3D Benchy’s new owner ruffles the community’s feathers

Love it or hate it, the 3DBenchy is an icon in the 3D printing world. Devised in 2015 as a free printer calibration tool, the little boat has seen millions of downloads across several 3D printing file sharing sites. The file is often included as a test print with new 3D printers, and the speed with which a printer can spit one out is touted as a major accomplishment. 

In fact, we started tracking our own Tom’s Hardware speed boat tests here. 

On January 8, Reddit user mkrjoe voiced concern that the owners of the beloved little boat were lawyering up and coming after Benchy variants. According to his post, Prusa Research’s Printables.com had deleted his “My Benchy Glitched Out” remix Benchy model.

So what changed?

Creative Tools, the Swedish company that originally owned the 3DBenchy, has changed hands. Benchy designer Daniel Norée stated in a LinkedIn post that Creative Tools stopped working with 3D printers to focus on software. In 2024, it was acquired by another software company, NTI Sweden. NTI Group is a European software and services provider for construction and manufacturing and will use Creative Tools expertise to move into media and entertainment.

Since 2015, the 3DBenchy model has been licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which prohibits the distribution of derivative works. You can still see the 3DBenchy License here, though the 3DBenchy.com site had been taken down.

Under a CC–Attribution–NoDerivatives, you can do what you please with the original model if you do not post remixes. Make a life-sized Benchy? Sure. Put it on a T-shirt and sell it? Why not. It’s all fine, as long as you don’t post the altered files.

The confusion stems from Creative Tools’ lack of concern for the little boat’s copyright. Yes, technically, you’re not supposed to repost modified files, but the creators turned a blind eye to a riot of modded Benchys on Thingiverse, Printables, and every other file sharing site over the years. Search for “benchy” and you can find buckets of 3DBenchy remixes, from flexi boats, muscle-bound boat puns and my personal favorite, Benchy Battleship game pieces.

I reached out to Printables.com to see why they were suddenly enforcing the IP on a 10-year-old model.

“We acknowledge that 3DBenchy is a cherished model within the 3D printing community, and enforcing its license involves complexities. Therefore, we approach the review and potential removal of such models with diligence and humility. Not all remixes of 3DBenchy on Printables.com have been removed; we are assessing individual cases to determine compliance with the license,” Martin Horák, Content Specialist.

Rudolf Krčmář, Prusa Research Chief Marketing Officer, further explained they were in contact with NTI Group to find a good solution moving forward. He said Printables would be closely examining all Benchy remixes to see if any could be allowed to stand as “transformative” works. Copyright law views transformative work as something that transcends the underlying work and puts the model in a new light with a new purpose. 

You can read about the origin of the 3DBenchy from one of its original designers at Stemfie.org. If you want to know how the 3DBenchy can help you calibrate your printer, the model’s specs are still available on the WayBack Machine here.