Hello Blender users!
Are you interested in 3D printing your designs in full color? Shapeways can 3D print and ship them to you - usually within ten working days. This page takes you on a quick tour - we'll have you going in no time.
Design
Create a model using closed volumes. Use 1 Blender unit = 1 m for scale. Please check our extensive tutorials collection for more information.
Check
Disable 'Double Sided' rendering in the Mesh Buttons and check the normals (inverted normals show up as dark patches).
Enter edit mode and deselect all vertices. Use the Non-Manifold check (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-M) to detect any open or invalid edges. Non-manifold edges are edges that don't have *exactly* two faces attached to them. Fix these areas before proceeding to the next step.
Texture
Apply a UV texture map to your model. Shapeways supports non-overlapping (i.e. no multilayer) bitmap textures. If you need help with UV mapping, have a look at this tutorial.
Export
Apply any modifiers (they will be ignored during printing) and export your model to an VRML97 file (don't use VRML 1.0!).
ZIP the VRML and texture files
Create a ZIP file that contains both the VRML and the texture map files. For more information on this topic, please read 'Exporting to VRML and X3D for color printing'.
Upload
After signing up, you can upload your work. Make sure you select the option 'has color'. Our server will check your model. You will receive the result by email within a few minutes, and after that the model is added to your gallery. From there, you can get price quotes for all our available materials and place an order.
If you're stuck you can get help on our forum, check out our tutorials and FAQs or you can mail our customer service department.
Choose a material
We have several materials to choose from, each with its own properties and pricing. You pay only for the material you use - complexity is not a factor in calculating the price and ... worldwide shipping is FREE!
Order
How does it work?
Check out these two videos of the production process of 'Cream Robust' and 'Stainless Steel':
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