ルアトリエLURE ATELIER↶↷♥ 応援規約・プライバシーヘルプEnglish

Getting started

Lure Atelier is a browser-only tool for designing your own lures and building them on a 3D printer. The flow is: shape → internal structure → swim test → STL export → print and assemble.

Screen layout

• Left: the 3D view. The Side / Front / Top / Rear buttons at the top right switch the view direction. "Reference image" in the Shape tab overlays a photo or sketch on the side and top views so you can trace the shape (it is kept only in this browser and is not saved in design files). On phones, use the menu at the bottom (Shape, Inside, Surface, Check, Export); "↶ Undo" at its left end and "↷ Redo" at its right end undo and redo. Long-press to add or delete points, and use − / + next to sliders for fine adjustments. The 3D view is drawn quickly with the GPU (WebGL); "Draw 3D with the GPU" in the Shape tab switches back to the previous method. The "mm・g" button at the top right switches the displayed units to inches and ounces (design data and exports stay in mm and g). Click (tap) the number next to a slider to type a value directly (Enter to apply, Esc to cancel). When you load a design file, it opens in the section view so you can see the inside (the Swim test and Float & fall tabs show the whole lure). Click an eight ring, hook, lip, or eye in the 3D view to open its settings (with the section view on, you can also pick the weights and alignment pins inside). Notes (possible design issues) appear at the bottom left of the 3D view; press the heading to fold them. The selector at the bottom right sets the background (gray by default, navy, white). With white and gray, the whole screen turns white or gray, and the lure is also shown in white or gray with a black outline. With navy, the 3D view is navy and the rest of the screen follows your device setting. Drag to rotate, wheel to zoom, drag with the wheel (middle) button held down to pan, double-click to reset (back to the straight side view).
• Middle: side view (top) and top view (bottom). Drag points to edit the shape.
• Right: the tabbed controls (Shape, Section, Cup, Lip, Internal, Strength, Relief, Swim test, Export).
• Drag the divider lines between the panels to resize them. Double-click a divider to reset it.
• "Show advanced settings" below the tabs shows every item. At first you see the basic view with only the common items (the Section, Cup, and Strength tabs and the fine-tuning sliders appear only in advanced mode).
• Buttons at the top right: ↶ Undo (Ctrl+Z) and ↷ Redo (Ctrl+Y) / Help / Terms & Privacy / Support (share on X) / language switch. "Tutorial" at the top right of Help starts a 3-minute guided tour.

Basic operations

• Drag points: moving the round points in the side and top views changes the shape. Square handles change size or angle.
• Double-click (double-tap on phones): on a curve it adds a point, on a point it deletes it (end points cannot be deleted).
• Left-right symmetry: sections, lip, and similar parts are always mirrored.
• Light preview: while dragging, a light preview is shown; when you stop, it is redrawn at the selected resolution. Choose the resolution in the Shape tab (finer is slower).

Recommended workflow

1. Shape: set the length and rough out the shape with the points in the side and top views.
2. Section: refine the cross-section at each position.
3. Lip (if needed): adjust position, length, angle, and width, and decide whether to print it as a separate part.
4. Internal: place the weight rooms, moving weight, eight rings, and so on, and check the center of gravity.
5. Strength: check the ribs, flange, and lip root reinforcement.
6. Relief: add the eye, gills, scales, and drawn strokes.
7. Swim test: check the swimming tendency.
8. Save your design.
9. Export: export the STL files and print.

Shape tab

Set the length, 3D resolution, and shading strength. Edit the back (top) and belly (bottom) curves in the side view and the width curve in the top view with points. Changing the length scales the point positions proportionally (only along the length).

To change only the size while keeping the shape, open "Resize (keep proportions)", enter a new length or scale, and press "Apply". Height, width, lip, fins, cup, relief and the positions of weights and eyes all scale by the same ratio. Wall thickness, clearances, wire diameter, and hook / split ring / eye sizes stay the same to suit printing and hardware. With "Adjust weights" on, it re-picks the fixed weight masses and the moving weight diameter (0.5 mm steps) to keep the float (spare buoyancy ratio) and CG close to the original, and shows a before/after table. The number of moving weights stays the same, the step height scales with the ball diameter, and fixed weights are never made lighter than 75% of their scaled mass. Hook sizes do not change, so a scaled-up lure may tip over more easily (a note appears under the table). Use Undo to go back.

