Intuitive CAD for 3D printing

The most intuitive CAD for 3D printing, counted in taps

SpeakCAD is the most intuitive CAD for 3D printing: tap a face and type a size to shape a part with simple tools, or describe it to the AI, on your phone or computer, and download a print-ready STL, 3MF or G-code sliced for your printer. Intuitive is something you can count: the taps and typed numbers an everyday printing task takes. Below, five tasks measured on the editor, next to the steps Tinkercad's and Onshape's own documentation gives for the same job.

Updated 5 October 2026

Try it, no account Tasks in taps

How it works

Why a task takes so few taps

No sketch plane, no workplane, no shape to drag into place. The face you tap is where the feature goes, and the numbers you type are where it ends up.

Tap the face, not a sketch

Pick a tool in the rail and tap the face the hole, the cut, the tab or the extrude belongs to. The card that opens already knows that face: its size, the wall behind it, its edges.

Type the number, or drag and read it

Sizes and positions are millimetres you type (Diameter 4.5, Centre 6 mm from the left edge), or you drag the handle and read the distances live. The ± steppers nudge them; nothing depends on a steady thumb.

Defaults made for printed parts

M2 to M8 clearance presets, Through already on for a hole, Position rows that measure from the nearest edges, Pull out 5 mm for Extrude: the common case is the default, so it costs no tap.

Every edit stays a number

A hole, a cut, an added shape or a text stays editable after Apply: retype its size, Move it (tap where it goes, drag its handle, or retype its distances from the face's edges), turn a rectangle, a slot or a text with its Angle (edits placed since 5 October 2026), Duplicate it (a line, a grid or a circle of copies, or, but for a text, a mirror image), or Remove it. Every hand edit is a numbered version: Undo steps back one at a time, down to the empty model for a model you started by hand, as long as the AI has not answered on it.

Tasks in taps

Task	SpeakCAD, measured	Tinkercad and Onshape, documented
An M4 through hole in an 80 × 50 × 3 mm plate, its centre 6 mm from the left edge and 6 mm from the front edge	4 taps and 2 typed numbers. Hole, tap the top face near that corner, M4, type 6 and 6, Apply hole. Through is already on, and the two Position rows already measure from the nearest edges.	Tinkercad: Drag the cylinder hole shape onto the plate and type its two sizes; with the Measure tool, measure from the hole to the left edge and type 6, then to the front edge and type 6; select the plate and the hole and group them. The help does not describe selecting two shapes, so no count. Onshape: Sketch on the top face, place a point and dimension it 6 mm from each edge, close the sketch; then Hole: pick the point, the plate as merge scope, diameter 4.5, Through all. The help documents dimensions to lines and planes, not to a part edge, so no count.
An open box (a floor and four walls) with its vertical corners rounded to 8 mm	2 taps and 1 typed number on a computer (3 taps on a phone). Open box in a new model's empty editor (its corners are already rounded, 4 mm), tap the box, type 8 in Corner radius.	Tinkercad: Drag in a Box and type its sizes, set the Radius slider, duplicate the box, make the copy a hole, type its smaller size, raise it, align the two and group them. The help does not say how to type an exact radius or which edges it rounds, so no count. Onshape: Sketch a rectangle and type its two sizes, extrude it to its height, Fillet the four vertical edges with the radius, then Shell with the top face removed and the wall thickness: five typed values.
Make the plate 5 mm thicker by pulling its top face out	3 taps. Extrude, tap the top face, Apply extrude. Pull out and 5 mm are the defaults; another distance is one typed number more.	Tinkercad: No face extrude in the help: select the plate, click its height and type the new total, 8 (2 clicks, 1 typed value). The whole shape is resized. Onshape: Extrude, select the top face, Add, Blind, type 5, confirm (4 clicks, 1 typed value).
Move that hole 10 mm along the plate	1 tap and 1 typed number. Tap the hole, type 16 in its Centre from the left edge row; the part rebuilds after a short pause. Move, then a tap on the new spot, or a drag of its handle does it by eye.	Tinkercad: Double-click the group, click the hole, press an arrow key 10 times (the snap grid is 1 mm by default), click outside the group (3 clicks, 10 key presses). Onshape: Move face: select the hole's face, Translate along an edge, type 10, confirm (5 clicks, 1 typed value). Or edit the sketch dimension that placed the hole.
A row of four M4 through holes 10 mm apart along the same plate, the first one's centre 6 mm from the left edge and 6 mm from the front edge	6 taps and 4 typed numbers. The first task's hole (Hole, the top face, M4, 6 and 6, Apply hole), then Duplicate on its card, type 4 Copies and a Spacing of 10, Apply: 2 taps and 2 typed numbers after the hole. Line and Along the left–right edge are the defaults, and the copies go towards the right edge.	Tinkercad: Make the first hole as in the first task, select it, press Duplicate, move the copy 10 mm (10 arrow-key presses on the 1 mm snap grid), then press Duplicate twice more: each press repeats the move. Group the holes with the plate. The help does not describe selecting the shapes to group, so no count. Onshape: Make the first hole as in the first task, then Linear pattern: choose Feature, pick the Hole feature, select the front edge for the direction, type the distance 10 and the instance count 4 (the original included), confirm (5 clicks, 2 typed values after the hole).

