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Studio exists. Why Brickworks?

BrickLink Studio is the community’s standard, and it does a lot well: parts from the BrickLink catalogue, photoreal renders, an instruction maker. Mecabricks, LeoCAD and LDCad have strengths of their own. Here is Brickworks beside them: six points shown in the app on real models, then the whole field, row by row, and where the others still lead.

Open the app See the whole field

  1. In a browser, nothing to install

    Open brickworks.diy/app on any computer, or on a tablet or a phone, laid out for a finger. Every tab is its own project, and your models follow you to every device you sign in on. Desktop apps too.

    Studio is a desktop app for Windows and Mac.

  2. Will it stand? Will it hold?

    Check stability weighs each joint against what its studs can hold, and the centre of mass against the base, in every pose the hinges reach. View › Stress lists the weakest joints, worst first, and says what would fix each.

    Studio’s check flags weak parts and groups that can’t stand, and calls itself “very conservative”. LDD had none.

  3. Gear trains turn at their real ratios

    A gear put down by hand seats in mesh with the one beside it. Simulate turns the crank and every gear follows: this orrery keeps all eight planets’ years within 0.35% of NASA’s.

    Studio’s animations build the model or circle the camera. LDCad turns a mechanism by a script you write.

  4. The File menu over a tree of LEGO® bricks, with Export open and BrickLink Studio model (.io) lit, among LDraw, 3D model, a picture, a BrickLink wanted list and a Rebrickable parts list.

    Your Studio files, in and out

    Open a Studio .io, locked ones too, with the parts only Studio has, and save back to .io. LDD’s .lxf opens as well.

    An .io saved here has not yet been tried in Studio itself.

  5. Export a 3D model, over a Technic go-kart: the model as a 3D file at its real size, for Blender, AR or a 3D printer, with the list of formats open: GLB, glTF, OBJ with its colours, and STL to 3D print.

    STL, OBJ and GLB

    True to size, for a 3D printer, Blender or the web.

    Studio’s 3D exports are COLLADA and POV-Ray.

  6. The go-kart's building instructions in a browser tab of their own beside the app's tabs: step 17, a box of the one part it adds above a drawing of the nearly finished kart, a progress bar along the foot, and Print at the top.

    Instructions in one press

    A booklet with the parts for every step, laid out for you, then by hand if you like: each step’s view, the page breaks, callouts, new parts outlined. Print it, or save it as a PDF or as PNG pages.

    Studio’s Instruction Maker lays out pages and saves them as PDF and PNG too.

Beside the field

Brickworks, Studio, Mecabricks, LeoCAD and LDCad, row by row.

BrickworksBrickLink StudioMecabricksLeoCADLDCad
Runs onAny browser, tablets and phones too; Windows, macOS, LinuxWindows, macOSA browser; touch screens workWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows, Linux
PriceFreeFreeFree; render creditsFree, open sourceFree for personal use
ConnectionsStuds, pins, axles and clips join where the real ones do; exact collisionConnectors snap; hinges; collision optionalSnapped by hand, point to pointA grid; no connectivityConnection snapping
Finding a partBy LDraw’s, BrickLink’s or Rebrickable’s name, an element number or a photo; worked constructionsBrickLink numbers, words, size; a palette of sub-assembliesIts own libraryLDraw’s library; search, palettesLDraw’s library; bins, set inventories
Will it stand?Joints weighed against what their studs hold; the weakest listed, with what would fix itWeak parts tinted; “very conservative”———
GearsSeat in mesh by hand; trains turn at their ratiosPosed by handPosed by handPosed by handTurned by a script
InstructionsWorked out, then laid out by hand; print, PDF and PNGInstruction Maker; PDF and PNG—Steps; print, HTMLSteps
RenderingReal time; Render to 4K, turntablesPath traced (Eyesight); POV-RayA render farm; a Blender add-onPOV-Ray; BlenderPOV-Ray
Flexible partsHoses, chains and tread by their ends; no bands or springsThe Flex toolPaths and springsHoses, flex axles, strings, shock absorbersPaths, rubber bands, springs
Making partsAny size or any change, in the app; prints and stickersPartDesigner, a separate appPrints; no new shapesTextures; a minifig wizardTextures; flexible parts by template
FilesIn: LDraw, .io, .lxf, and 3D models to brickify. Out: LDraw, .io, glTF, OBJ, STLIn: .io, LDraw, .lxf. Out: LDraw, LXFML, COLLADA, POV-RayIn: LDD, Studio. Out: OBJ, DAE, STLIn: LDraw, LDD. Out: OBJ, 3DS, COLLADALDraw; glTF out
Shops and collectionsBrickLink and Rebrickable lists; your collection; no pricesBrickLink prices; a wanted list in one click; your collectionCSV, BrickLink XMLBrickLink XMLRebrickable inventories as bins
Building togetherLive, by a link: pointers, chat, your own Undo; the desktop app from 0.8.0Build Together, live———
SharingA gallery with remixes, comments, embeds and the Tested markA galleryA public library, embeds——
AccessibilityA screen reader and the keys alone, in desktop 0.8.0Remappable keys—High-contrast studs and edges—
AI designOptional: your own Claude designs and edits; off until you turn it on— (Sculpture is rule-based)———

— where none was found. Studio 2.26.9, LeoCAD 26.09 and LDCad 1.7 beta; the sources are at the foot of the page. LDD, retired in 2022, and Bricksmith, last released in 2022, are left out.

Where the others still lead

Renders. Studio’s Eyesight is a path tracer, and Mecabricks has a render farm and a Blender add-on. Render here builds a picture from frames drawn in real time; for a path-traced one, export a GLB to Blender.

Prices. Studio is BrickLink’s own app: it shows BrickLink’s prices and puts a model on a wanted list in one click. Brickworks writes the wanted list and the Rebrickable list, with no prices.

Rubber bands and springs. LDCad shapes a rubber band round the circles it passes, and builds springs and shock absorbers. Brickworks lays hoses, chains and tread, not bands or springs.

Years. Studio has years of users, a tutorial at first launch and official videos. Brickworks has an eight-card tour.

Try it on a model of yours

Open your Studio file or a real set in your browser, see whether it stands, and print its booklet. Nothing to install, and free.

Open Brickworks Download

An assistant is there if you want one: your own Claude, off until you turn it on. How it works

Sources, read 12 and 13 October 2026, the versions rechecked 24 October. Studio: what it is, snapping, collision, part search, stability check, animation, Instruction Maker, its export, Eyesight, POV-Ray, Flex tool, PartDesigner, import, export formats, prices, wanted list, My Collection, Build Together, Gallery, shortcuts, tutorial, video, Sculpture, release notes. Mecabricks: online only, touch, building, its library, no collision, render farm, Blender add-on, flexible parts, Part Manager, no custom shapes, LDD import, a model’s page. LeoCAD: site, download, no connectivity, library, no physics, history, textures, releases, its 26.09. LDCad: download, FAQ, snapping, interface, collision script, script API, steps, features, flexible parts, 1.7 beta, Rebrickable bins. LDD: retired, in 2022, no stability check.