Finding models

The home page#

The home page shows Trending (the most viewed models), Recent uploads, Top creators and popular tags. It's a quick way to see what's active.

Search#

Use the search box at the top of any page, or open Search. There are two modes, switched at the top of the results.

Text search#

Text search matches your words against model titles, descriptions and tags, and tolerates small typos. It's the best choice when you know what you're looking for: a part number, a product name, "M3 standoff".

You can narrow results with:

• Categories: All, 3D Print, CNC, Laser Cut, Electronics, Robotics, Automotive, Aerospace, Hardware;
• File type: STEP, STL, OBJ, 3MF, DXF, SVG, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, FreeCAD, G-code, ZIP and others;
• Sort: Relevance, Newest, Oldest, Most viewed, Most downloaded, Most liked, Highest rated.

Results load as you scroll.

Semantic search#

Semantic search finds models by meaning, not exact words. Describe what you need, for example "bracket to hold a camera on an aluminium extrusion", and it finds models whose descriptions are about the same thing, even when they use different words. It returns the 20 closest matches; filters and sorting don't apply in this mode.

Neither mode searches inside README files or datasheets yet.

Tags#

Every tag on a model page links to a search for that tag.

The community feed#

Community is a running feed of new uploads, comments and posts across the site. Following shows only the people and companies you follow (you need to be signed in). It also suggests creators to follow.

Creators and companies#

• Every creator has a profile listing their public models. Click any creator name to open it.
• Companies have pages listing the models they publish. Some company pages hold models imported from public GitHub repositories. See Companies and imported models.

What you'll see in results#

Each card shows the model's preview image, title, creator, file type and counts. In search results, one card in every nine is a clearly labelled Sponsored card for signed-out and Free-tier visitors. See How CommunityCAD makes money.

Private models never appear in search; only their owner can see them.