Templates: pick one under "Template" at the bottom of the Shape tab and press "Open this template" to start from it (your current design is replaced; you can Undo). Available now: Hina126F (floating minnow, 126 mm). The app also starts with Hina126F, and "Reset to the initial design" returns to it.

Section tab

Edit the front cross-section with points (mirrored). Pick a position with the "Section position" slider (the 3D view shows it as an orange ring) and move a point: a key section is created there and the shape blends smoothly between key sections. Adding or deleting a point applies to the same point number in every key section. "Squareness" resets the section to an ellipse and changes how boxy it is (this resets the points).

Cup tab

Creates a slanted dip in the head (a darter cup). Turn it on, then edit the green points in the side view (the side profile of the dip) and the front outline (width × height) in this tab.

Lip tab

Wood: in the Inside tab, "Body material" offers balsa, paulownia (kiri), Japanese cedar (sugi), ayous, hinoki cypress, and Japanese magnolia (hoonoki). Choosing wood turns off the hollow body and sets a coating thickness (0.3 mm by default); the coating weight and volume are included in the float calculation. For carving, use the 1:1 drawing in the Export tab as a template. Fins: the Fins tab adds dorsal, keel, and tail fins as inserts, like the lip. Fins are exported as separate parts and sandwiched between the body halves when gluing. Adjust the attachment position, length, angle, width, and thickness. You can also edit it with the yellow points in the side view (attachment and tip) and the outline points in the top view. With "Print as a separate part", the lip gets an insertion tab and the body gets a slot (adjust the insertion length and slot clearance). "3D display part" switches between assembled, body only, and lip only.

Fins and pectoral fins (Fin tab): dorsal, keel and tail fins are plates on the centre plane; pectoral fins are a left-right pair. All are separate parts that slot into the body. Add pectoral fins with "Add pectoral fins (pair)" and set the root front position, root height (from the body center), root length, span, sweep back, tip length, down angle (0° = straight out), thickness, insert depth and slot clearance with sliders. You can also drag the orange points in the top view to change the root length, span, sweep and tip length. Making the tip thickness smaller than the root thickness tapers the fin toward the tip (the bottom face stays flat and only the top face thins, so it still prints lying flat). Right and left fins are exported lying flat (lure_fin_*_pectoral_R.stl / _L.stl); print each once, flat face down, and glue them into the slots. They are included in mass, buoyancy, CG and the swim calculation (as small plates that resist and damp motion); their effect on the swim is approximate.