An M4 through hole in an 80 × 50 × 3 mm plate, its centre 6 mm from the left edge and 6 mm from the front edgeSpeakCAD, measured: 4 taps and 2 typed numbers. Hole, tap the top face near that corner, M4, type 6 and 6, Apply hole. Through is already on, and the two Position rows already measure from the nearest edges.Tinkercad and Onshape, documented: Tinkercad: Drag the cylinder hole shape onto the plate and type its two sizes; with the Measure tool, measure from the hole to the left edge and type 6, then to the front edge and type 6; select the plate and the hole and group them. The help does not describe selecting two shapes, so no count. Onshape: Sketch on the top face, place a point and dimension it 6 mm from each edge, close the sketch; then Hole: pick the point, the plate as merge scope, diameter 4.5, Through all. The help documents dimensions to lines and planes, not to a part edge, so no count.

An open box (a floor and four walls) with its vertical corners rounded to 8 mmSpeakCAD, measured: 2 taps and 1 typed number on a computer (3 taps on a phone). Open box in a new model's empty editor (its corners are already rounded, 4 mm), tap the box, type 8 in Corner radius.Tinkercad and Onshape, documented: Tinkercad: Drag in a Box and type its sizes, set the Radius slider, duplicate the box, make the copy a hole, type its smaller size, raise it, align the two and group them. The help does not say how to type an exact radius or which edges it rounds, so no count. Onshape: Sketch a rectangle and type its two sizes, extrude it to its height, Fillet the four vertical edges with the radius, then Shell with the top face removed and the wall thickness: five typed values.

Make the plate 5 mm thicker by pulling its top face outSpeakCAD, measured: 3 taps. Extrude, tap the top face, Apply extrude. Pull out and 5 mm are the defaults; another distance is one typed number more.Tinkercad and Onshape, documented: Tinkercad: No face extrude in the help: select the plate, click its height and type the new total, 8 (2 clicks, 1 typed value). The whole shape is resized. Onshape: Extrude, select the top face, Add, Blind, type 5, confirm (4 clicks, 1 typed value).

Move that hole 10 mm along the plateSpeakCAD, measured: 1 tap and 1 typed number. Tap the hole, type 16 in its Centre from the left edge row; the part rebuilds after a short pause. Move, then a tap on the new spot, or a drag of its handle does it by eye.Tinkercad and Onshape, documented: Tinkercad: Double-click the group, click the hole, press an arrow key 10 times (the snap grid is 1 mm by default), click outside the group (3 clicks, 10 key presses). Onshape: Move face: select the hole's face, Translate along an edge, type 10, confirm (5 clicks, 1 typed value). Or edit the sketch dimension that placed the hole.

A row of four M4 through holes 10 mm apart along the same plate, the first one's centre 6 mm from the left edge and 6 mm from the front edgeSpeakCAD, measured: 6 taps and 4 typed numbers. The first task's hole (Hole, the top face, M4, 6 and 6, Apply hole), then Duplicate on its card, type 4 Copies and a Spacing of 10, Apply: 2 taps and 2 typed numbers after the hole. Line and Along the left–right edge are the defaults, and the copies go towards the right edge.Tinkercad and Onshape, documented: Tinkercad: Make the first hole as in the first task, select it, press Duplicate, move the copy 10 mm (10 arrow-key presses on the 1 mm snap grid), then press Duplicate twice more: each press repeats the move. Group the holes with the plate. The help does not describe selecting the shapes to group, so no count. Onshape: Make the first hole as in the first task, then Linear pattern: choose Feature, pick the Hole feature, select the front edge for the direction, type the distance 10 and the instance count 4 (the original included), confirm (5 clicks, 2 typed values after the hole).

