GrabCAD Community User Group

Created by Anna Skopenko on 10 January, 2018

I think there are some instances where photographs in the library are great. One example is when someone fabricates a physical object, and they post photos of their work.


Photographs can also be misleading when they a posted as the primary image, and the CAD data bears little resemblance to the photo.


GrabCAD discourages this practice on the Upload page, but can more be done?:

CAD models not following these guidelines may be taken down:

  • Renderings and/or description that don't represent the actual CAD files
  • Models violating copyright law (please use proper attribution and permission)
  • Inappropriate models (sexually explicit, designs for dangerous weapons, etc.)


A recent example can be found on the main library page for "Popular this month":

Ignore the blackmail for now ("When I get 1000 likes and followers I will publish the whole file") Focus on the main image which is a photograph; the CAD data bears little resemblance to it:



Does this bother anyone else? If I'm the only one, don't fix anything. But, if other users dislike the practice, maybe we can come up with a solution?


My best idea at this time is a checkbox when uploading images. If the primary image uploaded is a photo, it gets a watermark to indicate it as such so it can be easily differentiated from a rendering. If people ignore the option, their models are reported.


Here is a quick example:


Or, maybe a frame could encase the photo?: