But what if you are not using Shapeways or use a service (or have a printer yourself) that only uses STL files? In order to make this work you need another strategy, and we’ve come up with a really good one. That’s all fine and dandy if your only option is Shapeways. Even if it doesn’t work quite the way you think it will, Shapeways enables you to rescale your file up to the exact size you need it to be.Ĭlick the “Scale” button, and add the correct measurements. If you are uploading your file to an online service such as Shapeways this is all you need to do. Set the output options by clicking the options button and checking “Export Edges,” “Triangulate all Faces,” and “Preserve Component Hierarchies.”

To export the object, go to “File -> Export -> 3D Model,” and choose “Collada (DAE)” as the export format from the drop-down menu.

To measure an edge, use the pencil tool, find the midpoint and stretch it out to the other edge midpoint, and note the measurement in the bottom right-hand corner. Make the model in Sketchup, and when you are finished pay close attention to the size so you can check it later. This is great if you have a Makerbot 3D printer and makes you produce models in a useful scale. This helpfully superimposes a box the size of the working area of a Makerbot 3D printer. To make your 3D model, open Sketchup and use a useful template like the one for 3D printing. Note: if you have not installed Sketchup Make, you can download and install the software here. In this article we will show you how to make and print 3D models with Sketchup Make, the free version of Sketchup, and how to fix the scale of your models and export to useful formats like STL in our old friend Blender 3D for use on online 3D printing services or from printing on your own 3D printer.

Using blender to make 3d prints