Free

NIH 3D Quick Submit

Turns a PDB, AlphaFold, PubChem or EMDB ID into printable protein and molecule models

NIH 3D Quick Submit is a free browser tool for classroom protein and molecule models. Free government service with no paid tier; generating a model needs a free NIH 3D account, while browsing and downloading existing entries does not. Exports STL and GLB. Last checked 26 September 2026.

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Opens 3d.nih.gov

At a glance

Price: Free government service with no paid tier; generating a model needs a free NIH 3D account, while browsing and downloading existing entries does not
Runs on: Browser
Exports: STL, GLB
Multicolor: No, single color
Account: Required to download
Open source: No
Skill level: Beginner: fill in a form
Best for: Classroom protein and molecule models
Selling prints: Allowed Quick Submit entries for PDB 2A5H, AlphaFold Q7KRU8 and PubChem 69437 carry CC BY 4.0, so selling prints is allowed with credit to NIH 3D; check the license on each entry, since user uploads can differ
How we checked: Read the tool page and docs Quick Submit redirects to sign-in; the PDB 2A5H entry it made lists ribbon and surface -print STLs with _mr repaired copies, CC BY 4.0
Last checked: 26 September 2026

Open generator

Sources: NIH 3D Workflows (Quick Submit sources and output formats), NIH 3D FAQs (accounts, DOIs and creator credit), Example Quick Submit entry, PDB 2A5H (CC BY 4.0) (checked 26 September 2026)

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What is NIH 3D Quick Submit?

NIH 3D Quick Submit is a free browser tool that turns an ID from a public science database into 3D models of proteins and molecules you can print. It sits inside NIH 3D, the biomedical model library run by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. You do not draw anything: you enter a four-character PDB code, a UniProt ID for an AlphaFold prediction, a PubChem compound number or an EMDB density map number, and NIH 3D fetches the structure, builds the meshes with UCSF ChimeraX and its own presets, and fills in the metadata.

Each result comes in several versions. Files marked -print have thicker ribbons or surfaces and extra support features so they hold together on a printer, while -vis files are meant for screens. Proteins get ribbon and surface styles colored by chain, secondary structure, hydrophobicity and more, small molecules get space-filling, ball-and-stick and stick models, and AlphaFold entries add a high-confidence cut. Single-color print versions come as STL, with a mesh-repaired copy marked _mr; color versions come as GLB, X3D or WRL.

Generating needs a free account, and each model becomes an NIH 3D entry, credited to NIH 3D, with a DOI that you cannot edit. Browsing and downloading entries that already exist needs no account. It suits biology teachers, students and science communicators who want an accurate molecule they can hold.

What you can make

Protein ribbon models from PDB codes
Molecular surface models
AlphaFold predicted structures
Ball-and-stick and space-filling small molecules from PubChem
Cryo-EM density map surfaces from EMDB

How to use NIH 3D Quick Submit

Search NIH 3D for your molecule first; existing entries download without an account
To make a new one, sign in with a free account and open Submit, then Quick Submit
Enter a PDB code, AlphaFold UniProt ID, PubChem CID or EMDB number
When the entry is built, download a -print version as STL
Slice it with supports and print

What you'll need to print it

Filament and parts that suit what you make with NIH 3D Quick Submit.

White PLA

Matte PLA

Resin

Siraya Tech Fast ABS-like Resin (affiliate link) Siraya Tech
Siraya Tech Blu Tough Resin (affiliate link) Siraya Tech

Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. More about that

NIH 3D Quick Submit pros

Free, run by the NIH, and all you type is one database ID
Separate -print versions with thickened ribbons and support features, plus a mesh-repaired STL copy by default
Covers four large databases (PDB, AlphaFold, PubChem and EMDB), and entries other people already made download without an account

NIH 3D Quick Submit cons

Needs a free account, and each model you generate becomes an NIH 3D entry that you cannot edit
STL is only offered for single-color versions; color files are GLB, X3D or WRL, with no multi-part 3MF for filament color changes
You have to know the ID, obsolete PDB codes are rejected, and PubChem compounds without a 3D structure will not work