Will this model print?
Upload a file, pick the technology and the nozzle diameter. We check whether the mesh is watertight, how thin the walls are, whether it fits and how much support it needs. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
STL, OBJ, 3MF, STEP. The file stays in your browser, we do not upload it anywhere.
What exactly we check
Watertight mesh
Every edge of a proper solid belongs to two faces. Unpaired edges are holes, and at a hole the slicer has to guess where the inside is.
Normal direction
A mesh turned inside out looks right in the preview and prints as a solid block instead of a shell.
Wall thickness
Measured the way a caliper measures: from a point on the surface straight inwards until the other side. The threshold depends on the nozzle, and that is the point of this tool.
Dimensions
Compared against the real build plates of our machines, allowing for rotation. A part too long in one axis often fits once turned.
Overhangs and base
How much surface needs support and how much of it touches the plate. Neither blocks printing, but both change price, time and finish.
Why the nozzle changes the answer
An FDM printer lays material down in paths roughly as wide as the nozzle. A wall thinner than one path has nothing to be made of and comes out as a hole. A wall exactly one path wide does get made, but it cracks under the first press because nothing binds it across. That is why the tool works with two thresholds: the minimum, below which there is no point trying, and the safe value, which is two paths.
| Nozzle | Minimum | Safe | Layer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2 mm | 0.20 mm | 0.42 mm | 0,06 do 0,14 mm |
| 0.4 mm | 0.40 mm | 0.84 mm | 0,08 do 0,28 mm |
| 0.6 mm | 0.60 mm | 1.25 mm | 0,15 do 0,42 mm |
| 0.8 mm | 0.80 mm | 1.65 mm | 0,20 do 0,56 mm |
We keep 0.2 and 0.4 mm nozzles fitted. Larger ones go on by arrangement, for big functional parts where print time matters more than detail.
Resin behaves differently
MSLA has no nozzle and no paths: a whole layer is exposed at once and the in-plane resolution is the screen pixel, 14 µm on our machine. You would think anything would print. The real limit is not resolution but the peel force as each layer separates from the film. A wall under 0.4 mm usually tears off mid-print, and under 0.8 mm it survives printing but not necessarily washing and cleanup.
Common questions
Does my file go anywhere?
No. The whole analysis runs in your browser, in a separate worker thread. The file is not uploaded to any server, we do not store it and we have no access to it. You can verify this: disconnect from the internet after the page loads and the tool still works. One exception is worth knowing: if you came here from the configurator, the model travelled to this tab through your browser's own storage, so you would not have to upload it twice. That record sits on your disk, we delete it the moment it is read and it expires after fifteen minutes.
What is the minimum wall thickness with a 0.4 nozzle?
One path is 0.4 mm and that much will print. A functional wall wants two paths, about 0.84 mm, because a single path has no cross-binding and cracks under pressure. Below 0.4 mm the printer has nothing to lay down and a hole is left. Context matters: lettering, texture or a chamfer below the threshold is not a wall and we do not treat it as a defect. Such detail simply comes out rounded.
Will a 0.2 nozzle print finer detail?
Yes, the minimum drops to 0.2 mm and a safe wall to about 0.42 mm. The price rises, because the same part needs more paths and more layers, so printing takes several times longer. Below roughly 0.3 mm of detail, resin usually makes more sense.
What does a mesh that is not watertight mean?
That the surface has holes: edges where the neighbouring face is missing. A handful of those is everyday life in CAD exports and modern slicers repair them silently, so we do not make an obstacle of it. It is worth knowing all the same, because the volume we price from is then approximate. One-click repair: Meshmixer, Blender (3D Print Toolbox) or the repair function in PrusaSlicer and Bambu Studio. A file where the boundary makes up a large share of the edges is a different matter: that is a surface rather than a solid and cannot be printed.
When does the tool actually hold an order?
Only in the three cases where no print can result: the model does not fit the plate even rotated, the file holds a surface rather than a closed solid, or the majority of the model is thinner than one path at the chosen settings. Everything else, including thin walls on part of a model and small mesh gaps, is information and blocks nothing. A tool that rejects sound models is worse than no tool.
Why do you not measure thickness on a mesh with holes?
Because the answer would be wrong, and that is worse than no answer. The measuring ray leaves the surface, travels into the material and looks for the other side. At a hole it escapes and hits a random wall on the far side of the model, reporting a thickness many times the real one.
The model does not fit on the plate. Now what?
Either scale it down, or split it and bond the parts after printing. Splitting is not a failure, it is standard on large objects, but the cut is worth placing so the seam falls on an edge rather than a visible face. Write to us and we will suggest where.
Is a lot of support a problem?
No, but it costs. Support consumes material and time, and leaves a mark that has to be cleaned up. Above roughly a third of the surface it is worth checking whether rotating the model, or splitting it in two, gives a better result for less.
Does this replace a test print?
No. It describes geometry, not how the material behaves: shrinkage, warping, bed adhesion, the springiness of thin features. For unusual shapes, and for detail sitting exactly on the threshold, get in touch and we will check it on the machine.
Tools for this topic
FDM 3D print settings
Pick a filament by requirement, 45+ materials and 100+ brand profiles.
MSLA resin settings
Pick a resin by application, 13 resins in three segments plus a comparison table.
Casting shrinkage compensation
Pattern size converted to the after-cast size for Au 585, Ag 925, Au 9K and 18K.
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