Trial and error is a central aspect of all new technological applications and 3D printing is no different. But, even when you know this technology is experimental and always undergoing changes, revisions, and refinements, it can still be frustrating to encounter printing problems.
If you are involved in the 3D printing space, you have probably heard stories about projects that just didn’t work out? Television viewing audiences like to laugh at bloopers, and 3D printed bloopers are a common occurrence as well. They might be big problems noticeable to anyone’s eyes, or little quirky details that maybe only you, the maker, can detect. Yes, it might be good for a laugh or to entertain your friends when you show them the outcome of a project you’ve been obsessing over, but isn’t the goal to fix it? To get it looking and working like the design you originally had in mind? That’s where a new automated 3D printing service enters the picture. It offers an automated easy and timely service for fixing a host of 3D printing trials and tribulations.
When you think about it, the list of things that can go wrong in a print is quite extensive, and a review of the new 3D printing service — MakePrintable — not only serves as an excellent introduction of what can go wrong in a print, it also serves as comfort for the 3D printing afflicted. Why? It claims it can fix your 3D printed problems. If its website’s sleek design and straightforward user-friendly clarity is any indication — I am betting this is the case as well.
MakePrintable, which is powered by multi-functional 3D printing portal MXD3D, lists
common printing problems it can fix for you in four easy steps. In a simple series of images, the website explains that you can upload your design to their website, specify your options that include the printer and filament type you are using, select your desired output (either Gcode or an OBJ or STL 3D file), and, finally, download the fixed file from a link provided by the company. This seems straightforward enough.
What exactly is this service prepared to fix? Almost everything, it seems. It lists nine categories of problems that many people have already encountered or may inevitably encounter in the future. First, the service boasts complex algorithms to resolve a printed object’s solidity — making it “watertight.” As anyone who’s ever tried to print intersected parts knows, it can be tricky to guarantee a smooth transition where parts join. MakePrintable promises it can eliminate any “unnecessary geometry” from your design — giving a smooth flow to what may currently be rough transitions. The service can also fix flipped faces and non-manifold issues, and it can also hollow out your printed object. Yes, there’s no need to reduce your materials or printing to achieve the hollow effect you so desire.
Another problem MakePrintable wants to fix for you is transparency. Its program uses transparency to represent your design geometry’s holes. 
Apparently, it is a single click on your design to get the holes you want in your object. On the opposite end of the spectrum of holes is target thickness, and MakePrintable also guarantees that you no longer need to “worry about 0 thickness.” It can guarantee your targeted thickness by simply selecting your chosen printer and material.
Finally, proper filling and accurate speed and quality can be ensured by generating Gcode (or STL/OBJ) that uses MakePrintable’s smart filling. This service guarantees that unnecessary time, material, and money is no longer part of the 3D printing process with MakePrintable’s automated services at your disposal.
It looks like you can go ahead and try that 3D printing project that didn’t turn out so well before or hatch a new more experimental project that you’ve been itching to try. You have automated backup just a few clicks away for support. We can’t wait to see what you’ll make! Let us know your thoughts and opinions: join the discussion in the MakePrintable forum thread over at 3DPB.com.
