Our company Director and Head 3D Printer is often working away in the background, so I decided it was time to sit him down and ask him a few questions…
What’s the Weirdest Thing You’ve Ever 3D-Printed?
“A human heart. I haven’t actually made this one yet, but it’s in my Production Schedule at the minute. I don’t want to give too much away about the business who has requested it, but it’s definitely an interesting one.”
What has been your Biggest Challenge so far?
“A full-size ghost prequelle mask. The mask was quite large – it needed to fit the customers head – and we had two parts fail overnight. To solve this issue, I had to slice it into multiple parts that were fitted together. This worked well, and we had a very happy customer.”
What has been your Favourite Project, so far?
“My favourite project is definitely when I printed over 100 attendee gifts for an indie tabletop game event, that took place in Oxford.
I got to print a load of tiny little guys and skeletal spiders.”
What advice would you give a 16-year-old considering a career in 3D printing?
“Building up a solid foundation in Graphic Design and 3D modelling is invaluable.
Most importantly, just get hands-on with printers. Buy a cheap printer and start fixing it, to understand how they work.”
What Software tools do you use?
“For CAD design, I use Fusion 360.
For sculpting, I use Nomad Sculpt on the iPad.
For FDM Slicing, I use Prusa Slice.
For Resin Slicing, I use Chitubox.”
What materials of you prefer to use for 3D printing?
“For general everyday printing, I prefer PLA which is a lightweight, starch-based plastic that comes on spools and feeds into the printer.
For resin printing, I swear by ABS-like resin, because it is stronger and more flexible than regular UV printer resin.”
How do you integrate sustainability practices into the business?
“We re-use and recycle as much as possible, with an aim to minimise wastage.”
How do you price your 3D printing services?
“We take a number of factors into consideration; we look at whether an STL file already exists, or whether I’ll need to design a piece from scratch. Once I have a 3D model, I’ll put it into a ‘slicer’ to determine cost based on size, materials used etc.”
Got a question about 3D printing? Want to work with us? Get in touch.