3D Printing
WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH OUR 3D PRINTER AT OUR CENTRAL BRANCH. OUR TEAM IS WORKING DILIGENTLY TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE IT MAY CAUSE AND APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE
If you have have any questions about a submitted job or any other aspect of 3D printing, please contact us.
With applications in the health sector, aerospace, the automotive industry, and at home, 3D printing has become a mainstream service at the library. But what can it do for you? You could:
- Bring your business idea to life through rapid prototyping and design;
- Make that school project pop with custom designed diagrams and display pieces;
- Replace that missing game piece or toy;
- Complete your action figure set;
- Print a replacement part for the small appliance that's starting to fall apart;
- Practice 3D design and see the results of your work;
- And more!
How does the process work?
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You will need to create a 3D printing account before you can submit print jobs to RPL. To do this you will need to have a valid SILS library card, an email address, and be 14 years of age or older. Please be sure to verify your email account before submitting your first jobs!
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Log into your account and upload your print job, then select your preferred location for picking up your print job. Then you can select your colour preference and enter how many copies you need as well as any other details about the job that are applicable.
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Once the job has been uploaded, our team will assess your job to ensure that it is printable and that it meets our Terms and Conditions. We will then send you an estimate of the cost by email. You will need to approve the job and accept the cost prior to printing. We'll get in touch if we discover any potential issues.
Note: You must approve your print submissions within 30 days of submitting to avoid them being cancelled. Cancelled jobs will need to be resubmitted. -
Once your job is printed, you will be notified by email that your job is ready for pick up from our Central Library or Sunrise Library based on your selection at the time of submitting the print job. We cannot send your item to another location. Be sure to pick up your job promptly! Jobs that are not picked up within three (3) months will become property of the library.
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Please note that .STL files will be deleted from our servers after 6 months. Be sure to save your .STL files to your personal storage after you have submitted your job.
Printers: One Ultimaker 3 and two Ultimaker S5's.
Available Filament: PLA only - additional materials are under consideration but we cannot use other materials at this time.
Colours Available: We have different set of colours available at the different pickup locations. Kindly find the list of the available colours at the different pickup locations below:
Central Library | Sunrise Library |
Black | Black |
Blue | Silver |
Green | White |
Magenta | |
Orange | |
Red | |
Silver | |
Translucent | |
White | |
Yellow |
Colours that are in stock are available to select as a choice when you submit a print job. Please note that we only offer single-colour print jobs at this time. We are considering ways to allow for dual-colour printing in the future.
Cost: Jobs are priced at 10 cents per gram, rounded to the nearest gram. This cost includes both bed adhesion and support.
Reprints: Jobs could fail due to machine failure or design flaws. If you not happy with the quality of the 3D print after pick up and would like to have it reprinted, you must contact the 3D Printing Admin and describe the issue and discuss next steps. Once the admin determines the cause of the failure, you may be asked to make alterations to the design. If the admin agrees to reprint the item, it will be at no additional cost. However, you must return the defective print item to the same library where they picked up their defective print job from to initiate the reprint. If the design cannot produce a viable printed object, you will not be charged for the failed job, and we will retain the material used in the attempt.
Maximum Build Volume Available: The object or part thereof must fit within the confines of the build area in the printer. Our largest printer (the Ultimaker S5) has a maximum build volume of 330 mm (W) x 240 mm (D) x 300 mm (H). Be sure to account for bed adhesion when designing jobs.
Infill: By default, we print jobs at 20% infill (good for prototypes and most figurines). We will use higher or lower infill percentages on request but be aware that the higher the infill percentage, the more the job will cost because it will weigh more. Items can be printed at 0% infill (basically hollow) or at 100% infill (solid) but the results can be unpredictable.
Bed Adhesion: Always on - usually raft but we will use brim for certain jobs when warranted.
Support: Enabled with "Everywhere" selected. For certain figurines or other complex jobs we will use "Touching Buildplate" or "Tree Support" as appropriate. We are willing to attempt to print jobs without support so long as you agree to pay even if the jobs fail. Note: We print support using PLA - not PVA or Breakaway.
Nozzle Size: 0.4 mm
Available Print Profiles: Our Standard print profile gives preference to speed and has a layer height of 0.25 mm. Our Fine Detail profile is much slower but allows for greater detail on things like figurines - it uses a layer height of 0.1 mm. Please note that we will only use Fine Detail as long as the print time of the job remains under 18 hours.
File Types Accepted: STL only. Each job should be no bigger than 100 MB in size. Please ensure that your file uses millimeters or metric for units - not inches.
Slicer Software: Ultimaker Cura with the Mesh Tools extension (we are always on the latest version).
Recommended Software
There are a number of great 3D design and mesh software packages available on the market. RPL staff frequently uses the following:
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Tinkercad - a great place to start learning 3D design
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Fusion 360 - from Autodesk, an intermediate package that offers free licenses for hobbyists and startups
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Meshmixer - works with existing mesh files or scans to fix problems or add enhancements
Be sure to check on the system requirements for any software you install! Important: When you save or export files from your design software, be sure that it is using the correct units (millimeters). Software that is used for 3D design sometimes exports in inches or even without units at all - this can cause unexpected results.
Need Help Getting Started?
LinkedIn Learning has a large number of tutorials about 3D printing and 3D design. Here are a few to get you started:
Not sure what to print? No problem! We recommend checking out the collection of free, ready-made designs on Thingiverse.
Note: All print jobs are subject to staff approval and we reserve the right to deny any print job. We will not print keys, weapon components or copyright-restricted designs, or anything that isn't in keeping with our Terms and Conditions.