3DBenchy, the well-known test model for calibrating 3D printers, is now in the public domain. The model was released by Creative Tools on April 9, 2015 and quickly established itself as the standard for print quality testing. Following the acquisition of Creative Tools by NTI in 2024, the company has decided to officially release 3DBenchy into the public domain – just in time for the model’s 10th anniversary.
The model was developed by Daniel Norée as a benchmark for 3D printing quality. Paulo Kiefe, CEO of Creative Tools until 2018, gave it the name 3DBenchy and ensured its publication on 3D printing platforms. It was originally published under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND), which did not allow any edits or changes.
Despite this restriction, the model became extremely popular in the 3D printing community. Numerous variations were created without Creative Tools having to enforce the “no derivatives” clause. 3DBenchy became the unofficial standard for print testing and was widely used on platforms such as Thingiverse, Printables and Cults3D.
After the acquisition of Creative Tools by NTI in 2024, NTI became the new rights holder of 3DBenchy. However, as a provider of digital solutions for engineering, design and manufacturing, NTI had no commercial interest in commercializing the model.
At the beginning of 2025, there were reports that remixes of 3DBenchy on printables had been removed. This was initially interpreted as strict enforcement of the original license. However, Prusa Research, operator of Printables, clarified that a third-party complaint had triggered the deletions – NTI was not involved.
As a result of these events, NTI, Daniel Norée and Paulo Kiefe decided to officially release the model into the public domain. This means that 3DBenchy remains free to use, share and modify for the 3D printing community.
With the change of license, the administration of the website www.3dbenchy.com and the associated social channels will pass into the hands of Paulo Kiefe and Daniel Norée. The only condition: 3DBenchy remains permanently freely accessible to the community.
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