Add text or a logo to an STL

1. Drop the model: STL, OBJ or 3MF. It's read on your device, not uploaded.
2. Type the text, or pick a logo (an SVG, or a PNG or JPG with dark shapes on a light background).
3. Choose Raised or Engraved and how deep, then the side: top, front, back, left, right or underneath. Move and turn it on that side with the sliders.
4. Download one STL, or a 3MF that keeps the raised text as its own part, for printing it in a second colour.

Choose Braille and type the words: they're written in Grade 1 braille (letter by letter, with the number sign before numbers) at the usual sign size: dots 1.5 mm across and 2.5 mm apart, cells 6 mm apart, raised 0.8 mm. You can also paste braille characters if you have a translation already.

• Print the braille on a face that points up, so the dots come out round and smooth.
• Fine layers (0.12 mm or less) make the dots easier to read by touch.
• Grade 1 spells every letter. Public signs in many countries use contracted Grade 2 braille: for those, have the text translated, then paste the braille characters.

• Raised (embossed) text reads well from a distance and is easiest to print in a second colour: the colour change happens where the letters start.
• Engraved (debossed) text can't snag or break off, so it suits tools, handles and things that get handled a lot. It also works on the bottom of a model, where raised letters would stop it standing flat.

On a side face, both print fine standing up. On top, raised text prints cleanly; engraved text on a downward face (underneath) needs a bed-flat bottom, which is why under engraving is read from below.

• Letters at least 5 mm tall, with strokes about 1 mm wide or more, come out sharp with a 0.4 mm nozzle.
• Raise or engrave by 0.6 to 1 mm: a few layers, enough to see and feel.
• The bold and black fonts survive small sizes best.

The text follows the surface: on a cylinder or a vase, each letter stands out by the same amount wherever it lands. If a note says part of it is off the model, the text is wider than the surface it's pointed at: make it smaller, or move it.

Want a new name tag, keychain or sign instead of labelling a model? Use the name tag and keychain maker. For holes, slots and joining models, there's Merge and cut STL.