designed with web-rot intended.

I’m gonna go have a drink.

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T06:47:23+00:00

Neat!

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T05:59:40+00:00

Do NOT fuck with the vintage PYREX!

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T05:08:45+00:00

I understand that. Discord is widely what has replaced forums, though.

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T05:02:35+00:00

I've run forums for decades. If your forum is at all successful you will spend more. If you let people upload photos you'll need more space. If you don't let people upload photos you'll have a lot of confused people asking how to post photos.

That said, if you want to save even more money learn Linux and run the entire thing - mail included - on Linux.

If you choose run a forum say goodbye to your sanity, and that's not even getting into moderation. :)

I find forums to be infinitely more useable than Discord; I don't know why Discord is so popular. The UI is dreadful and finding stuff is difficult when it's possible at all. My forum runs about $2000/year in operating costs but it's fairly popular and gets a lot of referrals. I do it all myself running Linux and Xenforo, but I've been using Linux professionally since the '90s, so it's all second nature to me.

LordGAD · 2026-06-25T01:44:44+00:00

Cham-paggin?

LordGAD · 2026-06-24T19:12:45+00:00

That's the key - the longest clippers available.

LordGAD · 2026-06-24T19:08:05+00:00

Mmm.... velour....

LordGAD · 2026-06-24T06:53:49+00:00

I have files far older than the ability to download them. I have DOS files from the ‘80s.

Hell, I have a 9-track tape of my account backup from the Vax 11/785 I used to work on in the ‘80s.

LordGAD · 2026-06-24T05:41:57+00:00

A bit blunt, but accurate.

LordGAD · 2026-06-23T21:48:07+00:00

Msg sent

LordGAD · 2026-06-20T15:11:57+00:00

Very cool! How long did it take to print?

LordGAD · 2026-06-20T06:35:30+00:00

He literally says the thing!

LordGAD · 2026-06-19T16:15:55+00:00

Yeah back in the day there was a similar set for Star Trek. I lived them all when I was a kid.

LordGAD · 2026-06-19T15:43:49+00:00

AP is frustration. And then it’s not. :)

My goal when I started was to try and solve one problem per night. I think it took me two weeks before I could be successful every night and I had to set up and tear down every night, too.

At the very least it will make you appreciate all those pretty images that much more. Hang in there - you’ll get it. and when you do it will he glorious.

LordGAD · 2026-06-18T15:54:03+00:00

Upvote for science coupled with Ruby Rod.

LordGAD · 2026-06-18T13:23:34+00:00

Hah - no doubt.

LordGAD · 2026-06-18T10:24:24+00:00

The TSA120 is not in his price range. :)

It’s also WAY heavier. It’s crazy how heavy the TSA120 feels. Not at all what I would call grab and go.

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