Exploration Commons will be closed Tuesday, April 23, 2024 for a statewide training. We apologize for the inconvenience.
3D Printing Service
3D printing creates a physical object from a digital model and allows everyone to take an idea from their imagination, design it, and create a physical object. CCPL is actively building a community environment that nurtures creativity and supports learning and innovation with our 3D printing service.
Print Request Form
If this is your first request, please review the information following this form before submitting your request.
Get Started
Send us your design in STL or OBJ format by completing the above Print Request form. Files can be no larger than 100MB. If your design's file size is larger, please contact us.
All submitted prints must adhere to CCPL's 3D Printer Acceptable Use Policy.
3D printing pricing is based on the time to print and the weight of the object in grams. We charge $1.00 per hour of print time plus a cost of $.10 per gram for filament and $.15 for resin, rounded up to the nearest gram, plus tax. Library staff will provide an estimated cost upon file submission and will weigh the final print to determine final cost.
Printing will be first-come, first-served. Your file will be placed in the queue in the order it was received. Printing time varies based on the size of the object. We do retain the right to reorder the queue based on printing times. Library staff will print your file and notify you when it is ready to be picked up and paid for at your selected branch. Prints will be ready for pickup within 5 business days. If the item is not picked up within two weeks, the object will become the property of the library.
CCPL staff can direct customers to online resources, however, staff will not modify or change designs once submitted. If you decide that you want to increase/decrease the size of your model, you will need to re-work the object in the software used to create the object.
Available Printers
Prusa I3 Mk3S+ - maximum print size 9.84 x 8.3 x 8.3 inches
Raise 3D Pro2 Plus - maximum print size 12x12x23.8 inches
Anycubic Photon Mono X (Resin) - maximum print size 7.55 x 4.72 x 9.65 inches
The difference between Filament and Resin
Filament Options
PLA, ABS, PETG
Filament Colors
You do have the option to select the color used for your print. We have a limited number of colors and, due to cost, cannot purchase filament colors for specific print jobs.
3D Design Software
We recommend the free, browser-based program Tinkercad for beginners. Other free programs are Blender and Sketchup. Blender is available on the public internet computers at all CCPL branches. Designs can also be downloaded from Thingiverse, a design community for sharing 3D printable objects.
Print Time
Print times can vary depending on the size or complexity of your print. We ask that you try to keep your print times to less than 8 hours. This way we can complete the print job during our regular hours.
Misprints
We are defining a misprint as a bad print that is the fault of the machine, a power outage, etc. We will re-print these at no charge. Otherwise, if the printer did complete the print as designed, you will be charged for the print.
Weighing Objects
The software that is used to create the print file for the printer will provide an estimate of the final weight of the object in grams. This weight includes any supports necessary to print the object. We will provide you with the estimate prior to printing. Once printed, we will weigh the object on a scale to calculate the final weight and cost.
Print Job Queue
We will print your object as soon as we can. There are a number of factors that can affect how long it will take us to print your object. We do reserve the right to adjust the queue to most efficiently print items.
3D Print Finishing
Support material can be carefully removed using X-ACTO knives and needle nose pliers. If you are interested in more advanced finishing techniques, we suggest the following resources.