Shapeways is a good place to start

[RKapuaala]

I just have to post this, especially for those of you considering getting in to 3D for the first time. I have my issues with Shapeways; sometimes the prints are a bear to clean, they only allow a poly count of 1 million, but at times like these I am thankful they are around.
I sent my JFK prints a couple of days ago. Yesterday I recieved a message that I needed to correct an issue with the model so it could be printed. I hate when that happens, it means not only do you need to fix the issue, but if you have other models to be printed in the same shipment you will have to pay for shipping on the item you fix because they can't get it into the same shipment. So I asked them to cancel the whole shipment but instead they refunded my money for just that print including the shipping costs. Well, it happened again this time on a different point on the model.

NOTE THIS IS A CRUDE RENDERING THEY DO TO SAVE TIME identifying troubled spots. I think they have a renderer that uses a marching cubes algorythm to ommit most of the poly's from the render and speed itup.
Anyway, they refunded the cost of the model and the shipping on that as well which means I won't get dinged on shipping again.
BTW, this model with the sprews on the feet stands 3.6 inches tall and cost $11.55 to print. It will need a lot of cleaning probably, but you can't beat the price and I've got time to clean. So if you are just starting out this is a good place to pay your dues and not go bankrupt.

 

[Meehan34]

I know I sound like a broken record, but shapeways sends back P.O.S prints. You're advice is good to use them starting out to test your prints, but people shouldn't think they will be getting a useable model. I feel that if someone is going to put the time into sculpting a nice figure they need to pony up and pay to have a nice clean print. With that being said, would you show us a pic of the print when it comes back from shapeways (straight from the box) and another after you clean it up? I have a couple crap prints from them and am curious to see if I could save them by cleaning them up.

 

[RKapuaala]

Sadly you are right Meehan about the quality of the print. I haven't reached the level of competence to pony up for the really good prints. I spent 11 USD on this print compared to 275 USD I was quoted at other sites. It usually takes weeks, even months to turn the print into something useable and that requires a littel wax, clay and time. I have shown images of prints in the past both before and after clean up, and I will do the same for this project. What I have NOT done in the past was to document all the work that goes into it afterwards. I'll do that too this time.
Show me some images of your 'crap prints' they might be salvagable. I have to say I have recieved prints from them in the past that weren't even up to their standards and they reprinted them for me when I complained. Your's just might be so crappy it needs to be printed over again. Here is a list of key things to look for when you get your prints and some tips on how to get a good print.
TO GET A GOOD PRINT from shapeways (in order of priority)
1 - Make sure that your model is hollow with walls as thin as the allowable thinness of the material you are printing in
2 - Only print in Frosted Ultra Detail material. Its the only material fine enough to get any good detail, but the build space is small so larger models need to be broken up
3 - Position your model so that all the highest details are facing the same direction. Keep in mind that the horizontal axis detail is less than the vertical.
4 - support thin parts with wire or sprews
5 - leave big enough openings in your model so the wax can be cleaned
6- make sure your supported and unsupported parts meet the thickness requirements for the material you use
WHAT TO LOOK FOR when the model arrives.
1- if you used FUD material as I instructed above checked to make sure that the registration marks do not exceed .2mm. This can be done with the appropriately sized wire by laying in the registration groves (if any)
2-Check for excessive artifacts. They use two kinds of wax to support the model during printing. One is a soft one they use to support the hollow spaces and the other is a hard wax that supports the outer surfaces during printing. Some of the hard wax gets imbedded in the acylic because of the heat of the printer. Thinned walled models (.5mm) tend to generate less heat and so that was should not be as heavy. If it is the model is probably ruined.
3-Make sure you got everything you ordered. Some of the parts I have for my models are small and even though they are attached by the required thickness of wire, they sometimes don't make it to me.
Its been my experience that Shapeways will compensate you if any of the above problems occur and you document them properly.
Hope that was helpful, don't forget to send me an image of your crappy model.

 

[RKapuaala]

Okay, fixed the thin walls on the sprews in meshmixers in a couple of minutes. One of the hand features in meshmixer is the ability to autogroup the face sets. Thats all the color areas on the model. Then you can select vertexs by groups instead of individual an perform what ever you want on them. Meshmixer is a pretty handy tool for freeware. You can slice dice and unify meshes with a few clicks of the mouse button.

 

[RKapuaala]

Did I mention it does a fairly decent job of remeshing. Not as versatile as Zbrush but its free and its handy. Also a good way to learn how to sculpt digitally.