3DScanner

A straightforward tool that helps you find trending 3D models across multiple platforms. Think of it as your personal scout for the 3D printing world.

What This Does

You want to know what's trending in 3D printing, right? This script checks MakerWorld, Printables, and Thingiverse for you and pulls together all the popular models in one place. No more jumping between websites.

Why You Might Find This Useful

Here are a few problems that come to my mind that this solves:

• Spotting trends early - See what's getting popular before it blows up
• Finding gaps in the market - Compare what's available across platforms
• Saving time - One scan instead of browsing three different sites
• Tracking over time - Save daily results and watch how trends change

Getting Started

What You Need

• Python 3.7 or newer
• A few Python packages (we'll install them in a second)
• Chrome or Firefox (for sites that need a browser)

Setting It Up

First, grab the packages you need:

pip install requests beautifulsoup4 selenium webdriver-manager

That's it. You're ready to go.

Running It

Just run the script:

python 3DScanner.py

You'll see a menu that walks you through everything.

How It Works

When you start the script, it asks which browser you prefer (Chrome or Firefox). Pick one, and you're in.

The Menu

1. Scan MakerWorld - Check Bambu Lab's model platform
2. Scan Printables - Check Prusa's platform
3. Scan Thingiverse - Check the OG 3D model site
4. Scan everything - Hit all three at once
5. See what we found - View your results in a nice table
6. Save results - Export to CSV on your Desktop
7. Load previous scan - Pick up where you left off
8. Clear everything - Start fresh
9. Exit - Close the app

Picking Categories

Each platform has different categories. When you scan, you can pick specific ones:

• Art
• Tools
• Toys & Games
• Household
• Fashion
• And more...

Or just grab everything with "All."

Sorting Options

You decide how the models get sorted:

• Trending/Hot - What's popular right now
• Newest - Fresh uploads
• Most downloaded - Proven winners
• Most liked - Community favorites

A Few Things Worth Knowing

About MakerWorld

MakerWorld loads everything with JavaScript, so the script needs to open an actual browser in the background. Takes a bit longer (maybe 15-20 seconds), but it works. Without Selenium installed, you won't be able to scan MakerWorld at all.

About the Data

Some info might not be available depending on what the site shows publicly:

• Download and like counts don't always show up
• Author names might say "Unknown" if they're not on the page
• The script grabs what it can see without logging in

Where Files Go

When you save results, they land on your Desktop with a date stamp:

3DScanner_Results_2025-01-15.csv

Open it in Excel, Google Sheets, or whatever you prefer.

Problems That Come to Mind

"It says Selenium isn't installed"

Run this:

pip install selenium webdriver-manager

"Chrome/Firefox won't start"

Make sure you have the actual browser installed on your computer, not just the driver. The script handles the driver automatically.

"MakerWorld isn't finding anything"

A couple things could be happening:

• The site might have changed their layout (happens sometimes)
• Your connection might be slow - try waiting a bit longer
• Try a different browser option

"Thingiverse is acting weird"

Thingiverse can be finicky. The script tries three different approaches automatically. If none work, their site might be having problems on their end.

What's in the CSV

When you save, you get these columns:

Column	What It Means
source	Which platform (MakerWorld, Printables, Thingiverse)
name	Model name
author	Who made it
url	Direct link to the model
model_id	Platform's ID for the model
downloads	Download count (when available)
likes	Like count (when available)
comments	Comment count (when available)
date_scraped	When you grabbed this data
category	Which category you searched

A Quick Example

Say you want to find trending toys across all platforms:

1. Run the script
2. Pick option 4 (Scan everything)
3. Choose how many models you want (30 is a good start)
4. Wait for it to finish
5. At first Pick option 6 to save results
6. Then Pick option 5 to see results (It gives you an excel file on your desktop)

Now you've got a spreadsheet with trending toys from three platforms. Compare them, spot patterns, find opportunities.

Good to Know

This tool is meant for personal research. Be reasonable with how often you scan - these platforms have servers to maintain, and hammering them with requests isn't cool.

Also, what you do with the data is up to you, but respect the model creators and the platforms' terms of service.

Questions?

If something's broken or confusing, the code is pretty readable. Take a look at the comments - they explain what each part does.

Happy model hunting!