We have two kinds of 3D printers: a 3D filament (FDM) printer and a 3D resin (SLA) printer. Our filament printer prioritizes speed and cost efficiency, as well as offers multiple color options. Our resin printer prioritizes accuracy and extremely fine detail while being slower and having slightly higher material costs.

Generally speaking, the filament (FDM) printer is better for functional prints or items that do not require extremely fine detail, while the resin printer should be primarily used for items with fine details like miniature character or scenic models.m Please note we will only resin print models that are presupported. The staff on the makerspace would be happy to advise which method may be better for your particular project and timeframe. Please email us or make an appointment for our consultation. 

For our filament (FDM) printer, we normally keep a decent selection of colors on hand including the three primary (red, yellow, blue) and three secondary colors (orange, green, violet), as well as black, brown, gray and some specially filament like translucent clear, glow in the dark green and food safe PLA. 

For our resin printer, we only utilize gray resin to economize the use of resin for all of our patrons, models would need to be painted afterwards if different colors are desired.

In order to minimize our environmental impact and ensure the safety and comfort of the patrons and staff at the makerspace, we only use PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament due to it being made from natural resources such as sugar cane or cornstarch.

Our filament (FDM) printer can accommodate a maximum object size of 8.75” x 8.75” x 8.75” or 225mm x 225mm x 225mm. Our resin printer can accommodate a maximum object size of 6.5” x 11.7” x 13”. Larger items can be broken up into smaller pieces and printed individually, but this will increase the time and cost involved. 

Due to the 3D printers at the RHPL makerspace being in use by multiple patrons, we operate on a queue basis to ensure the average wait time is minimized. Once we have your 3D design in hand we will put you in the queue and seek to get as many prints as possible done in the shortest amount of time. This means that although it may only take a few hours to print your object, expect the average turnaround to be approximately one week.

We only charge for materials cost, so the cost per item printed is based on the weight of the filament or resin consumed. For filament (FDM) prints, the cost is 3 cents per gram (85 cents per ounce). For resin prints, the cost is 5 cents per gram ($1.42 per ounce).

3D printing can be a fun and creative resource, but 3D design can be intimidating. If you are not experienced with 3D design, we recommend consulting an online 3D repository such as thingiverse.com or STLflix (the latter we maintain a subscription for). The site to view the library on STLflix is platform.stlflix.com. You won't be able to download the files, but you can get an idea for what they have.

We do not allow the printing of functional weapons or their components at the makerspace. We also not allow the printing of designs that display or insinuate violence or intimidation towards others or constitute Nazi paraphernalia. Final discretion is left up to the staff at the RHPL makerspace. 

We interpret this as asking if we offer a class in either the hardware of our current machine (Bambu X1 Carbon) or 3D modeling. We do not offer classes in either but recommend youtube for searching for 3D modeling courses. For beginners, we recommend: https://youtu.be/gOs6Mdj7y_4?si=T7FM9TJgsOoe_8do