Design Guide
Before creating a 3D model on any CAD software for 3D printing, there are some things you need to keep in mind to help make your designs print-friendly:
Make solid objects.
Your object has to have a thickness of at least 2-3 mm to be safe.
No shared edges.
The objects either have to be 0.1mm apart or overlapping each other.
Correct surface normals.
A normal is the direction in which a face is pointing that is defined by a vector. Check for inverted normals.
Close all objects.
Open faces or unwelded vertices are “holes” in your object. This means your object is not solid, and it needs to be closed. Check for open faces or unwelded vertices.
Size according to the build volume.
Make sure your object fits within our standard build volume maximum, which stands at 7x7x7in. You can consult with the Shapecloud team should larger prints/works be needed.
Scale down.
The cost of your print will depend on the printing time needed and the amount of material used, so your design will cost less if you scale it down.
Solid and hollowed.
Make sure your designs are solid and watertight, while considering that hollowing out your models (with proper wall thickness) can save you on cost of material!
Avoid thin arms.
Make sure to create thick arms that will be able to support the weight of your object otherwise, your print might droop or break apart.
For any questions on the above design tips, please feel free to reach out and we would be happy to get on the phone and guide you through any problems.