Internal tab

• Hollow / wall thickness: makes the body hollow (assumes it is printed as two halves).
• Body material: choose from ABS (default), ASA, PLA, PETG, HIPS, PC, PA (nylon), PP, TPU, LW-PLA (foaming), or Custom (enter a density); it is used for the mass calculation. The densities in parentheses (g/cm³) are typical values and vary by manufacturer and print settings. LW-PLA varies greatly with how much it foams, so its value is only a guide. If the result does not match your real lure, set the density with Custom.
• Print fill / Match the real weight: a 3D print keeps small air gaps between its lines, so the real lure is lighter than calculated (about 90–95% for FDM). Enter the weight measured on a scale (with hooks, split rings and coating) and press "Match the real weight" to set the fill so the total mass matches the real lure. The fill applies only to the mass of the body, lip and fins; the buoyancy (displaced water) does not change. With the same printer and settings, you can use the same value for other designs.
• Match the real floating posture (Float/Fall tab; shown only with "Show advanced settings", click the heading to open): look at the floating real lure from the side, enter how many degrees the belly line tilts from the surface (head down or up) and where the weights are (front or rear), and press "Match". The CG is shifted forward or back so the calculated rest posture matches (mass and buoyancy do not change). The less spare buoyancy a lure has, the more a 1 mm CG shift changes the angle, so do "Match the real weight" first. "Clear correction" undoes it. "Match buoyancy": enter how many grams of extra weight would sink the real lure (spare buoyancy); the displaced water is corrected without changing the mass (for coating thickness, print swelling, etc.). Match the buoyancy first, then the posture.
• Weight material: each fixed-weight room can have its own material (tungsten, lead, iron, or brass), and "Fixed weight material (applies to all rooms)" switches all rooms at once. The moving weight material is chosen separately (for example, tungsten for the fixed weights and iron for the moving weight). Magnets only hold iron moving weights.
• Weight rooms: pockets for fixed weights (sphere or rectangle). Add and delete them and set the diameter (sphere) and mass.
• Weight-transfer chamber: the tunnel the ball rolls in. Shape it with the cyan points (front / rear) and squares (bend points) in the side view. Set ball diameter, count, and material, the tunnel clearance, and a step (holds the ball without a magnet).
• Magnet: φ6×3 magnet holes can be placed at the front end, rear end, or both ends of the tunnel (magnets only hold steel balls).
• Eight rings: holes for the line eye and hook eyes. Choose the size (wire diameter); set the position with the purple points and the angle with the squares in the side view. "Add hook eye" increases the number. Drag one to the very end to place it at the tail tip. "Embed depth" sets, for each eye, how many mm inside the surface the inner loop of the ring (the pin position) sits; the default is the depth where the outer loop just clears the surface, and going deeper buries the outer loop in the body. Turn on "Set the fixed pin size myself" to enter the diameter and length of the stainless pin through the inner loop, and the pin hole clearance (per side); the hole becomes diameter + 2×clearance and length + 2×clearance. When off, the size follows the ring size (e.g. 1.0 medium → φ2×5 mm).
• Through-wire: a path routed through the interior; move the purple square points freely.
• Clearances: the allowance of each hole. Adjust them to your printer. The eight-ring holes already have a built-in 0.15 mm clearance per side (0.1 mm for the pin hole); the "eye allowance" slider is added on top of that (default 0).
• Section view: cuts at the center so you can see inside.
• Treble hooks and split rings: a split ring and a treble hook are shown on each hook eye in the 3D view. The hook wire diameter and weight follow the size table (#14 to 2/0); the overall length and gape are approximate. With "Include mass" on, the hook and split ring mass is included in the CG, floating / sinking, and swim calculations.
• Hardware display: shows the eight rings, fixed pins, through-wire, fixed weights, and moving-weight balls in the 3D view (with the section view you can see the inside too).

Small lures (40 mm or less): the length can be set from 20 mm. For lures shorter than 90 mm, the calculation grid for shape, float and swim automatically becomes finer in proportion to the length. With the eight ring "Custom (enter size)", enter the wire diameter, loop outer diameter and loop center spacing to use your own small rings or eyes bent from stainless wire (the fixed pin size is set automatically from the loop size). Single hooks #4–#12 (sizes and weights are approximate) and φ3 / φ3.5 mm split rings are available. When shrinking a large lure, turn on "Also scale wall, rib and other thicknesses" in "Resize (keep proportions)" (it turns on automatically below 60%).

Strength tab

Alignment of the halves: "Holes only" makes holes in both halves for separate pins (printed pins, 1.75 mm filament, stainless pins, and so on); both halves can be printed split face down. "Pin and hole" puts pins on body A and holes on body B; body A cannot be printed split face down because the pins point down, so print it split face up with supports. The pins are placed automatically inside the back and belly walls, away from the hardware and weights. Set the transverse ribs (bulkheads), the joint flange (bonding margin), and the lip root reinforcement. The graph is a rough indicator of bending stiffness along the length (the red dot marks the minimum). It is based on shape only, so confirm strength with test prints.

Relief tab

When you open this tab, the side and top views fold away so the relief diagram gets more room ("Show side & top views" brings them back). Raise area: draw a loop in the diagram to raise that region (a negative height carves it). The outline can be freehand, straight lines (click to place corners), or a curve (click to place points); straight-line and curve outlines can be reshaped later by dragging their points. In "Move points" you can move, resize, and rotate it, and sharpness controls how crisp the edge is. It applies to the sides of the body. When you open this tab, the 3D view automatically switches to the whole view so the surface is easy to see (section view off, assembled, zoom reset). When you move to another tab, the section view and so on are restored. Adds an eye (flat disc), gills (arcs), and scales. With "Draw" you can draw freely and the strokes become grooves (or ridges). Eraser, Undo stroke, Clear all, and "Convert gill arcs to strokes" are available. Relief shallower than 0.3 mm is hard to print with FDM. With "Pen type" you can choose a round pen (rounded groove), a pointed pen (V-shaped groove), or a flat pen (flat-bottomed groove). Press "Text" and click the side view to place the typed text (size, angle, font, raised or engraved, and the side can be chosen) as a groove or ridge. Text can go on one side only or on both sides (readable from either side). Drawn lines are applied symmetrically.

