Noctua hands their entire fan CAD library to the public
Noctua just dropped 3D CAD files for their entire fan lineup online. Free to see, free to download, free to mess around with. Mounting points, exact dimensions, the fan body, all modeled by Noctua’s own engineers. For many, if not all of their fans.
I’m a big fan of fans!
There is a catch (more on that below), but for makers, tinkerers and 3D printers, there is a lot here to enjoy.
View in augmented reality!
Noctua NF-A12x25 dropped onto my Fractal North, just to see if it fits, using AR. / Credit kaytomas.com
One really cool possibility this enables is viewing the models in augmented reality (AR). The selling point is simple. You understand an object’s dimensions immediately when you see it scaled to your surroundings, or in my case, my case.
For the model above I grabbed Noctua’s published .step file, converted it to .glb (and Apple’s .usdz) through CAD software (Shapr3d), and surfaced it with ModelViewer here on the site. Drag to rotate, and on mobile tap the AR button to drop the fan onto your desk.
Now you just download any fan model, drop it into Blender, Fusion 360, SolidWorks, FreeCAD, Shapr3d or whatever you use, and design around it.
Create air ducts, GPU shrouds, mITX builds with weird fan placements, server retrofits, 3D-printed test rigs. Or even make your own custom 3D-printed case designed around Noctua fans. All of it gets a lot easier to do now.
No secret sauce
Worth pointing out: the published models are not 1:1 with what is in the box. Noctua has explicitly modified the impeller geometry so you cannot just print a working copy of an NF-A12x25 G2 at home and call it a day.
“The internal geometry, specifically the impeller design, has been intentionally modified.” — Noctua
For visualisation, prototyping, fitment checks, and integration into a larger design, the files are perfect. For replacing an actual fan with a printed one, they are deliberately not.
One publicly released CAD schematic / Credit Noctua
Is this now a trend?
What excites me more is that Noctua isn’t doing this alone. Keychron put their entire keyboard and mouse hardware design library on GitHub earlier this month. Full STEP and DXF files for some of their mice and keyboards, with a promise to keep adding to it.
Two companies, both leaders in their fields. Both choosing within weeks of each other to hand production-grade CAD files to their own fans (pun intended). I love it.
I’m calling it. This is part of a bigger DIY and fix your own stuff wave. The makers, modders, and small builders who care about these products have always loved tinkering with their gear. Giving them real files is a way of saying “we hear you, here you go, have a field day”.
The bar is set. Your move, everyone else.
