Thangs Workspace, a new platform to assemble 3D models from the browser
Thangs is a platform that, as a gallery, offers its visitors more than 13 million free 3D models, most of which correspond to printable projects.
This collection of designs has a powerful resource as an accessory: Thangs Workspace, a tool that allows you to assemble combinations, mixing more than one design and managing your changes collaboratively.
Online collaboration for 3D design
Thangs Workspace is a relatively new tool, incorporated as an accessory to the Thangs design catalog since the end of 2021. From the start of this initiativeits creators have defined it as “a GitHub for 3D models”.
Obtaining specific parts to replace a broken component, or to design a new device, is not an easy task. In this area, 3D printing has come to offer a practical and affordable solution, but very time-consuming in the search and eventual modification of the models to be used.
Thangs Workspace is emerging as a tool that meets these needs, through a platform that offers a colorful and clear representation of the models to be used. Without depending on specific software, it is possible to intervene from the browser in both the internal and external geometry of a model, either in individual designs or in assemblies, which can be assembled from the same platform, by combining designs that fit together. yes, as shown in the screenshot attached to this note.
This utility can show us even the smallest detail of the project we are working on; it has a version history and a variety of view modes to review the work done.
If an assembly becomes complex (it is possible to combine up to 10 parts at the moment), you can maintain control over its components thanks to its “X-ray” function, which is responsible for visually highlighting the combined parts, modifying them or removing them.
Comparing two different versions of the same assembly project in Thangs Workspace
The interesting thing about this is that the possibility of working from the browser is also extended to mobile phones, eliminating the need to work locally with large files from the computer.
A recent addition to Workspace is the tool Workflowswhich gives collaborators the ability to delegate tasks, request changes, and review feedback on new models, before publishing them as the latest version.
Thangs currently supports single part models and assemblies in 29 3D file formats. Among those, it stands out the compatibility with FBX and GLB files, which will soon also be extended to files in glTF format and FBX and GLB models made up of several parts.
Thangs Workspace is in open beta for teams working on designs with up to 500,000 polygons. It is available free of charge to all users registered on the platform.
