I recently tried to upload a file to a company called Shapeways which seems to specialise in printing 3D models. Unfortunately it did not go well. I tried in both .STL and .OBJ formats, but received error messages in both instances. One of them contained the following:
‘Unfortunately, the model you recently uploaded entitled Circumvolve did not pass our initial printability checks, so it’s not yet ready for 3D printing. Printability Error:
- Automatic rescale failed. Model is not within acceptable bounds in any unit. When rescaling to units in:
- millimeter, model is 1.91439 x 0.27416 x 0.01437 m
- inch, model is 48.62548 x 6.96367 x 0.36498 m
- meter, model is 1914.38892 x 274.16025 x 14.36932 m’
Another simply stated:
‘Model is not manifold.’
The file should contain data defining two interlocking pieces, the basic shape of each being an irregular L shape. The rough dimension of the shape should be 54mm x 108mm x 5mm.
I am based in the UK
Any advice would be very welcome.