How the taps were counted

SpeakCAD's counts were measured on 5 October 2026 by driving the editor of the live demo with a browser robot, starting from the Plate (80 × 50 × 3 mm) and Open box starter shapes, and checked against the line the editor writes in the chat after each edit ("Added Hole 1: 4.5 mm diameter, 4 mm deep, centre 6 mm from the left edge and 6 mm from the front edge of the top face of Plate, at (-34, -19, 3)"). The robot used a computer-sized window; where a phone takes more taps, the table says so. A tap is one press on a button or on the model; a typed number is one value typed into a field, the tap that puts the cursor in it included. Turning the view is not counted: every face used is visible in the default view. The Open box tap is the card in a new model's empty editor, the one step the demo, which opens on a ready part, cannot show.

Tinkercad's and Onshape's columns are not measured: they follow the steps their own help pages give, fetched on 5 October 2026 (sources below). Where those pages make a step countable the count is given; where they do not (how Tinkercad selects two shapes, how Onshape dimensions a point to a part edge), the cell describes the steps and gives no number rather than a guess. The two tools also count differently: a desktop click and a phone tap are not the same gesture, and Tinkercad needs a window at least 864 pixels wide, so its counts are on a computer.

What "most intuitive" does and does not mean

It means the shortest path from "I need this hole here" to a part you can print, for someone who prints and does not want to learn CAD: a few taps and the millimetres from the drawing or the calipers. It does not mean the most capable CAD. There are no sketches with constraints, no assemblies, no STEP files, and the Round tool rounds the corners of a part rather than any single edge you pick; a fillet on one edge is an AI request (2 credits).

When Tinkercad or Onshape is the better choice

[Tinkercad](/tinkercad-alternative) for a first lesson in CAD on a computer, a classroom above all: free in full, nothing hidden, you build by dragging blocks. It does not run on a phone and has no fillet tool, and its size fields are not linked to each other.
[Onshape](/vs/onshape) for real parametric CAD in the browser: sketches with constraints, fillets on the edges you pick, assemblies, drawings, STEP for a machinist. Its free plan is non-commercial and every document on it is public, and the learning curve is the one any professional CAD has.
SpeakCAD for a bracket, a holder, a case or a plate with its holes in the right place, made on the phone in your pocket and sliced for your printer.

The tools behind the counts

[Hole](/guides/hole-at-exact-distance-from-edge). A round hole where you tap, sized for a screw (M2 to M8 clearance presets, or any diameter), through the wall or to a depth, its centre typed in millimetres from the face's edges, with an optional counterbore or countersink.
[Cut](/guides/hand-tools). A rectangle, circle or slot cut into the tapped face, through or to a depth: a rectangle gets a corner radius, and a rectangle or a slot an Angle.
[Add](/guides/hand-tools). A tab, boss or peg (a rectangle, circle or slot) of the size you type, standing on the tapped face; a rectangle or a slot turns to the Angle you type.
[Extrude](/guides/extrude-a-face). Pull a whole flat face out, or push it in, by the distance you type.
[Text](/guides/add-text-to-a-3d-print). Raised or engraved letters on a flat face, up to 40 characters in one bold sans font, their Letter height, Depth and Angle typed, placed from the face's edges.
[Round](/guides/round-edges-3d-print). Round the corners of a part: the edges parallel to the tapped face's normal (tap the top of a box to round its four vertical corners), with the radius you choose.
[Measure](/guides/hand-tools). Two taps for a distance with its X, Y and Z parts; the tapped face's size and the wall thickness behind it.
[Duplicate](/guides/duplicate-a-hole-pattern), on the card of a placed edit. Copies of a placed hole, cut, added shape or text in a Line, a Grid or a Circle (around the face's centre or a tapped point), or a Mirror of a hole, cut or shape, up to 100; the count and spacing stay numbers on its card.
[Screw head](/guides/countersink-counterbore-screw-hole), on the Hole card. A Counterbore (socket head) or a Countersink (flat head) around a hole, sized by the M2 to M8 presets (M3: a 3.4 mm hole, a 6.5 × 3.4 mm counterbore or a 6.6 mm countersink).

The last item in the rail, AI, is for what the tools do not do: point at a spot on the model and tell the AI what to change there. The full list, with what each tool is for on a printed part, is on the tools page.

