Easily Make Your Blender Models 3D-Printable by Drawing Lines
Dovetail Key prepares objects for printing in two clicks.
Just knowing how to create 3D models is not exactly enough to easily 3D-print them, but you don't need to sculpt extra parts to connect them if you install Dovetail Key by Milad Kambari, a Blender add-on that splits a model into printable parts joined by a self-locking dovetail key.
All you need to do is draw a line, and the plug-in will do the rest: "Two clicks, no manual booleans, no crashing on heavy sculpts."
The mechanics work not only with straight lines: you can free-hand the separation border and enjoy the pieces splitting up. The setup is adjustable: change the key's size, height, and depth in real time to fit your models perfectly.
Key Features:
- Draw-to-Cut — Slice exactly where you draw. Only the geometry under the stroke is cut — the rest of the model stays untouched.
- One-Click Dovetail — Automatic male peg + female socket with print-ready clearance, so the two halves lock firmly together.
- Auto or Manual Sizing — Auto-sizes the key to the cut cross-section, or switch to Manual for full control over scale, height and depth.
- Live Preview & Flip — Preview scale, height and orientation before you commit. Flip auto-swaps the male and female sides.
- Adjustable Fit — Tune clearance, taper, height and solver (Fast / Manifold / Exact) to match your printer and material.
- High-Poly Safe — Built on bmesh to handle heavy, dense sculpts without crashing. Undo Last Cut & Delete All Cuts keep it non-destructive.
The latest version of the add-on improved the cutting engine, so it now falls back through multiple boolean solvers automatically and routes every piece to the correct half, "so dense, non-manifold character sculpts cut cleanly, even with repeated cuts through already-keyed regions."
What's more, there's another joint shape in the collection now: ball key works great for complicated models.
Start your 3D printing business now with Dovetail Key!
