3D parts: a part made to size and an STL for the printer

How to use it

1. Open an order, the «Prepare for the workshop» stage and the «3D parts» card: the «New part» button (or «Open the part» if there are parts already) opens the tool marked «Beta». Click «New part» in it.
2. Enter a name, for example «Intercom mount», keep «From a template» and choose a template: «Wedge bracket», «Plate with holes», «Candle holder» or «Box». Click «Create the part».
3. A 3D preview of the part opens in the middle. To set sizes as numbers, click «Change sizes» on the «Options» card, enter millimetres and click «Show the change».
4. To describe a change in words, type it in the «What to change, in words» field, for example «enlarge hole 2 to 6 mm», and click «Show the change».
5. AURA shows a preview: what will change, what stays the same and the minimum thickness after the change. Click «Apply» to save a new version, or «Cancel».
6. On the «Measurements» card, click «Edit» and record the measurements of the real object: they make it easy to check the fit after edits.
7. On the «STL export» card, check the overall dimensions and the mesh checks, choose a printer in the «Printer bed» block and click «Download STL».

Changes in words

• Name the element and the size in millimetres or the angle in degrees, one change at a time. Examples: «enlarge hole 2 to 6 mm», «reduce the thickness by 1 mm», «rounding radius 8 mm», «walls 3 mm», «socket depth 20 mm», «add a 5 mm hole at point 50, 30», «remove hole 3».
• Hole numbers are shown in the «Holes, mm» table on the «Options» card: that is also where the diameter and the X and Y position are set.
• If it is unclear which hole or which size is meant, AURA asks instead of guessing, for example «Which hole is unclear. Write its number, for example «hole 2»».
• Unusual phrases are read by the AI helper. The preview then says «The assistant read this command: check the sizes before saving».
• Nothing is saved without «Apply». After applying, «Undo change» appears: it brings back the previous version.
• Better not to use percentages or «twice as big»: give the final size in mm.

Part versions

• Every applied change is saved as a version, v1, v2 and so on: what was changed, by whom and when.
• «Compare» shows which sizes differ from the open version. «Return» makes the chosen version current: it is saved as a new version, so the history is not lost.
• A project holds up to 100 parts, and a part up to 200 versions.

Part from photos

• Click «Part from photos». The project's photos are shown as thumbnails, the freshest first, with the file name small under each picture. Tick up to 4 photos of the part by clicking a thumbnail; the counter shows «Selected 2 of 4». Clicking again removes the tick. The «Upload photo» tile adds a new photo.
• Add measurements with «Add a measurement»: what was measured and the size in mm. In the «What else is known» field, write, for example, «4 screw holes, panel tilted down». Click «Pick a template».
• The helper first decides whether the object comes down to one of the four templates. If it does, it suggests a template and draft sizes, and asks questions if something is missing.
• The sizes of the draft are sorted into three groups. «From your measurements»: the size matches one of your measurements. «Seen on the photo»: a tilt angle or a number of sockets visible in the picture. «Needs measuring»: the template's default size or a guess, marked «provisional». Millimetres cannot be read off a photo, so such a size is never passed off as found.
• If the holes do not fit the sizes of your measurements, the draft keeps your sizes, leaves the holes empty and says «The template's holes do not fit these sizes: set the holes yourself». For a candle holder in a row the bar's length is made of the socket spacing and the bar's width, so a measured length sets the spacing.
• Click «Use this draft»: the template and sizes move into the new part form, and the warning lists «Needs measuring: …». Check them and click «Create the part», then correct those sizes after measuring.
• If the object does not come down to a template (a chair, a figure, a complex shape), AURA says «No template fits» and briefly explains why. The «Make a 3D model from a photo» button opens «Items in 3D» of this project with the chosen photo: building is paid, and the price and allowance are shown before the start. The finished model can be printed: «Download for…» → «For 3D printing (STL)». The «Choose a template myself» button goes back to choosing a template.
• If the photo hint is unavailable, choose a template and set the sizes yourself.

STL and the printer bed

• The STL is exported in real millimetres, scale 1:1. The dimensions, volume and checks on the «STL export» card refer to the open version.
• Checks: «Mesh is closed», «Normals face outward», «One body» and a minimum thickness of 1.2 mm. The «Slicer check: not done» item always stays: printability is confirmed by the slicer and a test print.
• In the «Printer bed» block, choose a printer: Creality Ender-3 / K1, Bambu Lab A1, Prusa MK4 or «Custom: W × D × H mm». The choice is remembered in this browser.
• If the part does not fit on the bed, AURA offers a «Scale 1:N (height X mm)» button: the file is scaled down evenly and the scale percentage is added to the file name. «Back to 1:1» returns the real size.
• If the part fits only when rotated, AURA says «turned by 90°»: rotate it in the slicer.

Beta: open to everyone

• «3D parts» is part of «Production» and since 4 October 2026 is open to every account, no invitation needed. In an order the tool is visible only to the owner and editors. An AURA administrator can close the module again to everyone except invited people on the «Beta access» tab: if you do not see the tool, contact support.
• With the same module, the «Download for…» menu of 3D models gets a «For 3D printing (STL)» item, described in the 3D models guide.

Good to know

• A part is built from a template with exact sizes, not from an AI mesh, so the sizes that matter for the fit stay exact. The tool says so: «Parametric model, exact sizes».
• Walls and material around holes are at least 1.2 mm thick, template sizes go up to 500 mm, and a part has no more than 24 holes. If a size does not fit, AURA states the allowed range.
• If a colleague changed the part at the same time, you will see «The part has changed: refresh the page and try again».

Frequently asked questions

• Why is the part tiny or huge in the slicer? The STL is in millimetres. Check that the slicer opens the file in mm and choose your printer in «Printer bed»: if the part is larger than the bed, download the file at the suggested scale.
• Can I make a part with a complex shape? There are four templates. If no template fits the photo, AURA offers «Make a 3D model from a photo», and such a model is printed through «For 3D printing (STL)». For ready-made furniture or decor, use «For 3D printing (STL)» on the 3D model.
• AURA says «Did not understand the command»: name one element and one size in mm, for example «enlarge hole 2 to 6 mm».
• Why are the sizes from photos inaccurate? Millimetres cannot be measured from a photo. Everything that did not match your measurements is under «Needs measuring»: measure it and correct it before printing.

3D parts on the phone

In the mobile app, the «3D parts» section opens from the tools of a project, a production order and a production estimate. You need editor access and the 3D printing beta key. You can create a wedge bracket, a plate, a candle holder or a box, set the sizes and holes, and add photos and measurements.

Changes of sizes and commands are first shown in 3D. «Apply» saves a new version. In the history you can open the earlier geometry, compare versions or restore the chosen one as a new version. The name, the photos and the measurements are saved separately from the version of the geometry.

For STL, choose the version and the printer bed. The export scale shrinks the file evenly while keeping the part itself. The system menu lets you save the file or pass it to another app. After shrinking, check the wall thickness in the slicer.

• A draft made from a photo contains assumptions: check the real sizes before creating the part. This is a separate tool from creating a 3D model of an item from a photo.

Related guides

• Items in 3D: from a photo, GLB, check and SketchUp
• Structure drawings: arch, circle, backdrop, podium
• Printing: a layout for the print shop
• Production: orders, calculator, price list and reference projects