> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://stem-docs.intellectualpoint.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Set up Tinkercad > Create a free Tinkercad account and learn the CAD workspace where you will design every model this week. ## Where your designs begin To print something you first have to design it. **Tinkercad** is a free, browser-based **CAD** (computer-aided design) tool made by Autodesk. It is powerful enough to build real models but simple enough to learn in a day - perfect for your first designs and your capstone project. The Tinkercad 3D editor viewport with shapes on a workplane ## Create your account Go to [tinkercad.com](https://www.tinkercad.com/) and click **Sign Up** at the top right. Choose **Create a personal account**, then **Sign up with email**. Enter your birthday, your email, and a password, then click **Done**. Confirm your email if asked. From your dashboard, click **Create → 3D Design**. You now have a blank workplane. Students under 13 may need a parent or teacher to set up access. Your instructor can provide a class code if your camp uses one. ## The Tinkercad workspace Annotated Tinkercad interface highlighting the workplane, shapes panel, and toolbar The blue grid is your build surface. Anything you place here is what gets printed. On the right are ready-made shapes - boxes, cylinders, spheres, text, and more. Drag them onto the workplane. Every shape is either a **solid** (adds material) or a **hole** (carves material away). This is how you cut and combine shapes. **Group** merges shapes into one; **Align** snaps them to a shared edge or center. Diagram showing a solid shape combined with a hole shape to carve a cavity ## Moving around the view Diagram of the X, Y, and Z axes on a 3D workplane Right-click and drag (or use the orientation cube in the corner) to orbit around your model. Scroll to zoom; hold shift and drag to pan. Get comfortable looking at your design from every angle. Click a shape and drag the white handles to resize, or type exact dimensions in millimeters. Viewing a 3D object from multiple angles ## The five core moves Almost every Tinkercad design uses just these actions: 1. **Drag** a shape onto the workplane 2. **Resize** it to the dimensions you want 3. **Position** it (move and raise/lower on the workplane) 4. **Combine** solids and holes to add and subtract material 5. **Group** everything into a single model, then **Export** When your design is ready, use **Export → STL** to download it, then open that `.stl` in Cura to slice and print. Design in Tinkercad, slice in Cura, print on your Ender 3 - that is the full pipeline you will use all week. Your Tinkercad account works, you have opened a new 3D design, and you can drag, resize, and rotate a shape. You are ready to design your first model.