Swim test tab

When you open the tab, the current shape starts swimming automatically. At the start it takes a few seconds, up to about 10, for the swing to build up, so "Skip the start-up" (8 s by default) calculates that period in advance and shows the swim from the settled state (set it to 0 to watch from the very start). You can adjust the retrieve speed, the weight position (front / rear), and the multipliers for water drag, lip lift, Munk moment, roll-yaw coupling, and water turbulence. It is a simplified model for seeing tendencies. The eight rings, split rings, and treble hooks are shown in the 3D view too, and the split rings and hooks are not fixed to the eight rings: they move freely and trail behind in the flow. The water drag of the hooks is part of the swim calculation, so the presence and size of the hooks change the swim (pulling resistance, swing, posture). Adjust its strength with the "hook drag multiplier" (the default is 0.2; at 1 the hook drag acts strongly and the swing stops in most lures). "Compare hooks" below lines up no hooks and each size under the same conditions. If the posture collapses, the run stops with a message; lower the multipliers and press "Restart".

Match the real swim (wobble): the swim calculation cannot fully reproduce the side-to-side wobble made by the lip. Enter the yaw amplitude seen from above (±°), the frequency (swings per second) and the retrieve speed measured from a real video, and press "Match this swim"; the swim check's yaw then follows that wobble (frequency scales with speed and the wobble fades when too slow). Roll, sway, pull and hook motion respond as calculated. The lip shape does not change this correction's amplitude, so press "Clear correction" when comparing shapes. The values are saved with the design.

S-swim (snaking): the S-swim of lipless lures is calculated. Dorsal, keel and tail fins act as plates that take side flow, and the line is treated as a thread to a distant rod tip (it does not pin the lure sideways). Fins ahead of the CG make the heading swing more and fins behind it stabilize, so lures with a forward CG and a fin at the head snake more. The body itself also takes side flow where its cross-section height changes (slender-body theory), so lures with a tall, narrow (flattened) head snake even without fins. The amplitude trend is close to real lures, but the frequency may come out lower (slower) than reality. For lipless designs, the "Match the real swim (wobble)" correction is not used.

Line angle: the angle of the line to the water surface is set from "Rod tip height (above water)" and "Distance to the lure" (default 1.5 m and 20 m, about 4°). Raising the rod or retrieving closer lifts the lure. Line sag and drag on the line are not included. The up/down forces the body takes when swimming head-up or head-down (lift on flat surfaces and forces where the section width changes) are included. The swimming depth is approximate.

Float & fall tab

The diagram at the top shows whether the lure floats or sinks and its resting posture in still water (the orientation where the center of gravity and center of buoyancy line up). It is computed for both the front and rear weight positions. In "Fall" below, the lure is dropped through the water on a slack line (sink speed, and whether it falls flat or head first) and you watch it in the 3D view on the left. A lure that floats does not fall; its resting floating posture is shown in the 3D view instead (drag to rotate and inspect how it floats). The whole lure is kept in view.

Share tab

Exports an image (PNG) and a video (GIF) for social media. The image includes the length, mass, net buoyancy, and resting posture, with a watermark (Made with Lure Atelier) at the bottom right (it can be turned off). The size can be the X-recommended 16:9, square, or portrait. The GIF can be Swim, Fall, or Turn, and is made in sizes that fit X (15 MB or less, 1280×1080 or less, 350 frames or less). A lure that floats cannot make a fall GIF.

Ask an AI (Share tab): write what you want and press "Copy the request"; a text with the current design values, float and swim results, the items and ranges that may change, and the reply format is copied. Paste it into your own AI (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.), copy the whole reply, paste it into "AI's reply" and press "Apply". Only the changes are taken from the reply, out-of-range values are clamped (nothing else is changed; Undo reverts). No server is used, so it is free. AI suggestions are a guide; check them with the calculation and the real lure.

