Capabilities
What we can and can't print
Published up front, so you can tell in thirty seconds whether we're the right fit — rather than after a week of emails.
The machine
| Build volume | 256 × 256 × 256 mm — roughly a shoebox. Larger parts can be split and joined. |
|---|---|
| Process | FDM (fused deposition) — melted filament, built up in layers. |
| Layer heights | 0.08 mm for fine detail through 0.28 mm for speed and strength. 0.2 mm suits most jobs. |
| Multi-material | Dual extrusion — two materials or colours in one part, or dissolvable supports for geometry that couldn't otherwise be printed. |
| Heated chamber | Actively heated to 65 °C, which is what makes reliable ASA and ABS possible rather than a warping lottery. |
Materials
| Material | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| PLA | Display pieces, prototypes, anything indoors. Cheapest, widest colour range, crispest detail. | Softens in a hot car. Not for outdoors or anything structural. |
| PETG | General purpose workhorse. Tougher than PLA, some flex, handles moisture and mild heat. | Slightly softer detail than PLA. |
| ASA | Outdoor parts. UV-stable, won't go chalky or brittle in Queensland sun. The right choice for anything living outside. | Costs more; limited colours. |
| ABS | Tough, heat-tolerant, can be smoothed and glued. Good for enclosures and automotive interior parts. | Not UV-stable — use ASA outdoors. |
| TPU (flexible) | Gaskets, bumpers, grips, feet, anything that needs to squash and recover. | Slower to print, so costs more in machine time. |
| Engineering blends | Carbon-fibre filled and higher-temperature materials for stiffness and heat resistance where it's genuinely needed. | Ask — suitability depends on the part. We'll say if it's overkill. |
Colours
Black and white are always on hand. A range of standard colours is available, and anything specific can be ordered in for a job — worth asking early, since it adds a few days. Colour choice is also material-dependent: PLA comes in almost anything, ASA in far fewer.
Accuracy and finish
- Tolerances. Typically within a few tenths of a millimetre. For parts that must fit something existing, we print a test section first rather than guessing.
- Layer lines are normal. FDM parts show them. They can be sanded, filled or smoothed on request, which adds labour to the price.
- Orientation matters. Printed parts are weaker across layers than along them, so we'll orient for strength where the part's job demands it.
What we'll turn down
- Safety-critical parts. Load-bearing, structural, medical, or anything where failure hurts someone.
- Food-contact items. Layer lines harbour bacteria and we can't certify materials as food-safe.
- Other people's designs for resale. Most free models are non-commercial licensed.
- Firearm components and anything else we'd rather not explain to a magistrate.