ikea-3d-models

name	ikea-3d-models
description	Find an IKEA product and produce a correctly-scaled STL mesh ready for FreeCAD (search → GLB download → Draco-decompress → STL; also converts a bare .glb). Use when the user wants an IKEA item as a 3D/CAD model or a .glb turned into an STL.

IKEA 3D models → STL

Turn an IKEA product (by name or item number) into an STL mesh you can import into FreeCAD (File → Import). The whole pipeline needs no IKEA login and no cookies, and the convert step needs no FreeCAD (pure Python).

Pipeline

product name ──search_ikea.py──▶ item number
item number ──download_ikea_glb.sh──▶ product.glb   (Draco-compressed)
product.glb ──glb_to_stl.sh──▶ product.stl

Scripts live in scripts/ next to this file. Make them executable once (chmod +x scripts/*.sh scripts/*.py).

1. Find the item number

scripts/search_ikea.py "besta tv unit"
# 70474062  BESTÅ TV unit  (70 7/8x15 3/4x15 ")
# 80299874  BESTÅ TV unit  (70 7/8x15 3/4x25 1/4 ")
# ...

This calls IKEA's structured sik search backend (JSON) — prefer it over scraping the JS-rendered search page, which does not reliably contain item numbers. An "art number" on the label (e.g. 005.660.36) is the item number with the dots removed (00566036). Add --json for machine-readable output, --size N for more results, --market gb --lang en for other locales.

If the user gives an exact art/item number, search the number itself to confirm what it is before downloading — search_ikea.py "00245842" returns the single matching product with its name and dimensions:

scripts/search_ikea.py "00245842"
# 00245842  BESTÅ Frame  (23 5/8x15 3/4x75 5/8 ")

Pick the row whose name and dimensions match what the user wants (a query returns many sizes/variants). Confirm with the user if ambiguous.

For a specific color, add --variants — it lists every color of each product with its item number (read structurally from the search response, not scraped):

scripts/search_ikea.py "besta tv unit" --variants
# 70474062  BESTÅ TV unit  (70 7/8x15 3/4x15 ")
#     40575227  dark gray
#     80566037  white

The exact color often has no model (404). IKEA only 3D-scans some covers of a given product. This is usually fine: the output is a geometry-only mesh (no textures), and all covers of one product share identical geometry — so any scanned variant's item number gives the correct shape and dimensions. When the user's exact item 404s, HEAD-check its siblings (--variants) and use whichever one has a model; tell the user you used a different cover of the same product. Note search "snaps" an item-number query to a representative variant, so the number it echoes back may differ from the one queried — that's expected.

2. Download the GLB

scripts/download_ikea_glb.sh 80299874 besta-tv.glb

Downloads the public "rotera" model. It HEAD-checks first and fails clearly if no model exists (HTTP 404 = discontinued or never scanned — try a different color variant's item number from search_ikea.py --variants). ~270 KB–700 KB typical.

3. Convert to STL

scripts/glb_to_stl.sh besta-tv.glb besta-tv.stl "BESTA TV unit"
# wrote besta-tv.stl

In FreeCAD, File → Import the .stl into any document. The third argument is the name written into the STL header (optional). The converter prints the model's BBOX_XYZ in mm so you can sanity-check the size against the catalog dimensions.

Why each step exists (gotchas)

• Draco compression is the whole reason the naive path fails. IKEA GLBs use KHR_draco_mesh_compression. FreeCAD's own glTF importer cannot read Draco buffers, so importing the raw .glb into FreeCAD silently adds nothing — no error, the UI just does nothing. glb_to_stl.sh decodes Draco first (via gltf-transform, a JS tool run through npx/pnpm) and emits STL instead.
• Meters vs millimeters. glTF is in meters; FreeCAD documents default to mm. Without the ×1000 scale the imported mesh is under a millimeter tall at the origin — present but microscopic, another way it looks like "nothing imported". glb_to_stl.py applies SCALE=1000 by default.
• Result is a mesh, not a B-rep solid. Good for reference, layout, and measuring. For real CAD geometry, in FreeCAD use Part → "Create shape from mesh" then "Convert to solid" (approximate, lossy for organic shapes).
• Cookies / auth: not needed. Search, product pages, and the rotera model URL are all public. The only cookie-gated endpoint is the metadata JSON, and this skill deliberately avoids it — dimensions come from search or the model's own bounding box (printed by the converter as BBOX_XYZ, in mm).
• Higher-detail "dimma" models exist for some products (e.g. LILLÅNÄS) and must be extracted from page JavaScript. See ikea_api_reference.md. The rotera -mini model is the reliable default and is what these scripts use.

A bare .glb the user already has

Skip steps 1–2 and run step 3 on it. glb_to_stl.sh works on any glb (it decodes Draco if present, passes through if not).

Environment notes

• Needs Node (npx/pnpm) for the Draco decode and Python 3 (stdlib only) for everything else — search_ikea.py and glb_to_stl.py need no third-party packages and no FreeCAD. FreeCAD is only needed by the user, to open the resulting STL.
• On a sandboxed Claude Code session, the IKEA hosts and the npm registry are not allowlisted and the pnpm store is read-only — run the network/convert steps with the sandbox disabled (/sandbox to manage).

See ikea_api_reference.md for the full IKEA API details (endpoints, variants, the dimma higher-detail pipeline, market locales).