How to 3D Design a Herb Crusher in SelfCAD
In the kitchen, small tools can make everyday tasks quicker and more enjoyable. A herb crusher is one of those simple tools that helps you release flavor and aroma from fresh herbs with minimal effort, making it a handy addition to any cooking setup.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to create your own herb crusher using SelfCAD. The process is straightforward and beginner-friendly, while still showing how practical and functional designs can be built step by step. By the end, you’ll have a custom herb crusher that’s ready for 3D printing—and a better understanding of how to design useful tools for everyday use.
Steps to Create the Herb Crusher
Check out the interactive tutorial to learn how to 3D design the herb crusher in SelfCAD. In summary, start by launching SelfCAD and open the workspace:
Select the Sphere from the 3D Shapes and set the parameters as follows:
Select the Scale tool from the toolbar and use the gizmos to set Y to 60:
Select the Cube Selection tool and set the Bottom to 30 as follows:
Delete the selected part. Select the Add Thickness tool from the Modify category. Set the Thickness Amount to 5 and tick the check mark to finalize the thickness:
Select the Cylinder from the 3D Shapes again and set the parameters as follows:
Click Copy to make the copy of the object. Use the Scale to scale X and Z to 110:
Select the Cylinder and the copy made. On the Boolean select the Difference and select the copy made to remove it:
Tick the check mark to finalize the difference. Select the two remaining objects and use Union from the Boolean then tick the check mark to finalize the Union:
Select the Sphere from the 3D Shapes and set the parameters as follows:
Finalize the sphere. Use the Cube Selection tool to highlight the object as follows, by setting the Bottom to 40:
Use the Fill Polygon tool to fill the object as follows:
Select the Shape Generator and set the parameters as follows:
Select the Sphere and set the parameters as follows:
Select the sphere, shape generator and mesh 19 and use Union from the Boolean to merge them. Tick the check mark to finalize the Union:
The herb crusher is now ready:
You can give it a Color as follows:
Designing a herb crusher in SelfCAD is a great way to turn a simple idea into a practical kitchen tool. By following the steps, you’ve seen how basic shapes and tools can come together to create something both functional and easy to use.
Along the way, you’ve also built skills that can be applied to many other everyday designs. Once you’re comfortable with the process, you can experiment with different sizes, textures, or features to improve the design and make it your own.
Now that your herb crusher is ready, you can prepare it for 3D printing and put it to use in your kitchen. It’s a small project, but one that shows how 3D design can be both creative and useful in daily life.
Enjoy powerful modeling, rendering, and 3D printing tools without the steep learning curve.
Need to learn 3D modeling? Get started with interactive tutorials.