Our Roadmap: 8 Million Models, a High-Performance Server, and What's Coming Next

Where We Are Now

Just a few weeks ago we launched 3DSEARCH with 1.2 million 3D models from six platforms. The response has been incredible — thousands of searches every day, new users signing up, and a growing community of makers who are tired of searching the same model on five different websites.

But we're not slowing down. Here's what's coming next.

Goal: 8 Million Models

Our scrapers are running around the clock, indexing thousands of new models every hour. We're currently adding content from Printables, Thingiverse, MakerWorld, Cults3D, MyMiniFactory, and MakerOnline — but we're already working on integrating new sources.

Sketchfab is next in the pipeline. With millions of downloadable 3D models, it will be one of our biggest additions. After that, we're looking at GrabCAD, Thangs, and other platforms that host quality STL files.

Our target: 8 million searchable models by the end of the year. That would make 3DSEARCH one of the largest 3D model search engines on the web.

Moving to a High-Performance Server

More models means more data, more searches, and more users. Our current setup handles things well, but we're already planning the upgrade to a dedicated high-performance server with 32 GB RAM, 16 CPU cores, and 800 GB NVMe storage.

Why does this matter for you? Our search is powered by Meilisearch, an in-memory search engine that returns results in under 20 milliseconds. To keep that speed with 8 million models, we need serious hardware. The new server will ensure that no matter how many models we index or how many people search at the same time, the experience stays lightning-fast.

Features We're Working On

Beyond just adding more models, we want to make 3DSEARCH genuinely useful for the maker community. Here's what's on our list:

• Advanced Filters — Filter by license type (Creative Commons, commercial use), file format, estimated print time, and more.
• Improved Designer Pages — Follow your favorite designers, see their latest uploads across all platforms in one feed.
• Model Comparison — Found the same model on three platforms? Compare stats, reviews, and file quality side by side.
• User Reviews — Rate and review models you've actually printed. Help others find the best files.
• Collections Sharing — Make your collections public and share curated lists of models with the community.
• API for Developers — An open API so other tools and apps can search our database.

SEO and Discoverability

We've invested heavily in making sure our model pages rank well in search engines. Every model has structured data, proper meta tags, and clean URLs. We've implemented IndexNow to notify Bing and Yandex the moment new models are indexed — and our sitemap covers every single page.

The goal is simple: when someone searches "free 3D printable phone stand" on Google, they should find us. Not five different platforms with the same results — one search engine that shows all of them.

Built by a Maker, for Makers

3DSEARCH isn't backed by a big company. It's a one-person project built out of frustration with the fragmented 3D printing ecosystem. Every feature, every optimization, every line of code exists because it solves a real problem.

If you have ideas, feedback, or just want to say hello — drop a comment below or reach out on social media. This project is for the community, and your input shapes what we build next.

Thanks for being part of this journey. The best is yet to come.