"A lot of entries to Thingiverse are missing things like descriptions, working previews, or separated STL files. ((("Look, I'm a big geek, and I made this cool weird plastic thing with a robot... do I really have to talk about that?" Yes, you do. Otherwise, it's socially useless.))) This is more of a checklist than a tutorial, but it seems a fitting topic for the last day of printability week.
"First, the model files themselves. Make sure you have done your manifold checks, check your scaling, and make sure you have your STLs arranged appropriately in their files. If they are meant to be printed in a specific orientation, make sure they have that orientation. If your model contains a really large number of STLs, consider including a zip file for ease of downloading.
"Second, make sure you get a title and basic description in there. The tab for adding titles and descriptions is over on the left after you upload, don’t forget to visit there before hitting that publish button!
(((I've got a "publish" button right here on the blog, too. It's in an unattractive teal color. For truth-in-interface issues, maybe it should be renamed the "destroy mainstream publishing" button.)))
"And while you’re there, don’t forget the Licensing dropdown! For those of you who are new users, Thingiverse doesn’t default to an open-source license, so make sure you make a choice that you’re comfortable with.
"Third, go through the tagging fields and click some. It’s unlikely anyone will complain if you don’t, but doing so will make your model easier to find when someone’s looking for it later!
"Finally, if you’ve got extras, add them! If you have sketches from early in the design process, or documentation for use, or the original files for your modeler of choice, these all add to the treasure trove of stuff available on Thingiverse, and make it a more inspiring place to be!"
