Locked, so it can't move or change by accident. You can still build on top of it.
Cuts this hole into the shape it's in.
W
D
H
Wall
R
Working…
Pattern
Slice
Drag a shape onto the plate to start!
My projects
Pick up where you left off, or start something new. Projects are saved on this computer.
Keep a copy safe, or move a project to another computer:
For grown-ups
BlockBuddy 3D lets children design things to 3D print. They build from simple shapes, cut holes, check the model, and download a file for the printer.
Privacy
No accounts, no ads, no tracking. BlockBuddy doesn't collect anything about your child.
Projects are saved inside this browser, on this computer only. Nothing is uploaded.
Clearing the browser's history or site data deletes saved projects. To keep one safe or move it to another computer, use My projects > Save to a file.
Helping your child
New to it? Press Learn at the top. Buddy walks your child through moving, stretching and turning a shape, with a hand that shows each move.
Drag shapes onto the plate. Pick one, then use Move, Stretch or Turn (just under the shape) to change it, or Mirror to flip it. With Stack on, a shape dragged onto another sticks to whichever side it lands on. Join makes several shapes into one; Take apart undoes it. To cut with a hole shape, press Cut it out. Slice cuts a shape in two along a flat sheet you slide and tilt. Pattern makes lots of copies in a row, or round in a circle (drag the orange pin to set the middle; handy for spokes, petals and gear teeth). In Edges mode, the rainbow Any colour bar picks a colour that isn't one of the filament spools. Text has six kinds of Letters, and text dragged onto the side of a cylinder bends round it (or use the Bend slider). Hide puts a shape out of the way for now (hidden shapes don't print; Show brings them back), and Lock stops it moving by accident. The Ruler (R) measures between any two spots: corners snap on. Inside makes a shape hollow (closed, or with the top open like a cup), with walls as thick as you choose.
Draw has Draw freely and Straight lines (click corners; lines within 2° of level or upright snap straight). Import opens STL and OBJ models from other apps or model sites. Very detailed models are simplified to about 15,000 triangles, and a model with gaps in its surface can't be opened. Big models can fill the browser's storage for My projects; if so, Buddy says so, and Save to a file still works.
Make a shape a Hole to cut it out of whatever it touches.
The Edges button at the top adds rounded, bevelled and sloped edges for older children.
Mistakes are fine: Undo (Ctrl+Z) goes back a step.
Buddy, the little helper in the corner, cheers your child on. Clicking him points out problems such as floating parts, then gives ideas of things to build.
Settings
Buddy helperThe little helper in the corner. Turn him off for a plain hint box.
Buddy's voiceLittle robot chirps when he talks. Turn off for a quiet classroom.
GraphicsSpeedy is for slower computers: a plainer bench and fewer pixels, so moving things stays smooth. Auto picks it by itself if things get slow.
Printing
When the model is finished, the big Check it! button finds problems such as floating parts or walls too thin to print, and fixes most of them in one click.
Then Print it! downloads a .3mf file with colours, or a .stl. Open it in Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, Cura or another slicer.
One colour at a time splits the model into single-colour pieces with pegs. If one piece would be trapped on another (like filament wound on a spool between its two ends), the outer piece has an end cut off with pegs, and the panel says what order to put them together in.
Printer nozzles and beds get very hot. Children should print with a grown-up nearby.
Support the developer
BlockBuddy is free. If it's useful to your family or class, you can help keep it going.