This is especially important when designing for Versatile Plastic-without enough clearance, the parts will fuse together during the print process.

Moving parts need clearance between one another to function properly. You likely had to specify the scale of your model (meters, millimeters, inches) before uploading your model, but it's always smart to check those dimensions one more time to make sure they meet your expectations before you order. Add extra support to these areas to help prevent breakages in the production process. Outstretched elements, such as wires or appendages on figurines, could snap off during or after printing if the joint is not strong enough. Be sure to account for weight distribution, and the model's ability to support its own weight. The material guidelines describe the required escape holes for each material-when in doubt, lean towards more and/or larger escape holes.Ī model must be designed for real-world physics. Learn more about why wall thickness matters.Įxcess material, such as nylon powder for our Versatile Plastic, must be able to escape from hollow models. To access these please go to The Materials Hub, click on the material you are interested in, and select the Design guidelines tab on top of the page.Įvery part of your model must be thick enough to be 3D printed, survive post-production, and be safely packed and shipped.

The material design guidelines are your primary resource for designing 3D printable products. Use this checklist as a tool to prepare your model for 3D printing and put your mind at ease.Įach checklist item applies differently to each material. If you encounter an error during the upload process, get in touch with our Customer Service team. Your model must be watertight/closed, with the right normals, and manifold. The specific minimum and maximum bounding box requirements vary by material and can be found in our Design Guidelines. Your model must fit within at least one of our printers. Here's how you can reduce your file size. You can use Meshlab to reduce your polygon count. We accept 3D models up to a 1 million polygon limit.

Supported file types include STL, OBJ, MTL, X3D, DAE, 3MF, Collada, STP, STEP and VRML97/2 (WRL). Upon upload, your model immediately and automatically goes through our initial printability checks:

Check stl file for 3d printing