A dove, a swallow, a songbird and a hummingbird become flat 3D models in this set, and each bird comes in two versions: one with its feather details open and one with the details marked on its top face. These free bird STL and STEP files give you all four birds for 3D printing and for further work in CAD.
When I place the open version of a bird on a windowsill, the light passes through its feathers, and the shadow on the sill repeats the bird in a softer form beside it.
Two Versions of Each Bird Model
Every bird is a 2 mm thick model with the following outline size:
- Dove: 126 × 143 mm
- Swallow: 169 × 128 mm
- Songbird: 170 × 110 mm
- Hummingbird: 137 × 143 mm
In the open version, the feather, breast and eye details pass through the whole thickness of the model. The dove has 19 openings, the hummingbird 16, the songbird 5 including the space between its legs, and the swallow 4. The smallest openings are the eyes, at about 1.5 to 1.8 mm, and the material between neighboring openings stays at least 1.5 mm wide, which a standard 0.4 mm nozzle prints without trouble. Because the largest bird is 170 mm wide, every model fits on common 180 × 180 mm and 220 × 220 mm print beds at its original size.
In the recessed version, the bird is a solid plate, and its details are lowered only 0.015 mm into the top face, so their shapes stay marked on the model. Only the songbird keeps an open space between its legs in this version.
I set this shallow depth so that you can choose the real depth yourself. In the STEP file, the recessed faces can be moved to the depth your project needs, for example 0.6 mm for pockets that you fill with paint after printing, and then the model can be exported as a new STL for your slicer.
The STL files are binary triangle meshes, and each one is a single watertight body, so slicers read them directly. The STEP files follow the AP214 standard, and each one holds a single solid with metric units, so CAD programs open them as editable solid bodies. In CAD, you can therefore change the thickness, set the recess depth or join a bird with other parts of a larger model.
Download the Free Bird STL and STEP 3D Models
The STL and STEP files are separate downloads.
STL download
- Format: STL, binary mesh
- Content: eight models, an open version and a recessed version of each bird
- Thickness: 2 mm
STEP download
- Format: STEP AP214, solid bodies in metric units
- Content: eight models, an open version and a recessed version of each bird
- Recess depth: 0.015 mm, editable in CAD
Download the STL files if you want to print the birds as they are, or download the STEP files if you want to change the depth or the thickness first. Then open the bird you want to start with in your slicer or your CAD program.
Looking for other formats of this design? Our full collection includes SVG, PDF, DXF, DWG, CDR and PNG files. You can access them all on the main collection page.
License and Usage
These files are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for strictly personal, non-commercial use.
You are free to download, cut, and modify these designs for your personal projects. However, you may not sell the digital files or any physical products manufactured from them. If you share a modified version of this design, you must credit FreePatternsArea and distribute it under this exact same license.
Unauthorized redistribution, reproduction, or commercial exploitation of these files is a violation of intellectual property rights and may result in legal action.