"Alternatives to Shapeways?" Topic

I've been collecting 1/144 WW1 aircraft models from Shapeways for a year or two now. The vast majority of these have been printed perfectly. I did have one that suffered form extensive ridging, so it looked like it was cut from layers of thick cardboard. I know some other people have as well. Up until now Shapeways have agreed to reprint models that have this feature (they look awful). However, Shapeways have now announced that they will no longer compensate purchasers for these errors. Whilst the error rate as experienced by me is low I don't want to take the risk that an expensive model (some of the bigger planes cost £15.00 GBP+) comes out badly and Shapeways refuse to correct the error. I know that others feel the same.

Are there currently any alternative 3D printing companies that we could recommend to the excellent 3D modellers who have been supporting the hobby?

This thread may help; contains links.

moddler.com offer a print service.

One alternative is to do the things yourself. I have an evil plan of mastering some sort of 3D software and then submitting it to a local (this would be a key word) company to have it printed up. So far I am still in the first step of mastering the software (unfortunately I am 50 years old and am that old dog you have heard tell about), but I have great expectations from it all!

Another nail in the coffin to keep me from purchasing from them…..

So if they screw up they won't refund you?
Poor idea.

So if they screw up they won't refund you?
Poor idea.

Illegal in the UK.
Unless you pay for damaged good you should not be sent damaged goods.

Unless you pay for damaged good you should not be sent damaged goods.

They arent damaged goods.

/Dee

But they're not fit for purpose though.

Enforcing it might be tricky.

Not to mention the 30 day cooling off period.

They arent damaged goods.

Fair point, sorry, I was thinking of the times they send out broken items.
Another reason to be wary of using them.

But they're not fit for purpose though.

From jed:

Well, that's their point: they are fir for purpose.

Its pot luck if you get a piece properly arranged to avoid stepping on the "important face" as they cannot know what surface is the more important for the customer, and because most of their printing is sub-contracted to 3rd party studios (and such information is not provided).

Therefore the z-axis arrangement is pot luck and dictated by fitting as much on the plate as possible, rather than arranging it optimally for print results.

But having stepping or other print artefacts is by no means "Not fit for purpose".

Print errors, are a different issue, but not what they are discussing.

Shapeways has always printed by material, rather than by a specified resolution and quality. Pictorials of print quality are examples and dont take into account poor arrangment of pieces on the plate.

make of that what you will, its all over my head.

/Dee

Perhaps they need to actually talk to their 3rd party suppliers, and consider quality output to be a bit more important than quantity.

Nah, that'd never work.

What was I thinking?

Don't know who 'jed' is but his motto seems to be 'the customer is always wrong'
Good luck to him-he should go far.

It doesn't help that they rarely show genuine photos of printed products, but rather the lovely, clean, perfect digital mo.del

A bit of thread necromancy going on here. But as opposed to 6 years ago, it is pretty easy to type "maker space" and your postal code into Google and find someplace where you can print them yourself.