Makerables
Makera’s project site at makerables.com, where desktop CNC and 3D printing meet: every project is free, and each one carries its NC programs and CAM projects beside the model files they were cut from. Projects and their files are anyone’s to read; the projects you saved are yours alone to see.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Sign-in | None to import; your own Makerables sign-in adds the projects you saved |
| Thingport Grab | Recommended — it sends your sign-in as you visit makerables.com |
| FlareSolverr | Not used |
| Imports | Projects; your saved projects, synced too; its categories |
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Makerables is a site over a REST API of its own, which Thingport reads the way its own pages do.
- Projects. Paste a project link (
https://www.makerables.com/project/<name>) in Thingport, or import it from the project page with Grab. Its page carries the description and the post-processing notes, the whole gallery, the tags, the creator and its categories. - Which files. A project keeps its files on three tabs: NC Files (the toolpaths a machine cuts), CAM Files
(the CAM project they came out of) and Model Files (the CAD and mesh files everything else was made from).
Thingport imports the Model Files — the
.step,.stpand.stla slicer or a CAD program takes, and zips of them, unpacked. The other two tabs hold machine files no slicer reads, so they’re left where they are. A project whose Model Files tab holds only pictures or a native CAD format has nothing to import, and says so. - No sign-in needed. The files sit on Makerables’ own CDN, open to anyone with the link, so an import needs no account at all.
- Saved projects. The Saved tab of your profile is Makerables’ only list, and only you can see it, so Thingport
reads it with your sign-in. Import it in one go, or sync it so new saves follow. The tab has no address of its own on
the site — it lives in the page, not the URL — so Thingport keeps it as
.../user/<your id>?tab=saved. Likes are counted but never listed anywhere, so Thingport can’t read them. - Categories. A project says which of Makerables’ categories it is in, parent and child, and Thingport maps those onto your own.
- Browse tab. With your sign-in, the sync dialog lists your saved projects.
Setup: your sign-in
Section titled “Setup: your sign-in”Per-user (Configuration → Providers → Makerables), and only for your saved projects — importing needs none.
Makerables signs you in with Auth0, which keeps the session in a __session cookie, split across __session__0,
__session__1, … when it outgrows one. Thingport keeps them, and asks the site for the access token its API takes,
exactly as its own pages do on every page load.
Easiest: Thingport Grab
Section titled “Easiest: Thingport Grab”With Thingport Grab allowed on Makerables, opening makerables.com while you’re signed in connects your account, and sends a new sign-in whenever you sign in there again.
Manual: copy it from your browser
Section titled “Manual: copy it from your browser”- Sign in at makerables.com.
- Open DevTools (
F12, orCmd+Option+Ion macOS) and go to the Network tab. - Reload the page, click any request to
www.makerables.comand find its Cookie request header. - Copy the whole header value.
- Right-click Makerables in Configuration → Providers, choose Connect and paste it.
Compare with other providers
Section titled “Compare with other providers”| Provider | Sign-in | Thingport Grab | FlareSolverr | Collections | Likes | Sync | Print profiles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MakerablesThis page | Yours, for saved projects only | Recommended | Not needed | Saved | No | Yes | No |
 MakerWorld | Your cookie | Recommended | Optional | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
 Printables | None | Optional1 | Recommended | Yes | Yes1 | Yes | No |
 Thingiverse | Admin’s App Token | Optional | Recommended | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
 MyMiniFactory | Admin’s API key, yours for paid | Optional | Recommended | Yes | No | Yes | No |
 Snapmaker Space | Yours, for a day | Recommended2 | Not needed | Bookmarks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 MakerOnline | Yours, for likes only | Required | Not needed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 Creality Cloud | Yours, for a week | Recommended | Not needed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 NexPrint | Yours | Recommended | Not needed | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
 Thangs | Yours, renewed for a year | Recommended | Optional | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
 Cults3D | Your API key + browser sign-in | Recommended3 | Not needed | Printlists | Yes | Yes | No |
 eufyMake | Yours, for likes only | Recommended | Not needed | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 Pinshape | Yours, for the files | Recommended | Not needed | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
 OwlCAD | None | Recommended4 | Not needed | No | No | No | No |
 Toymakr3D | Yours, for the files | Recommended | Not needed | No | Yes5 | Yes | No |
 CGTrader | Yours, for the files | Recommended6 | Recommended | Wishlist | Yes6 | Yes | No |
 GrabCAD | Yours, for the files | Recommended | Not needed | No | Yes | Yes | No |
 Meshy | Yours; Pro for community models | Recommended | Not needed | Yes | No | Yes | No |
 PIXUP | Yours, for the files | Recommended | Not needed | Collections, wishlists | Yes | Yes | No |
 Fab365 | Yours, for the files | Recommended | Not needed | No | Yes7 | Yes | No |
 3DExport | Yours, for the files | Recommended | Not needed | Bookmark collections | No | Yes | No |
 QIDI Maker | Yours, for your collections and likes | Recommended | Not needed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 VoxelShare | Yours, for your collections and likes | Recommended | Not needed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
- Your private Printables collections and your likes are read by Grab, while you’re on Printables.
- Snapmaker’s sign-in lasts a day and only Grab renews it; without Grab you paste a new one every day.
- Cults3D’s files need your browser’s Cloudflare clearance, and Thingport on the same IP address as that browser.
- A gallery item that is a CAD project, rather than a library part, has no stored mesh: OwlCAD’s editor builds its file, so Thingport Grab exports it on owlcad.com.
- Toymakr3D hands a model’s files to signed-in users only, the free ones included, and shows your likes to you alone.
- CGTrader shows your likes and wishlist to you alone, and its downloads sit behind AWS’s bot check, which Thingport passes with Grab’s token from your browser or FlareSolverr’s own.
- Fab365 hands a model’s files to signed-in members only, the free ones included, and shows your favourites to you alone.
Known problems
Section titled “Known problems”Open bug reports about Makerables in Thingport, on GitHub.
Notes from users
Section titled “Notes from users”Tips, workarounds and news about Makerables from people who use it. Something broken in Thingport? See Known problems.