You can create some amazing designs in Minecraft but did you know that you can turn those designs into 3D models for other projects and even print them? Mineways, download here, is capable of extracting objects from a Minecraft map and turning them into 3D design files that can be opened in software like Blender or Cura.
Mineways has a lot of options available for use but in this tutorial I will be going over basic use. The program will be finding our single player maps and using those but there are ways to use multiplayer maps and schematics if you are familiar with those. I will only be exporting for printing and have not changed any of the settings available from their defaults. With that, let’s get started.
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Open Mineways
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Select File > Open World > Select Your World
Typically your games save files can be found in
C:UsersUser NameAppDataRoaming.minecraftsavesSaveNamelevel.dat -
You can zoom in on the world that you’ve loaded with the scroll wheel on the mouse and left-click to drag it to where your design is.
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Once you’ve located your design you can select it by drawing a border around it with the right mouse button.
Above I’ve highlighted around my design which includes blocks I don’t want printed so be sure you select only the area where your design is located and not around it. Be sure to use the sliders to indicate where the base and top of your design is too. -
Once you have selected your design it’s time to export it for printing or whatever you are doing with it.
6. Now give it a name, file type, and location then you’re done. You have a simple 3D file for whatever you may need including. Remember STL is the only file type Do Space accepts for 3D printing.
**Remember that you can use Minecraft here at Do Space and even join our server while you’re here as long as you have a Minecraft for computer account.
