I've been developing a GitHub/GitLab/Gitea style website for a while now, for storing and displaying binary objects. The current code is set up to handle SQLite, but it's entirely feasible to add support for other binary formats (such as 3D objects) to it:
eg storage of them, display of them visually instead of the SQLite table view
When I was first thinking up the idea... it was actually for 3D objects. Was going to do it as a Collab platform for Blender, but well... I do more stuff with databases so the SQLite bit came first. :)
The backend storage doesn't use git, as it's lousy with larger files over time, but it does use the same principles for the versioning, branching, forking, tagging, etc.
https://github.com/sqlitebrowser/dbhub.io
Don't be faked out by what looks like no activity there since May. I'm working heavily on fixing some stuff in the Go WebAssembly ecosystem, so a decent data visualisation layer can be added to the current site. ;)
For what's worth, GitHub actually renders STL as a 3D representation, if you click on the file, e.g. here [1]. (Just a random example, I'm in no way affialiated with the project).
Of course, it's still lacking important features, e.g. search parameters, etc, but... it could work.
[1] https://github.com/iliterobotics/3D/blob/master/Justin/Uncom...
Considering hardware projects are just software (CAD files, schematics, diagrams, documentation) I’d love to see Github or Gitlab or someone take this on.
Personally, I will only run gcode I've generated myself on my machine, but it's a fair experiment to run. I haven't run across any postings on prusaprinters that don't provide a proper STL or OBJ.
The 2nd item there was generally the main one. eg Going back on the Open Source nature of their work, patenting progressive ideas contributed by their Community members, etc.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3660755
Open Source STM32 Multimeter case by embedblog is licensed under the Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial - Share Alike license.
What does this mean?
Remixing or Changing this Thing is allowed.
Commercial use is not allowed.I am a staunch fan of GPL. If you want to reproduce my physical stuffs I've released, be my guest.
If you make changes, you had better make them available in accordance to the GPL. I'd like a PR on my repo, but that's a niceity- not a GPL requirement.
Some of my GPL3'd hardware:
RadioInstigator: https://hackaday.com/2019/06/05/mobile-sigint-hacking-on-a-c...
Repo: https://gitlab.com/crankylinuxuser/siginttablet
Closed Loop Controller for 3d printers (steppers): https://gitlab.com/crankylinuxuser/closed_loop_system
So most Thingiverse designs that are copies of existing products are probably entirely legal, or legal except in a very few countries where they infringe Saudi laws about nudity depictions or patents or something, but by the same token, in many cases the licenses of the Thingiverse Things will not be usefully enforceable, because the STL (or perhaps a resampled version thereof) is statutorily not subject to copyright.
We’ve talked about it plenty at Hackerspaces I’ve been part of, and there’s various attempts at it but none seem to hit the spot the creators are after.
https://hackaday.io is probably the closest but the UI is a mess, there’s no previewing of the files, etc.
I’m literally picturing something like Github with file previewing and some other features added. Love the idea of having issue/bug reports, file versioning for iterations, forking, etc etc.
Of course you’d get content thieves posting stuff that’s not theirs, but you get that on all sites with UGC and it could be moderated/reported.
This is something very close to my heart that I’ve been wanting for a long while now. Thingiverse is not only run by someone I don’t wish to support, but is also a measurably crap site. It’s slow, search barely works, etc etc. Bring up the name to anyone and you’ll instantly hear endless complaints.
But.. there’s nothing better.
The new Prusa site is Gcode only, and very limited in features. Grabcad is a mess of annoying UI and endless low quality models, but kinda works.
We seriously need a Github for 3D designs and electronics. Allow sharing of any filetypes, from STL and OBJ to raw CAD files, as well as wiring diagrams and PCB schematics, richtext assembly descriptions (like Githubs readme files), and a way to preview the model files visually like Thingiverse/Grabcad.
There’s huge demand for a service like this and there’s income to be made by allowing people to get parts printed or PCBs manufactured via referral to appropriate services.