The parts will be made from an acrylic plastic material that will be blue in color. It is "printed" using an ink-jet process in multiple layers to build up a 3-D part. The acrylic material is cured with a flash of ultraviolet light to make it solid between layers. It is more flexible than the typical ABS or urethane model material, more like that of a plastic ballpark cup.

Yes, normal modeling paints can be used. A primer is recommended after an acetone or lacquer thinner dip.

You can use the same types of glue that are used to bond resin or photo-etched parts to each other or to styrene. Cyanoacrylate (super glues), and epoxies are recommended. Liquid cement for styrene, which works by melting the styrene in order to make a weld, will not work.

Please see our limitations page for more information.

The machine builds the parts using pixels, much like an inkjet printer. The pixel size is roughly 0.0015" (0.0381 mm) cube. Details as small as 0.0015"–such as rivets or bolt heads–will be reproducible.

Note that the material is more flexible than a typical ABS model material, so consider how flimsy or fragile your features might be as you design them.

Because the parts are "printed" in layers with a small but definite thickness, some surfaces will show a fine stair-step texture depending on the geometry of the part. This texture can be removed using standard modeling techniques, such as sanding, filing and scraping.

The price of the part will depend on the volume of material the part will use and the amount of platform space the part will cover. The cost for each part is then added up and a final price is tallied.

Part complexity does not affect the price of a part.

Yes, blue is the only color that is offered at this time.