# openPlan (linking 3D Slicer with Blender)
**URL:** https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [November 30, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818 "2020-11-30T15:13:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@talmazov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/talmazov)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/1 "2020-11-30T15:13:38Z")
Hello community members,
I’ve been holding out making this post but I think our project is ready to reach a broader audience of users and developers alike. I hope with this post to expose openPlan to the community of users and developers, and hopefully drive some interest. openPlan is open source and will always will be, as its capabilities are made possible by the openness of the 3D Slicer and Blender communities alike.
What is openPlan?
This is an addon extension that bridges functionality between 3D Slicer (a powerful medical imaging visualization and segmentation platform) with Blender’s powerful 3D modeling toolset. The aim is to provide a unified visualization and modeling workflow for the medical community.
Demo reel: [https://youtu.be/6ABk43M5QFw](https://youtu.be/6ABk43M5QFw)
GitHub repository: [GitHub - dentsoft-foundation/openPlan: openPlan is a comprehensive solution for object linking and medical imaging visualization between Blender and 3D Slicer.](https://github.com/dentsoft-foundation/openPlan)
Drafted manual: [https://dentsoft.foundation/knowledge-base/openplan-manual/](https://dentsoft.foundation/knowledge-base/openplan-manual/)
Goals and aims?
openPlan came to fruition out of necessity for free and/or open source alternatives to dental implant planning. However, as the addon grew in features and complexity so did our vision to have it be flexible enough to adopt across healthcare as a whole.
openPlan (previously LinkSlicerBlender) was used in our recent publication that assessed the accuracy of dental implant planning in 3D Slicer/Blender vs equivalent commercial software.
[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jopr.13208](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jopr.13208)
The openPlan addon is meant to facilitate interoperability and not replace or modify core 3D Slicer and blender functionality.
Our main goal is to grow the project further and assess its value within the medical community. Although the current state of the project is stable, much code organization/optimization and overall documentation (manuals, tutorials, and design specifications) needs to be completed.
Contributions:
Much much thanks goes to Dr. Patrick Moore, from D3 Tools, for spearheading this vision in 2017. Since then the project was updated, by Dr. Georgi Talmazov, to be compatible with the latest Blender and 3D Slicer releases along with the addition of some new features. There is substantial help and guidance provided by @lassoan when development was reaching dead-ends for 3D Slicer. Also, much gratitude to the slicer and blender communities for providing much of their knowledge accessible by the public internet.
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### Author:  [@manjula](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/manjula)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/2 "2020-11-30T17:05:09Z")
Many congratulations and this is an excellent step in the right direction. Very much appreciate the hard work and this will be used widely in the dental community I believe. I will share this with my colleagues and thank you for the well-written paper.
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### Author:  [@Melodicpinpon](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/Melodicpinpon)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/3 "2022-04-22T21:14:03Z")
Man, you are so far ahead that nobody followed you !
I have received the link to this post 5 minutes ago and I love your initiative.
It is a dream that comes true.
We may have things to share:
> **[Open Source Anatomy | Z-Anatomy](https://www.z-anatomy.com/)**
>
> Download the open source 3D files of human anatomy, repaired and organized in Blender.
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAITXJE8ECA)
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIxJnw1ARhs)
[https://www.linkedin.com/company/z-anatomy](https://www.linkedin.com/company/z-anatomy)
The posts on LinkedIn give an overview of some exercises and particular features:
> **[Z-Anatomy on LinkedIn: Dicom Blender](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6915967013798518784)**
>
> .DICOM
>
> Although the .dicom (https://lnkd.in/gPvEJygt) used by 'BodyParts3D' to create the open source human models could not be found, it may be good to…
If you do not mind, I will share your work on the LinkedIn page:
This is HUGE !!!
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### Author:  [@Melodicpinpon](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/Melodicpinpon)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2022, 8:21am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/4 "2022-04-24T08:21:44Z")
The links are broken.
Where can we find the add-on?
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### Author:  [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/5 "2022-10-08T15:19:05Z")
I’m not sure what happened to this project or why the original post’s links are broken, but with some searching I found that the source code is still available here:
> **[GitHub - dentsoft-foundation/linkSlicerBlender: An extension script to sync...](https://github.com/dentsoft-foundation/linkSlicerBlender)**
>
> An extension script to sync objects from Blender in 3D Slicer. - GitHub - dentsoft-foundation/linkSlicerBlender: An extension script to sync objects from Blender in 3D Slicer.
