We work really hard at Shapeways to get your 3D prints to you as quickly and cheaply as possible with the best possible quality 3D printing available.  Occasionally we run late on some materials due to machine malfunctions, sometimes a parcel get’s lost by UPS and we even have old fashioned human error mess things up, but we will always correct our mistakes and continue to try to give you the best possible service.  Anyone who has used digital manufacturing technologies knows it is not always easy, anyone who has tried to do a large run in a school, fab lab or industrial complex knows this makes it even more complex when dealing with multiple machines, file types and level of experience. 

Recently BVR posted a quick message in the forums that made our hearts sing that we wanted to share with you all: 

Today I spent the entire afternoon in my local
university’s 3d printing lab. They have 2 different 3d printers, 1 is a
Zcorp color powder based machine, 1 dimension abs printer, a 5 axis cnc
and a cnc router, 2 50W CO2 lasers and a next 3d scanner.


After watching the staff deal with build table cleaning, print head
cleaning, part cleaning, wrong type of material in the lasers, incorrect
part fixturing in the cnc’s, memory addressing errors on the 3d
scanner, incorrect file types, corrupt files, files missing textures,
non-mani files and a slew of other issues.

All on a much much smaller scale than Shapeways…the staff of Shapeways
should be commended for getting the volume of work done that they do!!!


Anyone who has a hard time understanding why your model might not be
quite perfect should go see a 3d print house and just stand around and
watch what goes on!


I have a much better understanding of the complexities involved with
this industry, going in the shop to machine my parts is a cakewalk by
comparison.


I have been told I can come in anytime and print my own items, guess
what, I will still send my files to Shapeways. It is far easier to just
send my files in and get my finished items shipped right to me!


Thanks again Shapeways for making this all so easy!

Thank you BVR, we will continue to work really hard to make 3D printing easy for you, your schools, everyone…  

Three men and a screen