Found a 3D model online? How to get it printed in Ireland

Where the models are

The big libraries are Printables, Thingiverse, MakerWorld, Thangs and Cults. Between them they hold millions of free models: organisers, brackets, replacement parts for appliances, toys, planters, tools, holders for every gadget ever sold. Search the thing you want plus the make and model of whatever it fits, and you will usually find three versions of it.

You do not need to download anything. Paste the link into the quote form and we fetch the files ourselves. If you already have the file, upload it: STL, 3MF, OBJ, STEP, STP, PLY, up to 50 MB.

Which models print well

A model made for a desktop printer prints well. Look for a listing with photos of the printed object, not just a render, and a few comments from people who printed it. Those are the ones with sensible wall thicknesses, flat bottoms and no surprises.

• Size: a single piece up to about 25 cm in each direction. Bigger things are printed in sections and joined, which the listing usually says.
• Detail: fine lettering, thin spikes and lace-like surfaces lose definition on a 0.4 mm nozzle. Solid shapes, hinges and snap fits come out as drawn.
• Overhangs: anything that leans out more than about 45° needs support material, which leaves a slightly rougher surface underneath. Good designers orient the part so it needs little or none.
• Game assets and scans: a figure ripped from a game or a raw 3D scan is often hollow, has holes in its mesh, or has walls thinner than a hair. It can sometimes be repaired; we tell you before quoting.

If you are not sure, send the link anyway. Checking a file takes us a few minutes and costs you nothing.

The licence: what you are allowed to have printed

Every model online carries a licence, shown on the listing. For a one-off printed for your own use, almost all of them are fine: Creative Commons in any flavour, the Printables and MakerWorld standard licences, and the paid files you buy on Cults or Patreon, which come with the right to print copies for yourself.

Two things we do not do. We do not sell prints of a model on this site unless its licence allows commercial use, which is why the ready-made parts are all CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA with the designer credited. And we do not print brand logos, badges or trademarked characters, whatever the file says, because the trademark is not the designer's to give. A phone stand shaped like a well-known mascot is a no; a phone stand is a yes.

PLA or PETG, and which colour

PLA is the everyday material: stiff, sharp detail, the widest range of colours, and the right pick for anything that lives indoors on a shelf or a desk. PETG is tougher, bends before it breaks, and shrugs off sun, damp and the odd knock, so it is the one for outdoors, the car, the shed, and parts that clip or flex. PLA softens around 55 °C and PETG around 75 °C, so neither goes near an oven, a kettle or an engine.

A part is one colour unless it is designed in pieces. Tell us the colour on the form, or say "whatever you have" and we pick something that suits.

What it costs

The price is the printer time plus the filament, with handling and An Post delivery in Ireland added once per order: €4 per print hour, €0.05 per gram, and €11.65 for the order, with a minimum of €15. Most small objects from the libraries land between €15 and €30 delivered. A second copy of the same thing is cheap, because the fixed part is already paid.

We slice your file on our own printer before quoting, so the number you get is the number you pay. The worked examples are on the prices page.

What we will not print

• Anything safety-critical: child car seat parts and harness buckles, helmets, brakes, climbing or lifting gear.
• Parts that get hot, or that hold pressure.
• Brand logos, badges and trademarked characters.
• Weapons, or parts of them, in any material.

How to send it

1. Open the quote form.
2. Paste the link to the model, or upload the file.
3. Say which material and colour you would like, and how many you need.
4. Add anything the listing mentions: a scale, a part that needs a certain orientation, a piece you do not need.

You get a fixed price by email, usually the same day. Pay the link, and the part is printed and posted by An Post, delivery included anywhere in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Questions