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How to Create a Custom 3D-Printed Christmas Stamp with FreeCAD

The holiday season is a time for personal touches and heartfelt gifts. If you're looking for a unique way to decorate your Christmas cards, gift tags, or wrapping paper, a custom-made ink stamp is a fantastic DIY project.

This guide will walk you through using a simple Python script in FreeCAD to automatically generate a personalized 3D model of a Christmas stamp, ready for printing. It's a perfect project for 3D printing enthusiasts, crafters, and anyone wanting to add a special, homemade touch to their holiday greetings.

A Note on Platform​

This guide uses FreeCAD, a powerful and free 3D modeling software that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The Python script below is designed to work on any of these platforms.

The only system-specific detail you may need to change is the file path to a font. We'll show you exactly how to do that!

The FreeCAD Macro Script​

The following Python code contains all the logic to create your stamp. Simply copy the entire script to follow the steps in the next section.

ChristmasStamp.py

How to Create Your Stamp: A Step-by-Step Guide​

  1. Copy the Code Select and copy the entire Python script from the code block above.

  2. Open the FreeCAD Macro Editor Launch FreeCAD. From the top menu, navigate to Macro > Macros....

  3. Create a New Macro In the macro window that appears, click the Create button. Give your new macro a descriptive name (e.g., Create_Christmas_Stamp) and click OK. An editor window for your new file will open.

  4. Paste and Save the Script Paste the script you copied into the editor window, completely replacing any text that might already be there. Save your work by selecting File > Save from the menu, and then close the editor tab.

  5. Run the Macro! Your new macro will now appear in the list. Select it and click the Execute button.

Just like that, FreeCAD will automatically generate the 3D model of your stamp in a new document!

Personalizing Your Stamp​

This is where the fun begins! You can easily customize the stamp by editing the parameters at the top of the script.

  • TEXT_LINES: This is a Python list of strings. Change the text inside the quotes to whatever you want your stamp to say. Each string is a new line on the stamp.
  • STAMP_DIAMETER: Change this value to make the stamp bigger or smaller. The value is in millimeters.
  • FONT_PATH: Important! If the script fails, it's likely because it can't find the default font. You'll need to provide the correct path to a font file (.ttf or .otf) on your system. Common paths are included in the script's comments.

Next Steps​

You're now ready to export the final Christmas_Stamp object as an STL file (File > Export) and send it to your 3D printer.

Happy printing, and have a very Merry Christmas!

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