Getting Started
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If you're new around here, welcome! We thought we'd put a few links together to springboard your foray into the fabulous (and sometimes frustrating!) world of 3D printing. :)
3D printing (a.k.a Additive Manufacturing) is now pretty well established in industry as a prototyping tool and is becoming more common as a process for creating finished custom or low-run parts.
In the home, printers can be a marvellous tool for solving practical household problems for example by repairing items, or creating new items that are fully customised for their use case. They also can be used for fun and are popular for making tabletop gaming minis and toys.
For inspiration you can browse #showcase-gallery in the 3DPrinters Discord Server.
The various types of 3D printing technologies all create real-world three-dimensional objects from digital models via the addition of material. These processes are able to produce novel structures that other manufacturing techniques cannot typically in a fully automated way. Usually the 3D printing process looks like this:
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Get a digital 3D model (by downloading or making one)
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Slice it (use a program to generate instructions for the printer)
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Print it (and troubleshoot it!)
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Post-process it (remove support material, clean up areas, paint etc)
If you don't want to buy a printer (and you just want to have something printed), you can engage the help of a 3D printing service. Some popular choices include:
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This list of Redditors who offer print services via /r/3DPrintMyThing
For a full list of service-providers (including design and model hosting services), please see the Services page.
If you're totally new to printing, the best place to ask for help when deciding what printer is right for you is our #what-printer-should-i-buy channel.
Generally personal printers come in two main categories;
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FFF (more often called FDM) printers are best suited to larger objects and functional parts. These machines work like a hot glue gun that is moved around by a gantry, extruding plastic filament and building up an object layer by layer.
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DLP / MSLA (AKA Layer Masking or incorrectly SLS) printers are best suited to extremely detailed prints, and use light to cure photopolymer resin in layers, typically by masking a UV bulb with an LCD screen.
There are, however, many other types of 3D printing technologies which are can be used, each with its pros and cons!
If you don't want to make your own models to print, there are many sites that host models for download. The more popular ones are:
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Thingiverse: The biggest model host, often buggy and slow.
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Yeggi 3D model aggregator/search and often quicker than using the thingiverse search!
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My Mini Factory: Hosts both free and paid models.
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GrabCad: An engineering CAD sharing site and do not focused on printable objects.
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YouMagine: Open source models.
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pinshape Hosts both free and paid models.
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Cults Hosts free and paid models, also offer design and print services.
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CGTrader Host free and paid models but not all of them made to be printed.
A community-curated list of model host services can also be found on the services page.
The RepRap foundation also keeps a list of printable model-host services here.
When selecting a model you need to ensure they are manifold, here's an explanation of what that means and a guide on fixing them. You can also try free, automated services such as Netfabb
When you are just starting out with FFF(FDM) 3D printing PLA is the recommended choice. It's very easy to work, relatively strong, and comes without many of the safety concerns of other materials. A deeper discussion of materials can be found here..
If you are starting on a resin printer, check out our Resin Info page.
Slicing software takes a 3d model and turns it into instructions for the 3D printer. The instructions are generally exported in a GCode file which is a list of locations to move to, amount of filament to extrude, and other printer commands.
The popular choices for slicing software are:
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Ultimaker Cura: Free, open source, highly customisable and capable. [Getting Started, Full Manual]
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Prusa Slicer: Based on Slic3r [Getting started]
There are, however, many other options, most of which are discussed here
Be sure to check the layer preview to see if it makes sense in your slicer before printing (no unsupported overhangs, no parts missing, etc). More info is available on the Slicers Page
Follow your manufacturer's instructions in setting up your printer and starting your first print. It's a good idea to print a small test print first (usually printers come with one) before attempting larger or complex models.
If it succeeds congrats on your first print! You can now start slicing and printing your own models or some calibration prints
If your print fails you can begin troubleshooting.
This video helps you get to know the parts of your machine, so you know what we're talking about!
By far the most common reason for prints failing is an issue with levelling/tramming. Have a look at this helpful levelling poster.
This visual reference, and this video may also help.
Once you have your prints sticking and printing, these guides can help you identify and solve any other issues you're experiencing:
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A Printa Pro PrintaGuide
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rigid.ink poster and visual guide
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Matterhackers Troubleshooting Guide
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Simplify 3D Visual Troubleshooting Guide
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Ultimaker Visual Troubleshooting Guide
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RepRap Wiki Pictorial Troubleshooting Guide and Descriptive Troubleshooting Guide, these are a bit more technical/ advanced
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It's also worthwhile seeking information from the manufacturer of your machine.
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You can try searching for similar issues that other folk have experienced in the following communities: /r/3Dprinting, /r/FixMyPrint, the 3D Printers Discord
If the above suggestions don't solve your issue then it's time to seek help from the community:
- This video is a great overview on how to seek help with prints.
When asking for help be sure to provide the following:
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A highly descriptive title (even if you don't know exactly what everything is officially called, please do your best to describe the issue in plain English. This not only helps you get the help you want, but also helps the rest of the community by keeping the sub searchable, so others can benefit from the help you receive.)
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Photos of the issue, screengrabs of the layer view in your slicer, screengrabs of the model itself.
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A description of what the machine was doing as it produced this issue.
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Your basic settings such as: nozzle and bed temperature, speed, nozzle/line width and later height, the printer you're using and the material you're printing in. Or better yet, a screengrab or an export of your settings (you can upload files free without an account here)
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Any other information you think could be relevant such as modifications or hypotheses.
Most prints need some work after they come off the printer to turn them into a finished part. Supports need to be removed, and surfaces may need to be smoothed. Here are some tutorials:
More info on the Post Processing page
Can't find what you want online? Why not design and make it? There is a range of model making software available and which you choose will depend what you want to make.
Model making is discussed in more depth on the Making Models page.
More communities:
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/u/Devtholt keeps a Multireddit of all 3d printing subreddits including some specifically for help, or tailored to certain printers or printer manufacturers. Also has some subs that are related to 3D printing peripherally, such as /r/lasercutting and /r/CNC
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The 3D Printing Discord is great platform for troubleshooting and socialising.
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RepRap Forums are an older and less active community in forum format.
