How to 3D Print Your Minecraft World Using Mineways!

Do you ever wish you could hold your Minecraft world in your hands? Well, it is possible and I am going to show you how. There are many different reasons why you might want to print your world. Maybe you want to show your friends? or you just want to paint and see your world come to life! No matter the different reasons for wanting in, It is fairly simple to do.

Step 1: Choose Your World

The first step is choosing what Minecraft world you would like to use. I would suggest using a world that doesn't have too many overhangs so it is easier to print. Also the bigger the build you pick the more expensive or smaller the model will be. As an example, I choose this simple castle that I built. It doesn't have too many overhangs/ledges and it still looks cool. It will also be easy to paint at the end if I choose to do so.

Step 2: Download MineWays

MineWays is a free online tool that allows you to save your Minecraft creations and then turn them into a file that is readable by 3D software. You can go to http://www.realtimerendering.com/erich/minecraft/public/mineways/ to download the software. Once downloaded just open it up and go to File -> Open World -> (Your World Name).

Step 3: Selecting What You Want to Print

To select what you want to print you will first have to find it on the MineWays map. You can zoom in and scroll around to different sections to find your build. Once you found your build you should hover your mouse over top of the tallest part of your build. If you look down at the bottom left corner there are coordinates of what block your mouse is on (X, Y, Z). So you will want to check what the Y is when you are putting the mouse on the tallest block so you know the height of your structure is. Once you get your height you will then want to change the Max Height Slider to that number. Then do the exact same thing for your lowest block (this time you are putting your mouse over the lowest point) and change the Lower depth slider. If for some reason you cant get the Y-axis of one of the taller or lower points you could join your world in Minecraft and just use the Minecraft coordinates system. Now that you have set the height properties of your build you can right click and drag to select everywhere that you want to be printed. Once you have successfully selected your world you can move on to the next step.

Step 4: Saving As a .stl

Now that you have selected your build and set the height properties you can go ahead and save it as an STL file. To do this go to File -> Export for 3D printing. Now choose a location and name for your file. Make sure that you save it somewhere where you can find it later. Also, make sure to set the file type to Asic STL and not Binary STL. Now a dialog box will come up with tons of customization options, I would suggest choosing most of the options I choose but it is up to you. You should select "make my model *blank* cm" and choose how tall you want your model to be. Otherwise just leave the rest of the options as default. Congratulations you have turned your world into a 3D file and you're almost ready for printing!

Step 5: Previewing Your File

Now you get to preview your file! If you are using a mac you can open it with Preview and if you are using a Windows you can open it with 3D Builder (If one of these do not work then you can find lots of other software for viewing 3D files). When you are are looking at your file check it for extra blocks or anything that you don't want in it. If you come across something that you do not want you can go back into minecraft and delete it or you can deselect it in MineWays.

Step 6: 3D Printing!

Now for the fun part! If you have a 3D printer you can just slice your files normally. If you do not have a 3D printer then you should take a look at online stores that can print your build for you. You might also be able to find local businesses that would print your build for you too. One website that I would suggest is 3D hubs, they send your 3D parts to local 3D printers so there is no need for shipping. I used Cura to slice my castle and print it in black PLA on my Creality CR-10 and it turned out really good!

Step 7: Finishing and Painting (Optional)

If you are printing your product on your own printer you will probably need to finish it. This just consists of taking off the supports and sanding. If you are are getting your build printed online they will usually do this for you. You could also take up the job of painting your world too if you don't want it to be all one color. There are lots of Instructables if you need help doing that. My Creality CR-10 Printed the object very good, the only thing I had to do was take out the supports under the gateway. If you are looking into getting a printer and you're on a budget the cr-10 is a very good option. Above is a picture of one of my Minecraft worlds that I painted. As you can probably see I am not the best painter. If you would like to make the painting easier you could also print model bigger.

Step 8: Finished!

Congrats! you are finished printing your very own Minecraft world. Hopefully, it turned out as good as mine did! Above I have attached some of my other Minecraft worlds that I have made. If you enjoyed this project please make sure to vote for me in the contests!