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3DAI
Free · runs in your browser · labels, door signs and tags

Braille STL Generator

Type a word or a room name and see it in Grade 1 braille. Pick ADA sign, paper braille or large dots, choose a label, a door sign with raised letters or a tag with a keychain hole, and download a watertight STL, or a 3MF with the dots as a second colour.

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How to make a 3D printable braille label or sign

  1. 1

    Type your text

    A word, a name or a room number, up to 6 lines. The braille appears under the box as you type, so you can check every cell.

  2. 2

    Pick the dot size

    ADA sign size for signs, paper braille size, or large dots that print well on FDM printers. Every value can be changed in mm.

  3. 3

    Pick the plate

    A label, a door sign with raised capital letters above the braille, or a tag with a keychain hole. The plate grows to fit the text.

  4. 4

    Download and print

    Save one watertight STL, or a 3MF with the dots as a separate part for a second colour. Print it dots up, then have a braille reader check it.

Braille dot size and spacing

The published sizes this tool is built on. All spacings are measured centre to centre. Signs in the US follow the 2010 ADA Standards; paper braille follows the Library of Congress values listed by BANA. Other countries have their own rules, so check yours.

Dot base diameterADA 1.5 to 1.6 mm (0.059 to 0.063 in). Paper braille (Spec 800) 1.44 mm (0.057 in).
Dot heightADA 0.6 to 0.9 mm (0.025 to 0.037 in). Paper braille 0.48 mm (0.019 in). Dots are domed or rounded.
Dots in one cellADA 2.3 to 2.5 mm (0.090 to 0.100 in) apart. Paper braille 2.34 mm (0.092 in).
Same dot, next cellADA 6.1 to 7.6 mm (0.241 to 0.300 in). Paper braille 6.2 mm (0.245 in).
Same dot, line belowADA 10 to 10.2 mm (0.395 to 0.400 in). Paper braille 10.0 mm (0.400 in).
On a sign (ADA)Braille goes below the raised text, at least 9.5 mm (3/8 in) from it and from raised borders. Raised letters are uppercase sans serif, 16 to 51 mm high and at least 0.8 mm raised.
Grade 1 only. This tool writes uncontracted (Grade 1) Unified English Braille. It does not use Grade 2 contractions, which ADA 703.3 requires on US signs. Check every official sign against your local rules, and have a braille reader check a test print.

Sources

The3DAI is not affiliated with these organisations. They are cited as sources only.

How to 3D print braille

Rules of thumb, not guarantees: every printer and filament is a little different.

OrientationFlat with the dots up is the easiest print and needs no supports. In a CHI 2024 study (Puerta et al.), readers read braille printed upright or tilted at 75 degrees faster, and liked it more, than braille printed flat. So for the best feel, try a sign standing on its long edge.
Layer heightDots are under 1 mm tall, so use fine layers: 0.1 to 0.15 mm is the brl2stl suggestion. At 0.2 mm a dot is only 3 or 4 layers and looks stepped.
Nozzle and speedA 0.4 mm nozzle works; a 0.25 mm nozzle gives rounder domes (brl2stl notes). Print the top layers and outer walls slowly so small dots do not smear, and keep the seam off the braille.
Check itDots that are too low or too close read badly. Print one test line, then have someone who reads braille check it before you print a whole set of signs.

Make a 3D model of anything from a photo with AI

Need a tactile model as well as a label? Turn a photo of an object into a printable STL, or describe it in words and get a 3D model. The AI generators use credits; this braille generator does not.

Image to STL →Text to STL

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Braille STL generator FAQ

Grade 1 (uncontracted) only: every letter, digit and punctuation mark gets its own cell, following the Rules of Unified English Braille. It does not use Grade 2 contractions. ADA signs in the US must use contracted (Grade 2) braille, so check any official sign against your local rules and with a braille reader.
The ADA sign preset uses a 1.55 mm dot, 0.75 mm high, 2.4 mm between dots in a cell, 6.5 mm from cell to cell and 10.1 mm from line to line: inside every range of the 2010 ADA Standards Table 703.3.1. Paper braille uses the Library of Congress values listed by BANA. You can change every value.
A capital letter gets the capital sign (dot 6) and a whole capital word gets two. Three or more capital words get the capital passage sign. Numbers get the number sign (dots 3456), and a letter a to j right after a number gets the grade 1 sign, so 3b is not read as 32. Type capitals only where the braille should show them.
Letters a to z in both cases, digits, spaces, line breaks and the marks . , ? ! ' - : ; . Any other character is listed in a message so you can remove it or spell it out, instead of being dropped without a word.
The door sign plate puts raised uppercase sans serif letters above the braille, 9.5 mm apart as ADA 703.3.2 asks, with letters 16 mm high and 1 mm raised by default. The braille is Grade 1, while ADA asks for Grade 2, so treat it as a draft or a sign for home and check official signs with your local rules.
Use fine layers (0.1 to 0.15 mm), a 0.4 mm or smaller nozzle and slow top layers. Flat with the dots up is easiest; a 2024 study found braille printed upright or tilted read better than flat. Then let a braille reader check a test print.
Yes. The 3MF download holds the plate and the dots (and raised letters) as two parts of one model, so a multi-colour printer can give the dots their own filament for high contrast. The STL is one fused solid for single-colour printing.
No. The text is turned into braille and into a solid in your browser. Only the open-source geometry engine (manifold-3d) is downloaded once from a public CDN. No account, no credits and no watermark.