Tips for Improving AI generated models

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1

Hi All,

Am hoping to get some advice on this question.

I’m only a few months into my experience with 3d printing, but my focus has been more on functional items, and mostly printing models created by other people while I start from “0” with modeling my own stuff.

My mom has been a graphic artist for her entire career, and also spends much of her time drawing things to give as gifts to friends and family. Given that I’ve just gotten into 3d printing, she asked me if I could help her try to actualize an idea she had to convert a 2d image (her original work) into a 3d model and print it. Of course, I said yes.

There is zero intention of publishing or commercializing this model, so even though I’m generally anti-AI, I think this is actually the perfect use-case for the technology.

She identified an online tool that was able to take her drawings and convert them into a 3d model, and that tool has done a remarkable job at it. Legitimately impressive given how quickly it made an actually printable model.

After exporting the .stl and sending it to me, I was able to identify a few issues that made the physical print more difficult than it needed to be. So I made a few minor revisions, and printed a prototype for it, and made suggestions on how to improve the original model.

We’ve gone back and forth a few times now, and to be honest, the model is perfectly fine to print as-is, it just has to print a bit more support than necessary because of a few small floating regions, etc. It’s 98% of the way there, instead of the 100% I’d like it to be. From this point on, it’s me experimenting and learning on how to manually tweak things for easier printability, which will hopefully result in even an even better cosmetic model.

I’ve tried using BambuStudio and Freecad to try and make the revisions… but BambuStudio just doesn’t handle what I need to do, and Freecad seems to either have too steep of a learning curve, or just can’t do what I think needs to happen. I’m leaning towards the former, as I don’t have all day to work . Additionally, the AI is no longer able to make improvements, without simultaneously losing some of the improvements in other areas, so we’ve simply hit the limit of current AI models to make revisions.

Are there any tips/software/anecdotes anyone could provide to point me in the right direction?

2

If you are familiar with FreeCAD, Onshape is a bit more user friendly. It of course comes with its own learning curve, but it is more accessible than FreeCAD and costs just as much :wink:

Personally, I have switched to the Maker Edition of SolidWorks. It is (currently) cheap, especially with the summer sale: €24/year, but not free.

:crossed_fingers: & :four_leaf_clover:

3

Blender is also very useful for doing some hard edits on the individual vertices that make up the STL. If you get a decent starting point from the AI, you can select a bunch of vertices to delete, or move so as to thicken it up, etc. The tool is very deep but you can use it out of the box just as a simple vertex editor.

4

Blender is definitely the way to go. Why? Because AI models generate meshes. With the help of a few tools, Blender can correct the most serious errors made by AI. For example, it can close small gaps that confuse the slicer and repair faulty models. For this, I highly recommend this plugin:

Screenshot 2026-07-13 011346
Screenshot 2026-07-13 0113461782×996 106 KB

Even if you don’t want to get that deeply, you should at least familiarise yourself with one feature of the plugin: checking models for errors and performing manifold processing. Unfortunately, AI programmes almost always produce 3D models with tiny gaps or unconnected edges.

Checking manifold can often save you hours of headaches when troubleshooting.

It’s important to bear in mind that you need to consider your workflow. AI always generates meshes. Programs like Blender are specifically designed for meshes. CAD programs often have problems with meshes, however.

If you’re not familiar with “mesh,” think of it as an empty shell - that’s why it’s so important that it’s closed.

Left: Mesh - Right: CAD

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Also, as Bullocks already mentioned, you can easily remove or smooth out unsightly or unnecessary spots.

Blender is extremely complicated at first, but if you really limit yourself to just the features you actually need, you can handle it just fine with the help of YouTube tutorials.

5

Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll look into both options. $24 for a year of software doesn’t really pose an issue to me, especially if it is somewhat more beginner friendly.

6

I hadn’t thought about Blender! I have absolutely zero experience with that, and only ever thought of it as a rendering engine.

I’ll definitely take a look into it. You are right, its the meshes that I need to move some vertexes around to “fix” the minor printability issues. For sure I’ll grab that plugin as well.

Thanks, Bullocks and Retro!

7

Onshape and SolidWorks are fantastic (I wouldn’t even recommend FreeCAD, but that’s just me)

Blender is a great choice for stuff like this, but if they are not starting from scratch, Meshmixer is the easier and faster option. Blender is a great tool, but the learning curve is insane.

Also look into the Student Edition of Solidworks, it is now free for the standard edition. The caveat is that you have to be a student or registered as an educator.

8

I’ll take a look at Meshmixer too. Complete n00b with blender.

Also, I’m well past my “student” days, and can’t even claim to be associated with academia anymore, but appreciate the thought on the Student edition!

Best

9

After spending a few hours between Blender and Meshmixer yesterday, I think I was able to get a reasonable result using Meshmixer. Is it perfect? Nope, but very very close. I’ll print my modified mesh soon to see how it goes. Will mark that post as the solution as it ended up being the quickest.

I do think Blender will be the better software in the long run, but the learning curve is steep.

Thanks for the suggestions all!

10

Final update.

After trying a few of the software suites, Meshmixer ended up getting me closest to what we were looking for, and after 2 or 3 test prints, I was able to hammer out the vast majority of the issues. From there, I was able to do things that my mom hadn’t even considered, and dramatically improved on the idea.

Although I’m not going to post the final result (it would end up doxxing her), she was absolutely ecstatic with the results.

We were even able to go one step further, and use the AI tool to make a relief, which I was able to turn into a couple of different “coins”/“medallions” that I designed from scratch using FreeCAD. Went on to print dozens of the different medallions that she will be adding to goodie bags for a project she has coming up.

Thanks so much for everyone’s input helping me with this project !