Purpose – The number of 3D models available on the internet to both students and educators is rapidly expanding. Not only are the 3D model collections of popular websites like Thingiverse.com growing, organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution and NASA have also recently begun to build collections of 3D models and make these openly accessible online. Yet, even with increased interest in 3D printing and 3D scanning technologies, little is known about the overall structure of the 3D models available on the internet. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – To initiate this project, a list was built of 33 of the most widely used 3D model websites on the internet. Freely downloadable models, as well as models available for purchase or as 3D printed objects were included in the list. Once the list of 33 websites was created, the data for each individual 3D model in the collections was manually assembled and recorded. The titles of the 3D models, keywords, subject headings, lic...
['Michael Groenendyk']
Cataloging the 3D web: the availability of educational 3D models on the internet