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The web app

Start the server and open it in a browser:

satprint serve                   # http://127.0.0.1:7417
satprint serve --host 0.0.0.0 --port 7417

After you change the code, restart satprint serve to pick up the change.

Build a model

  1. Choose an area. Search for a place, pick a preset, click Draw rectangle and drag on the map, or type the bounds. The hint line shows the real size of the area and the model it makes.
  2. Set the print. Model width, base thickness, vertical exaggeration (1.5x to 3x reads well for most landscapes; 1x is true scale) or a fixed relief height. Resolution sets the grid columns: 256 is fine for FDM, 512 to 1024 for resin. Smoothing hides sensor noise on flat areas.
  3. Add the extras you want.
    • Add buildings for a city. City presets turn it on.
    • Multi-color 3MF for a multi-material printer, and a Border frame width for a rim around the model.
    • Drape satellite imagery for the textured GLB. It is on by default.
  4. Generate. A progress bar shows each stage with tile counts. The textured model appears in the 3D preview. Download the STL to print in one color, the 3MF to print in several, or the GLB to view.

Type a place and press Enter. Results come from OpenStreetMap's Nominatim service. A result always becomes a square area: about 10 km around a natural feature such as a peak, and 1.5 to 5 km around anything else, a size where buildings still work.

How the scaling works

  • Plan scale is width_mm / ground_width_m. The depth follows the true aspect ratio of the area, from great-circle distances along the center lines of the bounding box.
  • Vertical scale is the plan scale times the exaggeration, so exaggeration = 1 is a true-scale model. With a fixed relief height, the vertical scale puts the highest point exactly that far above the base, and the effective exaggeration is reported back.
  • Sea level. Samples below 0 m are clamped to 0 by default, so coastlines print as a flat plane.
  • Buildings use the plan scale for their heights, so a building height of 1x keeps them in true proportion to the map. Raise it for small-scale prints where true-proportion buildings are too short to see.