Let the AI design from scratch (inside "Ask an AI"): choose the type (minnow, sinking pencil, vibration, pencil, popper), target fish, length, buoyancy, action, depth and so on, press "Copy the design request" and send it to your AI. Paste the reply into "AI's reply" and press "Apply" to build it as a new design. Then "Copy the request" sends the results back with the goal kept, so the AI can keep refining it.

Drag and drop: drop a design file (.json) on the page to open it.

Export tab

• STL: exports the two halves of the body (the second is a mirror image) and the lip (when it is a separate part). Print with the split face down. A finer STL resolution is slower.
• Save format: on the published page files are saved as a ZIP. If you downloaded the page as HTML and opened it on your PC, you can save the STL files individually.
• Design link: "Copy design link" in the Share tab packs the current design into a link. Anyone who opens it can open the same design after a confirmation. The design is inside the link and is not stored on any server (sharing the link shares the design itself). "Post to X" prepares a post with the name, specs, and link; attach the image in the post screen.
• Drawing: saves the side view, top view, sections, part positions, specifications, and parts list on one A4 landscape sheet (SVG or PNG). If the length fits, it is at 1:1, so printing at 100% gives a template for checking sizes.
• Parts list: lists the specification and quantity of the filament, eight rings, pins, hooks, split rings, weights, magnets, wire, and adhesive for the current design. You can save it as CSV or copy it as text.
• Save / load design: save to and load from a JSON file. If the file cannot be opened, paste its content instead. There are also three browser save slots.

Printing and assembly tips

• Print the body with the split face down and no supports. Three to four wall lines is a good start.
• ABS warps easily, so print it in an enclosed space.
• Start with one small lure to check the fit. If holes are too tight or too loose, adjust the "clearance" settings in the Internal tab.
• After gluing, check floating or sinking and posture in a bucket of water.
• Weights, magnets, eight rings, and wire are real parts you add separately (the STL contains only the holes and slots).

What the notes mean

• Wall under 1.2 mm / Lip is thin: weak when printed with FDM.
• Weak section in bending: a place that bends easily (such as the thin part of the tail).
• Weight room ... is too small for its weight: the pocket is too small for the mass.
• Tunnel too short / many moving weights: the moving weights do not fit, or have little room to move.
• Magnets only hold steel balls: change the material to steel.
• Relief is shallow: relief under 0.3 mm is hard to print with FDM.
• Non-manifold edges (after export): small defects where surfaces touch closely. The slicer's auto-repair usually fixes them.

FAQ

It is slow or choppy

Lower the 3D resolution in the Shape tab.

The swim hardly wobbles

Raise the speed (50 cm/s or more) or raise the lip lift and roll-yaw coupling multipliers. Shapes without a lip wobble less.

Can I use it on a phone?

Yes. On narrow screens the panels are stacked vertically. Heavy calculations can be slow on some devices.

I cannot save on iPhone

The saved file may open in another tab. Share or save it from there.

My saved design disappeared

Browser slots are lost if you clear the browser data. Also save important designs to a file.

Glossary

• CG (center of gravity): the center of mass. "Front / rear position" are the values when the moving weight is at the front or rear.
• Split face: the face where the two halves meet (the center plane).
• Key section: a cross-section stored at a position. Shapes between key sections are interpolated.
• Munk moment: the force that makes a slender body turn broadside to the flow.
• Moving weight: the weight that rolls in the tunnel.
• Clearance: the allowance that makes a hole slightly larger than the real part.

Notes

• The swim test uses a simplified model and differs from real underwater motion.
• Floating and sinking are calculated from the outer volume (including the air in the hollow body and weight rooms, the lip, and the metal of the hooks, split rings, and eight rings), assuming the body is sealed and no water gets in, in fresh water (density 1 g/cm³). Relief (eye, gills, drawing, text, raised areas) is included in the volume and mass. In an actual print, material density and fill variation can shift this by about 1 to 3%.
• Be careful about patents, design rights, and other rights in existing products (especially if you sell lures).
• Handle fishing hooks and printed parts safely.
• Use the designs and STL files at your own risk. See "Terms & Privacy" at the top right for the conditions, including commercial use.