3D Print Service

With the rising popularity of 3D printing and commercial sites (as well as individual designers) offering ready-designed STL files for sale, I am pleased to make available a boutique 3D printing service to those who wish to have STL files printed.

Why would this be a “boutique” service that differs from other 3D print services such as Shapeways?

1. I will work with you to custom prep your STLs to consume minimum resin by hollowing them out and eliminating parts that are not desired by you (example: a space craft interior that won’t be seen in the final model).
2. Parts will be printed at whatever scale you select, even if the original STL files are smaller or larger than what you want. You’ll be advised of any challenges associated with scaling the files, including impacts on detail, resolution and costs.
3. You will receive a full estimate of all costs up front, so no surprises. We’ll also agree to a written contract before proceeding with any actions to ensure that you get exactly what you want.
4. Your parts will be printed, cleaned and UV cured using professional equipment – no swishing the parts around in a plastic tub of isopropyl alcohol or putting the parts on a window sill to irregularly and randomly cure in the sunlight. Here at DSR we only use FormLabs printers (currently the Form 3), wash stations and UV cure stations.
5. All parts will have printing supports trimmed away so that you’re only paying shipping costs for the parts, not for the supports.
6. Each step of the way you’ll receive updates by email including photos and – sometimes – videos of progress and tips for building your model.
7. If appropriate, you’ll receive customized assembly instructions highlighting quirks or deviations from the instructions you may have received (if any) from the STL designer

Please recognize that 3D printing using stereolithography (SLA) is not inexpensive, but it does result in the highest possible printing resolution outside of industry machines costing tens of thousands of dollars. Our resolution with the FormLabs Form3 is 50 microns per layer. Some minor sanding may be required to remove faint print lines, but 320 – 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper easily removes such artifacts.

To estimate your costs ahead of time (prior to DSR providing you a final estimate) you may do the following:

1. Total the mL of resin required for all parts (don’t forget duplicates such as left & right landing gear). Remember that we'll do everything possible to hollow solid parts and reduce the total mL required, but this is a good place to start.
2. Multiply this figure by 1.6 to account for increased resin usage for printing supports. I find this is a fair estimate overall; some individual parts will be less and some will be more but on average each part requires another 60% of resin for supports.
3. Multiply the total mL of resin required (including supports) by 60 cents. That will be your total approximate cost for printing, cleaning, curing, etc. of all parts.
4. If you need to scale the STLs and are having difficulty with the math, we can help. And remember that volume scales as the cube of the linear scale! So if you double the linear scale, you need to increase the volume of resin required by 8 times! (2*2*2=8)
5. You, the customer, will also be responsible for shipping. We typically use US Postal Service Priority Mail since it is insured and tracked, for your protection. Contact us for international shipping rates (which can get pricy).

Contact us here via the Contact form and we can discuss your needs. 

Note that you’ll be signing a contract with DSR that fully explains all expectations for you as the customer, and for DSR as the service provider. As part of this process you will attest that you have full rights to the STLs being printed and that no infringement is being made on the rights of the designer regarding licensing fees, etc.