What to Know Before You Send Us a 3D File

If you already have a 3D file, you are most of the way to a finished print. Here is what we can work with, and what to check before you hit send.

File types we print from

STL, OBJ, and 3MF are all ready to go. STL is the most common by far, and it is what most free models online come as. OBJ carries color and texture information. 3MF is the newest of the three and holds the most detail.

If you have something in another format, send it anyway. We can usually convert it. Worst case, we tell you it will not work and explain why.

No file? That is completely fine

Most of our custom orders start with no file at all. A photo of the broken part. A screenshot. A rough drawing. A description typed into the form. We design from all of those.

If you are replacing something, the single most useful thing you can send is a photo of it next to a ruler or a coin. Scale is the hardest thing to guess from a picture, and one measurement saves a lot of back and forth.

Three things worth checking

Size. Files do not always carry the units you expect. Tell us how big the finished piece should be, even roughly. "About the size of my palm" is genuinely useful.

Overhangs and thin walls. Printers build in layers from the bottom up, so steep overhangs need supports and very thin walls come out fragile. We will flag anything that worries us before we print it.

What it needs to do. A display piece and a part that takes weight are different problems. Tell us if it has to hold something, snap onto something, or survive daily handling. That changes the material and the settings we use.

A quick word on licensing

If you downloaded a model somewhere, check whether it is licensed for commercial printing. Many free models are personal use only. We are glad to print your own files or ones you have the right to use, and we will ask if something looks like it might be a problem.

Still not sure? Send us what you have and we will tell you what we can do with it. We reply within one to two business days.