DXF2papercraft

DXF2papercraft converts a polygonal 3D model stored as DXF file into a plain drawing in the form of a 2D DXF file. This requires to 'unfold' the model. The result is a flattened pattern of connected polygons. All edges of a polygon which are unconnected get a so called glue-tab in addition. The tabs are numbered such that each one has a counterpart with the same number. After all pairs of tabs have been glued together the paper model corresponds to the 3D object.

DXF2papercraft is a simple command-line tool. In order to create a polygonal 3D model you need to use a so-called 3D modelling program which can export shapes as DXF file. All models on this page have been created with Blender which is free of charge. Then, the resulting 2D DXF file has to be loaded, e.g., with OpenOffice, scaled to fit onto a sheet as desired and printed as hard-copy. Normal paper can be used as well as tracing paper or rice paper in order to produce a semi-translucent effect.