3D Printing

The Indian River Area Library offers community access to the emerging technology of 3D printers to encourage discovery of modern design technology and creativity in printed creations. The 3D printer is housed and on display in the Makerspace room at the Library. Whether you want to design an object of your own or just want to print one of the over 1 million items with plans available online, the Library is ready to help make your wish a reality.

If you would like to learn how to use our 3D printer, please set up an appointment for training at our Circulation Desk. 

Please review the list of frequently asked questions below and fill out the following form to submit a job for printing, or email your file, or a link, to tech@indianriverlibrary.org. Please familiarize yourself with our 3D Printer Policy before making a request.

Submit a 3D Print Request

Also check out this 3D printing glossary for an explanation of terms we may use when discussing your print with you: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/3d-printing-glossary

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

3D printing is a manufacturing technique used to create a physical object from a 3D digital model. It works by layering multiple layers of melted plastic to build a shape – think of it as layers of a cake.

There are two steps to the 3D printing process:

  1. Digital design, in which the 3D digital model is created using design software
  2. Printing the actual object
  • Download a free ready-to-print 3D design through MakerBot’s Thingiverse community, or another online resource.
  • Create your own design using a Computer Assisted Design (CAD) software program. We recommend starting with TinkerCAD, a free browser-based program.

Pre-made model files can be obtained from these websites:

The programs used are CAD-based programs. There are several free programs available that can be used online or downloaded to be used on a computer or mobile device.

You can submit a print request by filling out a form using the black button above, or by emailing a file or link to tech@indianriverlibrary.org. We’ll contact you via email with any questions, and also to let you know how long it will take to print and to give you an approximate cost.

Accepted file type extensions are .stl, .obj. and .thing. Our printers can accommodate files under 200 mm high, 200 mm deep, and 270 mm wide, but larger prints take a very, very long time, and may be more sensitive to failure. We also may not be able to print objects that take longer than 12 hours to print. Please familiarize yourself with our 3D Printing Policy before submitting a request.

Occasionally we receive objects that weren’t designed with 3D printing in mind and are not printable by nature, we’ll judge these on a case-by-case basis. See our 3D Printing Policy for a list of prohibited items.

While it is possible to 3D print a variety of materials including wood, metal, and plastics, we are only supporting printing with PLA (polylactic acid, a thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources).

Keep in mind that PLA material is not the strongest of plastics. It can be brittle and is prone to shattering in impacted. That said, if you care for your items, they will be fairly sturdy.

Prints will have a minimum cost of $1.00, plus $0.05 (5 cents) per gram over 10 grams of weight.

We will email you when your item is ready to be picked up. Finished items can be picked up and paid for at the Circulation Desk.

Unfortunately, no. Your print request may not be printed right away. Print requests are processed in the order in which they are received, and objects can take from 20 minutes to 12 hours to print. You will be contacted when your object is available for pick up. We do have our 3D printer in our Makerspace Room, and you are welcome to watch it print whatever it might be printing at the moment.