3D Printing
Bring your ideas to life with our 3D printing service at the West Torrens Library!
Submit your designs online, and we'll print your project for you to collect.
Submissions are requests only, and are not a guarantee of a completed job. All submissions will be assessed against our 3D Printer Service terms and conditions. Please ensure you read these carefully.
Prices are calculated based on filament usage, at the rate of $40/kg filament (charged by gram). An invoice will be sent and payment must be made prior to print commencement.
For any enquiries about our 3D printing service, please email 3dprinting@wtcc.sa.gov.au
About our filament
- We print in PLA filament only
- We will not print in filament supplied to us; only our filament will be used
- Swatches of available filament colours are available to be viewed on request
- PLA is Polylactic Acid, a biodegradable thermoplastic derived from renewable resources like corn starch or sugar cane (however, it is not compostable and cannot be placed in your organics bin or home compost)
- PLA's advantages include it's environmental friendliness compared to most other plastics, and the fact that it is the most accessible filament to print with. However, there are some disadvantages to it too. Prints made of PLA are susceptible to high temperatures and extended periods of sun, meaning it may warp or deform in high temperature environments, such as the inside of a hot car, extended sun exposure, or contact with hot water or flame. It is also a low-tensile strength plastic, meaning it is less durable than ABS and similar plastics
- PLA is a great filament for prototyping, but if you require prints that are stronger, or more heat and UV resistant, we recommend looking at other local print services around Adelaide that print in filaments better suited to your needs. If you need a suggestion of where to look, email us at 3dprinting@wtcc.sa.gov.au
Sourcing models for print:
- Free model libraries exist with a range of models for print:
- There are also models (especially those advertised on social media or online shopping platforms like Etsy) that are available for purchase to obtain the license and file for printing.
Designing models yourself:
- There are free programs and websites available that can be used to design your own 3D models. These programs can require a bit of a learning curve, but there are a large number of great YouTube videos and online tutorials on how to use them:
- For those well-versed in 3D printing files, where possible, please supply a .3mf file that has been pre-sliced in Bambu Studio. This ensures any custom support generation and other settings are saved to your file
- We can also print .stl and .step files, but we will only set-up basic slicing settings (such as adding automatic support generation if required).