Has anyone else had a chance to try it out? It seems to open a lot of possibilities like rendering Slicer data with Blender rendering engines.
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### Author:  [@talmazov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/talmazov)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/6 "2022-10-08T21:11:05Z")
hey, use linkSlicerBlender/openPlan as you please. It didn’t get the traction we thought it would but some useful learnings evolved out of it.
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### Author:  [@Melodicpinpon](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/Melodicpinpon)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2022, 1:06am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/7 "2022-10-19T01:06:28Z")
It is a great loss for everyone when such an interesting project is abandoned because of a lack of support/recognition/visibility.
I face the same problem with the atlas of anatomy ([https://www.z-anatomy.com/](https://www.z-anatomy.com/)) and can only hope that somebody will continue it someday or that I will find the energy and the time to continue it by myself.
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### Author:  [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/8 "2022-10-19T19:12:44Z")
Thanks to everyone who has done and shared their pioneering work. I agree it will be great to see others pick up these ideas and move forward.
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### Author:  [@yun\_zou](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/yun_zou)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2023, 7:27am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/9 "2023-04-30T07:27:39Z")
linkSlicerBlender/openPlan This link on GitHub is invalid, can you post one. Thanks
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### Author:  [@yun\_zou](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/yun_zou)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2023, 7:31am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/10 "2023-04-30T07:31:34Z")
Or I made a mistake, resulting in no tool interface operation in blender, only one service. I hereby ask you for advice. Thanks
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### Author:  [@talmazov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/talmazov)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/11 "2023-04-30T12:28:50Z")
> **[GitHub - dentsoft-foundation/linkSlicerBlender: An extension script to sync...](https://github.com/dentsoft-foundation/linkSlicerBlender)**
>
> An extension script to sync objects from Blender in 3D Slicer. - GitHub - dentsoft-foundation/linkSlicerBlender: An extension script to sync objects from Blender in 3D Slicer.
---
### Author:  [@yun\_zou](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/yun_zou)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/12 "2023-05-01T02:54:54Z")
I tried, there is no other functional button
I think the link between the two software, I should link successfully. But the model cannot be transferred to blender, and there are no other buttons for me to operate. Hope to get your answer. Thanks
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### Author:  [@talmazov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/talmazov)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/13 "2023-05-01T12:28:33Z")
Hey,
Can you dump the console output from both slicer and blender?
You need to start the “server” first in blender then “connect” from slicer.
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### Author:  [@yun\_zou](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/yun_zou)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2023, 3:19am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/14 "2023-05-03T03:19:37Z")
I have started the servers on both sides. Currently, the models in Blender can enter 3dslicer, but the models in 3dslicer cannot be imported into Blender. So far I’ve tested it like this
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### Author:  [@talmazov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/talmazov)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/16 "2023-07-10T22:55:09Z")
the github repo has been updated and made publicly available, enjoy this open source tech and feel free to learn and build upon it
much was learned in the process and I hope it will serve as a good source of knowledge for everyone
> **[GitHub - dentsoft-foundation/openPlan: openPlan is a comprehensive solution...](https://github.com/dentsoft-foundation/openPlan)**
>
> openPlan is a comprehensive solution for object linking and medical imaging visualization between Blender and 3D Slicer. - GitHub - dentsoft-foundation/openPlan: openPlan is a comprehensive solutio...
---
### Author:  [@talmazov](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/talmazov)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/17 "2024-03-19T01:30:30Z")
hey, much apologies for the broken youtube link.
here is an updated link to the demo video [https://youtu.be/TMCDoHegnAs](https://youtu.be/TMCDoHegnAs)
in the demo i use blender addons: open dental cad, object alignment, openPlan
editor note: i am not able to edit the original posting with the new youtube video link
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### Author:  [@janbond009](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/janbond009)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2024, 9:43am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/openplan-linking-3d-slicer-with-blender/14818/18 "2024-06-19T09:43:11Z")
Such a nice idea to link 3D Slicer to Blender.
I’ve tried installing openPlan and/or linkSlicerBlender on Blender 3.2 and Slicer 5.0.3 following @talmazov installation instructions. However, I’m not sure how to use it. Tried following demo on the youtube video but nothing happened and my interface is different from the demo. Any help would be greatly appreciated.