Submitting a Model for 3D Printing

Plastic 3D print jobs (Fortus/uPrint)

Our Service Desk staff will use the following submission process for accepting plastic 3D print jobs:

1. If a student submits a model that takes up 75% or more of the bed (8"x6" for UPrint, 10"x10" for Fortus) or the wash volume (8"x6"x6"), submit print/wash immediately.
2. If a student submits a model that takes up less than 75% of the bed, there are 3 options:
   1. Only print this model if it can be combined and submitted on or before (date), otherwise cancel and notify.
   2. Wait until (date) to combine, then print by itself if necessary.
   3. Print ASAP, combine if possible.
3. When a model is received the student can be notified of the distribution of support material created by the SMART fill option, and can opt to have the print automatically placed in the wash queue for the following day.
4. Due to the possible savings of combining files in both the build and wash, we encourage all student who are attempting to combine files to pay for their model after it is completed.
5. If a group of students come together to the desk and submit models that take up >75% of the bed, that set of models can be started immediately. 
6. Base cost for printing and washing is divided by number of people, not by surface area, volume or numbers of objects.
7. Models will generally take one day (overnight) to print and one day (overnight) to wash.  So generally, models can be picked up in the morning 2 days after they are submitted if using an ASAP option or 2 days after they are combined and submitted based on dates you provide.  These general time estimates will not hold during times of large print volume when there is a backlog.  When printing jobs that use only a raft of support material, processing time is 1 day (i.e. print only).

Submitting your digital file:

1. Export the .stl file in your 3D modeling software of choice.
2. Run your model through the naked edges test in Rhino and make sure there are no naked edges, if there are please fix these before coming to the desk. 
3. Create a free account at shapeways.com and click the "Upload" button to test your .stl file. If the model gets a green check mark for "White Strong & Flexible Plastic",  When you see an image of your model appear in the window at the top of the Shapeways page, that does not necessarily mean your file has passed all quality checks. It may take a few minutes for those checks to complete! The photo below shows an example of a file that has passed all quality checks on Shapeways. **Also check that there are no other warnings (Mesh, Bounding Box, Wall Thickness, Loose Shells, etc...), an example of a failed test is also shown below. 
    
4. Bring your prepared file on a thumb drive to the Service Desk to be tested, approved and priced. From here we will do our own Shapeways test and Rhino naked edges test. There will be a charge of $5 to perform these tests. If your model passes both tests we will apply the $5 towards your print. If your model fails either one of these tests or has any warnings, the charge will apply to What I Owe and we will not print your 3D print. You will have to go back and re-adjust your .stl file and we will run the tests again before printing with the same charges. 
   1. Please note that our software only allows us to confirm that your model is closed polygon, meaning we can only see the outside faces of the object. If there is an issue with the internal structure, we may not be able to notify you at the time of submission. Please review the model submission guidelines for more information.
5. When your file is submitted for printing by the desk staff, you will receive an email about its completion.
6. You will pay for your model via What I Owe.