3D printing bureaux

[Rambler]

I have a number of 3D designs created in Fusion360 that I’d like to get printed, but I don’t want to have to own a printer (I’m not keen on having to deal with the chemicals). Previously I have used Shapeways but I’d prefer to use a UK-based outfit, preferably one that understands model railways.
Any recommendations?

 

[Lawrence Boul]

When I got these railcar bodies done some years ago I looked at Shapeways, a local supplier and a Chinese supplier. I've lost track of the exact numbers now but Shapeways was completely unviable at about 5x the price of the local supplier from memory (of which shipping was a significant factor). The local company was OK. In the 50-100GBP range as I recall. The Chinese were 20% of THAT (around 4-5% of Shapeways). The Chinese product and service was excellent (as was the local), but there are pitfalls and hiccups involved with China supply. My Shapeways experiences over the years were average I have to say.
As an individual wanting a one off job I'd balance convenience, shipping etc. As a commercial exercise even the local price left little room for margin (bear in mind the shell is only a part of the model), so the China option was the one for me.

 

[NickB]

I have successfully used 3DPRINTUK and CraftCloud. The latter isn't a printer, it is an aggregator that gathers quotes from many sources around the world and lets you choose. Both are happy to take small orders though there may be a minimum order charge, both allow you to upload files and get an instant quote, and both have useful advice concerning wall thicknesses and such like, though that is general advice, they don't do a specific audit of your parts. Understand model railways? I'm not sure what that means.

Nick

 

[simond]

I guess the average commercial printer will print the average file, with wall thicknesses and supports to match.

If you want to do something that pushes the boundaries, you will have failures, and each frustrating failure costs time, but only pennies, if it‘s your printer.

If it‘s a commercial printer, they're selling time, so it’s going to be both frustrating and expensive unless it’s easy. And you’ll struggle to learn from the results.