Thingiverse.com is the largest online platform for sharing models for 3d printing, and it continues to grow. Glad to see that the majority of models published are not simply toys :)

Out of curiosity, and as a learning exercise, I pulled the data from Thingiverse's REST API using Python. The code I used for doing this is available , if you want to check it out. I'm a total noob, and just downloaded everything locally on CSV files (would love to hear about better approaches, like creating a database or something more refined).

The image is from a post I wrote about the statistics of Thingiverse..

It shows the cumulative number of published models ("Things") on Thingiverse.com over time. On the left side, the growth of the total number of models. On the right, the same analysis for each of the 10 main categories.

Would love to see a comparison against Prusa's Printables site. The shit-show Thingiverse has become (especially after Stratasys bought them) has stagnated growth in actual models versus the remixes of base models (i.e. customizer models of things like signs, names. Etc)

TL;DR: Thingiverse is dying and Printables is becoming the new "good" repository with explosive growth.

What on thingverse doesn’t have the “3d-printing” category?

yeah, if it's just a "keyword", its pointless.

however, if it would turn out that majority of prints are for the PURPOSE of 3d printing... that would indicate dead end tech :D

Scrolling thingiverse is like digging through bins at a thrift store. You occasionally find something good, but 98% is just trash.

It's interesting the hit art and fashion both took around the start of covid. Maybe toys and games as well.

I'd really like to make the comparison too, also against Cults 3d, Creality Cloud and Thangs. But there's no API for Printables for now, and I didn't feel like doing web scraping for the whole site.

I totally get your point and agree that the site has been almost unusable for some time now. But from that to total abandonment from users I think it's difficult to tell. For instance, if you asked ten new people who are just getting into 3d printing, I think most of them would tell you they first looked for files on Thingiverse. Maybe they don't stick with it, but the site is so huge it's really difficult not to find it when looking for things online, especially if you are new. The fact that the number of new published models may include a large number of remixes/customized parts means that there's people using those features, and the rate of increase is almost the same, so people seem to be using the site indeed, even if only for that.

I personally stopped uploading models to it two years ago, and switched to Printables. But I wanted to see with numbers whether this general opinion of Thingiverse being abandoned was backed up by data or just a sentiment among people who are involved in the 3d printing, enough to go online in forums, and comment (I think the average user doesn't do that)

The category it's supposed to be used for 3d printer upgrades, mods, tools, calibration tests and stuff FOR 3d printing.

Ah, that makes a lot of sense now

With Prusa being so open sourced, I'm willing to bet they will open an API on Printables once they get things smoothed out a bit. They are still polishing up the site and molding it into what the community is looking for. They started out rough, but quickly took feedback and changed the site.

Even now, I find myself checking Thingiverse for a "thing" now and then when Printables fails to have it (yet).

Cults is an interesting one. I like that Thingiverse and Printables remains free, so I like that Cults has found itself a niche to have paid models. Cults would be a hard one to compare against for this fact alone.

Thangs is similar because they "pseudo paywall" everything behind requiring a login, which immediately puts some people off. (Yes, having a login for the other sites unlocks many "features", but some people want to quickly grab a file and go. Or want to download a file with some form of "privacy ")

I am unsure about Creality Cloud as I haven't used it.

In the end. Yes. I fully agree many people got their start with Thingiverse. MakerBot used to be a great open-source company, Zach Smith really helped get Thingiverse running and opened the door to helping the community. After Bre Pettis pushed Zach out and went closed source, the community rallied to get Thingiverse to remain open. After the Stratysas takeover, it was obvious they quit putting any money or effort into the site. Thankfully the open-source community stepped up and started working on alternatives.

Development did start up a few months ago. The number of daily users has gone up since we started.

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