Your first Charm Lab creation
Turn your artwork into a 3D printed keychain
Start with a simple drawing, logo, or shape. Add depth and a loop, then take your print kit to your slicer.
What you’ll need
- An SVG, or a PNG to convert.
- A signed-in Charm Lab account to export.
- A slicer, a 3D printer, and a keyring for the finished piece.
Use artwork you own or have permission to use. Simple, connected shapes are a good first project.
Open Charm Lab →1. Choose your artwork
In the studio, choose Keychain and upload your SVG. For a PNG, use Convert PNG to SVG first. Cartoons, logos, and simple artwork usually need less cleanup than photos.
Review the background preview before converting a PNG. Keep white areas that belong to your design. If the image is already transparent, there may be no background to remove.
In Prepare your artwork, check the outline, colors, and small details. Fewer colors can make the design easier to print, but may merge details you want to keep. Accept the artwork when the preview looks right.
2. Set size and thickness
Artwork width changes the size of the design. Body thickness changes the depth of its solid backing. They control different dimensions.
A new standard keychain starts at 50 mm wide with a 4 mm body. Use those as a starting point, then adjust for your design. Surface features can add more height on top; check the total thickness in the preview.
Small text and thin lines may disappear when a design is too small. Enlarging the artwork can help. The reset icon beside each setting returns that setting to its default.
3. Choose a surface style
| Style | What it does |
|---|---|
| Flat | A smooth silhouette without raised color regions. Color alone does not add relief. |
| Grooved | Raises regions by the same height, with channels between them. Channels stop at the solid backing. |
| Stacked | Places regions at different levels. Select a detected feature to adjust its level. |
Newly accepted artwork starts with Grooved and a 0.4 mm feature height. To raise or lower individual regions, switch to Stacked. Increasing Body thickness makes the whole backing thicker; it does not change just one feature.
Rotate the preview and check the edges. If details disappear in Grooved mode, try a smaller groove width or larger artwork.
4. Place the keychain loop
Move the loop to a strong part of the outline. The standard loop has a 4 mm opening and a 6 mm outer diameter. Check that it overlaps the main body instead of sitting beside it.
Look at the model from more than one angle. Resolve any red geometry warnings before downloading. Print a test piece to check the loop with your actual keyring.
5. Download your print kit
Choose Download print kit. One complete kit uses one export. See Pricing for current packs and membership options.
The ZIP includes an STL, a color-reference SVG, and settings or printing notes. Supported standard keychains also include a color 3MF (beta). The STL stores shape, but not colors. The 3MF supplies aligned color parts; assign those parts to your own filaments in a compatible slicer.
The 3MF is a model, not a ready-to-print printer profile. Bambu Studio may show an “invalid config” warning because no printer configuration is included. Import the geometry into your own printer profile and check the parts and filament assignments before slicing. Do not print if the model does not import correctly.
Open the files in millimeters. Inspect the sliced layers, small details, and loop before printing. Printer settings and material affect the result; test one keychain before making a batch.
Save your editable project too. Save Project downloads a .charm.json file. An STL does not preserve all the editable Charm Lab settings.
A detail doesn’t look right?
- Some colors are missing
- Revisit Prepare your artwork and check the color count and cleanup. Similar colors may have merged.
- I can’t change one feature’s height
- Choose Stacked under Surface features, then select the feature and adjust its level.
- The keychain looks too thin
- Increase Body thickness for the backing, or feature height for the decoration. Check total thickness.
For more help, open Ask Charm Lab in the studio, or visit the FAQ.
Make your keychain →