Where your part starts

A new model opens on an empty editor that offers four starter shapes (Open box, Plate, Cylinder, Tray) and an upload. Your own STL or 3MF opens for the hand tools with no AI turn when you upload it with the Upload an STL or 3MF card in a new model's empty editor, drop it on the Edit an STL box with the change left empty, on the online slicer and press Change it with AI with nothing typed, or on SpeakCAD's card in ChatGPT or Claude with no change. The result downloads as a watertight STL or 3MF, or as G-code sliced for one of 380+ printers.

What it costs

Shaping a part by hand (a hole and its screw head, a cut, an added tab, raised or engraved text, an extruded face, rounded corners, and copies in a row, a grid or a circle) and downloading what you shaped are free. Each AI request spends 2 credits, a download of AI work 4 credits, and G-code 5 more. The AI comes with a plan, from Maker at $7.99 a month.

Sources

Fetched on 5 October 2026:

Tinkercad: Basic hole shapes
Tinkercad: Scaling shapes (typed dimensions)
Tinkercad: Measure between points
Tinkercad: Editing distances
Tinkercad: Union group
Tinkercad: Manipulation sliders (the Box radius)
Tinkercad: Duplicate
Tinkercad: Duplicate and repeat
Tinkercad: Align
Tinkercad: Moving shapes
Tinkercad: Quick editing a group
Tinkercad: Snap grid
Tinkercad: Technical requirements (864 px minimum, phones unsupported)
Onshape: Hole
Onshape: Point (sketch)
Onshape: Dimension (sketch)
Onshape: Corner rectangle (sketch)
Onshape: Extrude
Onshape: Fillet
Onshape: Shell
Onshape: Move face
Onshape: Linear pattern
Onshape: Plans and pricing (Free plan: public documents, non-commercial)

Questions

For a printed part with real dimensions, SpeakCAD: you tap the face where a hole, a cut or a tab goes and type its size and its distance from the edges, on a phone or a computer, and the AI is there when you would rather describe it. Measured on the editor: an M4 hole 6 mm from two edges of a plate, 4 taps and 2 typed numbers; an open box with 8 mm rounded corners, 2 taps and 1 typed number on a computer (3 taps on a phone); the plate's top face pulled out 5 mm, 3 taps; the same hole moved 10 mm, 1 tap and 1 typed number; a row of four M4 holes 10 mm apart, 6 taps and 4 typed numbers. Tinkercad fits better for a first lesson in CAD on a computer, a classroom in particular: it is free in full and you build by dragging blocks, but it does not run on a phone. Onshape fits better when you need sketches with constraints, fillets on the edges you pick, assemblies or STEP files, and accept a real learning curve and public documents on its free plan.

For a part with exact dimensions, by the counts above: a hole at an exact distance from two edges is 4 taps and 2 typed numbers in SpeakCAD, where Tinkercad's help has you drag a hole shape, measure to each edge and group. SpeakCAD also runs on a phone, which Tinkercad does not support. For learning what CAD is by stacking shapes on a computer, Tinkercad is as easy as it gets, and it is free in full.

SpeakCAD runs in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android, nothing to install: the hand tools (Hole, Cut, Add, Extrude, Text, Round and Measure) sit in a rail above the chat, every size is typed with the keyboard, and the STL, 3MF or G-code lands in Files or Downloads. The live demo works without an account.

Sketches with constraints, assemblies, STEP export, a fillet on a single edge you pick (the Round tool rounds the corners of a part; one edge is an AI request, 2 credits), and fonts of your choice (Text writes in one bold sans font). Organic, sculpted shapes are not its job either: a mesh generator suits those.

Every hand toolHole, Cut, Add, Extrude, Text, Round and Measure: what each one does and what it is for on a print.A hole at an exact distance from the edgeThe first task of the table, step by step.Move a hole or a cut you placedRetype its distances, tap Move, or drag its handle.CAD for beginnersStarting CAD for 3D printing: a first part in six steps, the ideas every CAD shares, a first week of parts.A Tinkercad alternativeRounded corners, linked millimetres and a phone editor; where Tinkercad still wins.SpeakCAD vs OnshapeProfessional browser CAD with a free plan, against a print-ready part from a phone.Free online CAD for 3D printing in 2026Seven tools ranked on stated criteria: phone, millimetres, rounding, moving, price, files.

Count the taps yourself

The live demo is the real editor, no account needed. Tap Hole, tap a face, type the millimetres. The hand tools and the files they make are free.

Open the live demoSee pricing