Thingiverse

[Gramps]

Anybody notice that if your browser has ad blocker that Thingiverse won't let you download files. I was just on there the other day using Safari on my MacBook and was able to download fine. Today I went to grab this cute trash can I saw the other day but didn't download and it wouldn't let be cause I had ad blocker, this was Firefox on the Linux laptop. So a while ago I tried to download it on the MacBook and it would let me because of ad blocker. Nothing has change in Safari. I used to see ads on there so I have no idea what has changed. Time for a new source or STL files.

[Ender5r]

Confirmed.

[Country_Bubba]

I watched this video yesterday by BV3D that shows a workaround of the problem as it seems to have affected everyone.
YMMV

<https://youtu.be/4vxJulqu0Pw>

[Gramps]

BV3D was talking about the download all feature. I'm talking about Thingiverse won't let you download at all if you have ad blockers. Tried it for the ad blocker issue and it worked. 2 birds killed with one rock.

[Ender5r]

Agreed, a good tip. And, yep, it sux that MakerBot is crippling TV more and more.

PS: this might make Irv Shapiro's ideas for a small fee site more feasible.

[irvshapiro]

My new site is open to the public and FREE. The current capabilities at models.makewithtech.com will remain free forever. Check the roadmap on the report bug page to see what is planned for future releases.

[Ender5r]

Irv Shapiro I did find 1 issue with the site: 1 of the models had an F3D file. I could find no way to download it using the site. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Here is a link to the public detailed roadmap for the models project. In the app you can click on the "Report Bugs" link in the footer on the right side to report bugs and feature requests right in the application.

[irvshapiro]

I will add F3D to the supported download formats. Thanks for catching this. As I explained I do not allow downloading regular STL files that are not associated with an OpenSCAD file in the hope that Thingiverse does not block my API access.

[Ender5r]

You're welcome, and thanks for adding F3D. I wonder about DXF and SVG? Not saying they should be included; just wondering.

[Ender5r]

BV3D was talking about the download all feature. I'm talking about Thingiverse won't let you download at all if you have ad blockers. Tried it for the ad blocker issue and it worked. 2 birds killed with one rock.

I researched this a little more. The workaround Country_Bubba linked to does work:

1. Find the model you want to download;
2. Click on the model to open its page;
3. Click in the browser's URL box, at the end of the address;
4. add "/zip" to the end of the address;
5. hit Enter.

You should get the normal download window you used to get when you clicked on Download All Files.

[Gramps]

I researched this a little more. The workaround Country_Bubba linked to does work:

1. Find the model you want to download;
2. Click on the model to open its page;
3. Click in the browser's URL box, at the end of the address;
4. add "/zip" to the end of the address;
5. hit Enter.

You should get the normal download window you used to get when you clicked on Download All Files.

Guess I wasn't clear, I did say it worked for me but the video was about another issue.

[Ender5r]

Guess I wasn't clear, I did say it worked for me but the video was about another issue.

Good, glad it's working for you. I realize Bryan was talking about the previous crippling of thingiverse, wherein MakerBot forced everyone to download each file individually. You were talking about the most recent crippling, wherein even the individual downloading doesn't work with ad blockers. But, the workaround is the same for both issues: add /zip to the URL. That's what I meant by "it's working": do what Bryan advises and it works. I'm just waiting for MakerBot to cripple even that workaround.

[Gramps]

It's a shame that Ultimaker has let the side go to pot. There's a ton of files and some good information too. I'm sure it will be just a mater of time before they block the work around too.

[Ender5r]

I tend to agree. My feeling is that MakerBot considers thingiverse a financial drain and they're trying everything they can to derive more revenue from it

I am considering whether or not to allow Thingiverse to show ads. My issue with ads is always that I don't know how much risk I'm taking. Do the site owners vet the ads, at all? If they do, what are the criteria? Are the ads just being fed to the site by an ad agency? If so, how reputable is the agency (is there such a thing as a reputable online ad agency)? So much can be done with cookies. It's a real risk.

Perhaps, what I need is to dedicate a cheap tablet or such just for Thingiverse browsing, a tablet that doesn't connect to anything else on my personal LAN and doesn't have any personal info whatsoever.

[irvshapiro]

I do not believe Ultimaker owns Thingiverse. Ultimaker is the sponsor of Cura. MakerBot owns Thingiverse and MakerBot is owned by Stratasys.

https://www.engadget.com/2013-06-19-stratasys-to-acquire-3d-printing-company-makerbot.html

From the above article:

"MakerBot reports that during the first quarter of 2013, the company generated $11.5 million in total revenue, compared to $15.7 million for all of 2012. Thingiverse.com, MakerBot's online content portal for the sharing of user-generated digital design content, has more than 90,000 3D product files available for sharing, and generates more than 500,000 unique visitors and 1,000,000 downloads each month. The accessibility and ease-of-use of this 3D printing content helps promote system usage."

[Ender5r]

Thanks so much for the correction. I have editted my posts to change Ultimaker to MakerBot. I think it's important to get things like this correct. I changed to MakerBot, rather than Stratasys, because I believe MakerBot has the most immediate control over Thingiverse policies.

[irvshapiro]

@Ender5r I will make downloads of all NON-STL files available. I added it to the backlog which is now starting to grow.

[irvshapiro]

This change is coded and I expect it will go out with a large release sometime next week. The next release will work properly on mobile devices (a lot of work), will have user controllable push notifications if you want to know about updates, more UI/UX improvements, a refinement of the shadows in the 3d renders, and some backend stuff that will hopefully be transparent.

[Ender5r]

I think Makerbot has broken the "/zip" workaround for downloading all files in 1 go. I'm getting a 404 error now.