Describe it, get a 3D model you can explore
Start an empty 3D model and describe what to build in chat. Scholarly's AI writes it as a labelled three.js model you can turn around, refine, and export for slides and video.
Beta. A full AI build uses 1 AI Creation Credit, and you confirm it first. Small chat edits are free.
Quick answer
How does text to 3D model work in Scholarly?
Updated October 2026 · 3D models are in Beta
You start an empty 3D model and describe what you want in the chat beside it, for example "a labelled cutaway of a plant cell" or "a gear train that turns". You confirm the build, and over a few minutes Scholarly's AI writes the model as real three.js code, with geometry, physically based materials, lighting, labels, and animation. You preview the draft and apply it or keep your current model. It makes explanatory models, not CAD files or printable meshes.
Typing is often faster than finding the right document. If you know what the model should show (the parts, how they connect, which ones matter), a few sentences are enough for the AI to build it and label it.
Detail in, detail out. A one-line request gets a reasonable general model; a short paragraph that names the components, how they relate, and the labels you want gets a model that matches the picture in your head. Because the model is real three.js code, not a handful of stock shapes, it can be as specific as a plant cell cut away to show its organelles with leader lines and readable labels.
When a draft is close but not right, don't start over. Small chat edits such as "rename the top label", "make the housing blue", or "slow the animation down" are free and appear on an approval card. Bigger changes are a full build, and Undo brings back the previous version.
How it works
From a sentence to a 3D model
No file and no modelling software: a description and a preview.
- 01
Start an empty 3D model
You get an empty model with a chat beside it. No upload needed.
- 02
Describe what you want
Name the subject, its parts, and the labels you care about, then confirm the build. A full build uses 1 AI Creation Credit.
- 03
The AI writes a draft
Over a few minutes it builds the model in three.js, with geometry, materials, lighting, labels, and animation.
- 04
Preview, apply, export
Preview the draft and apply it or keep your current model. Make free small edits, then export on a paid plan.
Use cases
Good things to describe
If you can name the parts and how they relate, the AI can model it.
An architecture you're explaining
A cloud deployment, a network, or a data pipeline, described in a few sentences.
Equipment from memory
The parts of a pump, an engine, or a trades unit as you'd sketch them on a whiteboard, in 3D.
Clinical anatomy
An organ or a structure for a nursing or clinical lesson, labelled the way you teach it.
A visual for a deck
Export a transparent PNG for a slide, or a .glb that opens in PowerPoint and Keynote.
A clip for a training video
Export an 8-second 1080p turntable MP4 for onboarding or product training.
Mechanisms in motion
A gear train, a valve, or a linkage, animated to show how it moves.
Try asking
Descriptions to start from
Copy one, then change the subject to yours.
Build a cutaway of a plant cell with leader lines and labels for each organelle.
Model a load balancer in front of three app servers and a primary-replica database.
Make a gear train with a small drive gear turning a larger one.
Show a centrifugal pump with the housing cut away and the impeller labelled.
Show the layers of the skin, labelled, for a wound-care lesson.
Make the background white and slow the animation down.
Beta
What it can and can't do today
3D models are in Beta. Text works best when you can name the parts and how they relate.
Works today
- Starts from an empty model; no file needed.
- Real three.js geometry, physically based materials, lighting, and animation.
- Orbit and zoom, perspective, front, side, and top views, frame all, and a turntable.
- On paid plans, export a 4K PNG, a transparent PNG, an 8-second 1080p turntable MP4, or a .glb file.
Not supported
- Not CAD-accurate or engineering-grade. Models explain how something works; they are not measured designs.
- No STL or OBJ export, and no 3D printing. Exports are images, a turntable video, and a .glb file.
- No manual 3D editing tools: no sculpting and no dragging parts. You change a model by asking chat.
- A model starts from one PDF or from an empty chat. For notes or slides, save them as a PDF, or describe the content in chat.
- It's a Beta: preview every draft before you apply it, and check the labels before a model goes in front of a team.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a 3D model from text without uploading anything?
Yes. Start an empty 3D model and describe what to build in the chat. The AI builds a draft from your description; no PDF is required.
Is this a text-to-3D mesh generator?
No. It builds explanatory models as three.js code inside Scholarly, not textured meshes for games or files for 3D printing. You can export a .glb for PowerPoint, Keynote, Blender, and web 3D viewers, but there is no STL or OBJ export.
How detailed should my description be?
Name the parts, how they connect or are ordered, and any labels you want. One line gives a general model; a short paragraph gets much closer.
Can I paste a long document instead?
You can describe it in chat. For long material, saving it as a PDF and opening that PDF as a 3D model works better: its first pages appear in 3D and the model is built from what they say.
What does it cost?
Signing up is free. A full build uses 1 AI Creation Credit, and you confirm it before it starts. Small chat edits are free. Exports need a paid plan.
Can I edit the model after it's built?
Yes, by asking chat. Small changes (a label's wording, a colour, a size, an animation's speed, the background) are free and appear on an approval card; bigger changes are a full build you preview before applying. There are no manual 3D editing tools, and Undo brings back the previous version.
Keep exploring
More 3D model tools
3D Models (Beta)
How 3D models work in Scholarly, exports included.
AI 3D Model Generator
Explanatory 3D models of systems, equipment, and processes.
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Turn the structure in your notes into a model.
PDF to 3D Model
Build a labelled 3D model of what a PDF explains.
3D Concept Map Maker
Concepts placed in space, grouped and sized by importance.
AI 3D Diagram Generator
Layered 3D diagrams of architectures and systems.
Concept Map Generator
A classic 2D concept map from your material.
Describe your first model
Sign up, start an empty 3D model, and tell the chat what to build.
Beta. A full AI build uses 1 AI Creation Credit; small chat edits are free. Exports need a paid plan.