Design guidelines for 3D printing

Wall thickness

Aim for walls of at least 1.0–1.2 mm, which is roughly two or more printed perimeters. Thicker walls are stronger and more reliable; walls much below this can be fragile or may not print solidly. For structural parts, add walls rather than relying on infill alone.

Tolerances and clearances

We hold a typical tolerance of about ±0.2–0.3 mm and account for material shrinkage in our setup, so you should design to your nominal dimensions. For parts that mate — lids, press-fits, shafts in holes — design in 0.2–0.3 mm of clearance, as you would for any manufacturing process. Holes can come out slightly undersize; if a hole is dimensionally critical, design it nominal and plan to ream it, or note it on your order.

Holes, threads, and inserts

Model holes, slots, and counterbores at nominal size in your file and they print as drawn. For threads that will be assembled and disassembled, heat-set threaded inserts are far more durable than printed threads — design a boss sized for the insert and note it on your order. Large-pitch printed threads are fine for light, low-cycle use.

Orientation and strength

Printed parts are strongest in the plane of each layer and weakest across layers, where the part can be peeled apart. We orient parts for the loads they carry, but it helps to design so the main load runs along the layers rather than across them, and to avoid thin necks where layers would separate. Tell us the application for load-bearing parts and we'll confirm the approach.

Overhangs and supports

Surfaces up to about 45° from vertical print cleanly without support. Steeper overhangs need support material, which adds finishing work and can leave marks on the underside. Where you can, replace overhangs with chamfers, and orient the part so critical surfaces face up.

Fillets and stress

Add fillets at inside corners. Sharp internal corners concentrate stress and are common crack-initiation points; a small radius spreads the load and meaningfully improves durability.

Text, logos, and fine detail

Text built into the printed part renders reliably at around 3 mm and up. For finer text, serial numbers, QR codes, and crisp logos, use permanent laser marking instead — a high-contrast surface mark (not a cut or recess) that holds detail the print can't. See serial numbers, QR codes & part IDs for how that's set up.

Size, materials, and files

The build size is 256 × 256 × 260 mm; the order tool flags anything larger. Choose a material to suit the job — the PETG vs ABS vs ASA guide and the material finder help — and upload an STL, OBJ, or 3MF modeled in millimeters. No model? Our 3D scanning service can build one from a physical part.

How we help before printing

When you upload a model, the order tool renders a live preview and flags walls that look too thin. We also review each file before production and will reach out if we see something that would affect the result — so a design issue gets caught before the part is made, not after.