Seasonal · Father's Day, best from May 25 to Jun 21

Father's Day gifts to 3D print without CAD

You do not need CAD to 3D print a Father's Day gift. The generators below turn a name, a photo, a GPS track or a drawer of tools into a file for your slicer, and several of them run in a browser without an account. SkipTheCAD has not printed these models; what we say about each one comes from the tool's own page.

For his desk, the Designer Bee Text Flip Generator makes one block that reads Dad from the front and a second short word, such as his name, from the side. 3dprint.name turns his name into a desk sign or door plaque, and Make My Desk Organizer (MakerLab) lays out a pen holder or tray cell by cell. For the workshop, Binforge builds Gridfinity bins with cutouts traced from a photo of a tool on a sheet of paper, so screwdrivers and pliers get their own pockets.

Photos and places make the most personal prints. ItsLitho turns a family photo into a lithophane panel, lamp shade or night light insert. Terrain2STL turns his favorite mountain or island into a relief tile, and TopoTrail raises the GPX route of a hike, ride or run on the terrain around it. OrbitStudio Sky, which we make, charts the night sky over the place and date his child was born.

Smaller gifts include a license plate keychain for his car keys, guitar picks with his name on them, a set of coasters with a logo for his home bar and a two-tier award base with a name plate that reads Best Dad. The MakerWorld tools need a free MakerWorld login; the rest work in a browser without an account.

12 generators for Father's Day

Common questions

What can I 3D print for Father's Day without CAD?

A tool holder for his workshop, a desk name sign or a photo lithophane. Binforge makes Gridfinity bins shaped to his tools, 3dprint.name turns his name into a desk sign or door plaque, and ItsLitho turns a family photo into a lithophane panel or lamp shade. All three give free STL downloads with no account.

Can I print these Father's Day gifts on a single-color printer?

Yes, most of them. The Designer Bee text flip, ItsLitho lithophanes, Terrain2STL tiles and Binforge bins print in one color. The license plate keychain uses three colors in its 3MF but can also be printed in one color from the STL, and the guitar picks work in a single color too. The award base's name plate is printed separately, so it can go in a second color and be glued on, and the logo coaster example set uses four PLA colors and an AMS.

Can I make a Gridfinity tool holder without measuring his tools?

Yes. In Binforge you photograph a tool on a sheet of A4 or Letter paper and click it, and a model running in the browser traces the outline into a cutout, with no account. Tooltrace and Tracemate also work from a photo on paper but need an account; our guide to Gridfinity bins from a photo compares them.

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