Methodology

How we check and rank generators

What we actually do before a generator goes on the site, what we don't do, and how to tell us when something has changed.

Every one of the 550 generators on SkipTheCAD was looked at one tool at a time and written up from its own pages and docs. For each one we record what it exports, whether you need an account to download and what it costs. We re-check every tool's links with a script that we run by hand, most recently on 26 September 2026. The popularity order is our own estimate, and nobody can pay for a place in it.

What gets listed

  • No CAD skills needed. You type, click, drag sliders or upload an image. Tinkercad, Fusion, Blender and writing OpenSCAD code yourself don't count, however beginner-friendly they are. A tool that opens a ready-made .scad file in a form with sliders does count.
  • It makes a file you can print. STL, 3MF or another format a slicer can open. The tool builds the model for you from your input, so a single static model on a download site is not a generator.
  • It is available today. No waiting lists and no tools that only exist as an announcement.
  • Listings are free. Anyone can suggest a generator, including its maker, and it goes through the same check as everything else.

How far we checked each tool

Not every tool gets the same depth of check, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. Each listing is marked with one of four levels, from most to least thorough. The counts below are taken from the listings every time the site is built.

  1. Printed None yet

    We made a file with the tool and printed it ourselves.

  2. Generated a file 43 tools

    We ran the generator and downloaded the file it made, but have not printed it.

  3. Opened the generator 246 tools

    We loaded the generator itself and noted its controls, limits and export options, but did not make and download a file.

  4. Read the page and docs 261 tools

    We read the tool's own page, documentation, pricing page or model description, but did not run the generator. Usually it sits behind a sign-in or is a desktop app. For a few tools behind a sign-in we also used the maker's forum announcements or recent articles about the tool.

A check level says how far our check went, not how good the tool is. When we print from a tool, its level changes to Printed. Where the check turned up a concrete detail, such as a character limit or the number of free fonts, it goes into a short note on the tool page (every listing has one).

Whatever the level, every listing records the same facts:

  • which file formats the tool exports,
  • whether you need an account before you can download a file (273 of the 550 tools do),
  • the price and plan limits, as the vendor's own pages showed them on the day of the check,
  • where it runs (browser, desktop, MakerWorld), whether it does multicolor and whether it is open source.

Prices and limits can change after we check them. The vendor's own page always wins.

Generators move, get renamed or shut down. We re-run a script, check-urls.mjs, regularly by hand. It is not automated. It requests the main link and the generator link of every listing and saves the answers in a report.

The last sweep ran on . It checked 531 links for 420 of the 550 tools listed today: 335 answered normally, 196 were blocked by bot protection or rate limits (189 of them on MakerWorld, which blocks automated requests) and none were dead. Since then, 130 tools were added or got a new link. The next sweep checks them.

A blocked answer does not mean a tool is gone: those pages usually work fine in a normal browser. A dead link means we open the tool again, then update the listing or take it off the site.

What "Last checked" means

The "Last checked" date on a tool page is the day we last went through that listing against the tool's live pages. It is not the date of the link sweep, which only shows that a link still answers.

How "Most popular" is ordered

Lists sorted by "Most popular", including category pages and the default order on all generators, use a popularity score from 1 to 5. It is an editorial estimate of how well known a tool is among makers, not a formula, and it is not a quality score. We set it from what we could see when we checked the tool: likes, downloads and customizations on MakerWorld model pages, stars on GitHub for open-source tools, and how often the tool comes up in maker communities and forums.

On a category page, tools whose main category it is come first, then tools that also fit it. Within each group the order is by popularity.

A 5 is a tool most makers have heard of. A 1 is a small or new tool with little visible use so far, which can still be the best pick for your job. Of the 550 tools, 12 score 5, 49 score 4, 141 score 3, 137 score 2 and 211 score 1. Ties are sorted A to Z.

What the skill level means

Every listing has a skill level from 1 to 3. It describes the tool, not the print: how much you need to understand before you get a good file out of it.

  1. Beginner: fill in a form. Type some text or upload an image, change a few fields and download. (223 tools)
  2. Easy: a few settings to tune. Sizes, tolerances or layer options where the defaults may need changing for your printer or your parts. (290 tools)
  3. Some learning curve. Many options, or some background knowledge such as gear terms or exact board measurements. (37 tools)

Examples of level 3: HueForge, Gear Generator by Koolm and Underware 2.0 Cable Management Customizer.

Tools we make ourselves

SkipTheCAD is run by SimplySolid3D, which also makes OrbitStudio and OrbitStudio Sky. Both carry a "Made by us" label on the card and the tool page. They use the same template as every other listing, with the same facts and a list of cons.

Our own tools get no boost in the rankings. Their popularity scores (OrbitStudio: 3, OrbitStudio Sky: 2) were set the same way as everyone else's, and lists sorted by "Most popular" place them by that score. The one exception is the homepage, which has a spotlight box for OrbitStudio, labelled "Made by us", because it is ours.

Some links on the site are affiliate links: if you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That never decides whether a tool is listed, what its cons say or where it sits in a list. A tool maker cannot pay for a listing or a better score. How affiliate links are marked is explained on the affiliate disclosure page.

Corrections

Every tool page has a "Something out of date? Let us know" link. It opens an email to us with the tool's name already in the subject. You can also write to hello@skipthecad.com directly. Tool makers are welcome to correct facts about their own product. When a correction checks out against the tool's own pages, we update the listing and its "Last checked" date.

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