Designing for 3D Printing

Design Guides

Before submitting any 3D model, ensure you have looked over the relevant design guide. These include recommended minimum wall thicknesses, tolerances & considerations when designing parts for printing. Design guides can be found on each printing technologies home page.

If you are designing parts that do not meet the design guides, please consult with dFab staff.

MSLA (resin) and SLS submissions that do not meet the design guides will likely be rejected due to:

• potential damage to parts whilst removing support / de-powdering

• machine maintenance and clean up required due to unsuccessful prints

3D Model Checklist

Once your part has been designed, ensure all parts follow the 3D Model checklist

Model must be fully closed, manifold and watertight	There must be no holes or gaps within a model. Single surfaces, open or disjointed meshes cannot be printed.
Model must not consist of any intersecting objects or crossing volumes.	Intersecting objects must be joined, booleaned or merged into 1 continuous object
Model units must be in mm and at the desired print dimensions (1:1 scale)	All dFab slicing software units are set to millimetres.
Model must not require excessive support	Models requiring significant support should be split up where possible. This will reduce the print time and limit material waste
Model must fit within the relevant printer build volume	All models should fit within 80% of the build area. Models can be taller than 80% of the z-height.
Model must not be a basic or planar form that can be easily fabricated by other means	If a model is planar or has a number of thin features consider laser cutting or hand-making. Thin Rods, Pillars, and Columns should not be printed