TextTango: Dual Letter Illusion

About this generator

TextTango is a free browser tool that turns two words into a dual letter illusion, often called a 3D ambigram. It is an open-source project by the maker Lucandia: each pair of letters is extruded, turned 90 degrees apart and intersected, so the finished piece reads as one word from one side and as the other word from a side at right angles to it. Its Printables project page has about 265 likes and more than 5,000 downloads.

You type the two words, which should be the same length and ideally all capitals, then pick a font size, a Google Font and its weight. Sliders set the gap between letters and the height, padding and corner rounding of the base plate, and an optional toggle adds small round pads under chosen letters. Buttons add card-suit symbols, music notes and pointer arrows. A render takes a few seconds, shows a 3D preview and gives you an STL or STEP file.

The STEP option helps if you want to add a hole or other detail in CAD later. The app runs on free Streamlit hosting, and the author warns it often crashes and can stay down for hours. Windows and macOS builds on GitHub run the same app on your own computer, but they are slow to start. It suits two-name gifts and desk curiosities.

What you can make

• Two-word 3D ambigram illusions
• Couple and family name pieces
• Desk ornaments with two names or words
• Word pairs with heart or card-suit symbols

How to use TextTango: Dual Letter Illusion

1. Open the TextTango web app
2. Type two words of the same length, in capitals
3. Pick a font, weight and size, then adjust letter spacing and the base
4. Click Render and check the 3D preview
5. Download the STL (or STEP) and slice it