Advanced – Print Quality, Materials & Design

Go deeper on design quality, materials, and print settings. You'll compare well-designed vs. poorly-designed parts, dive into material properties, troubleshoot failures, and learn about licensing for the designs you find and print.

Duration

2 hours

Price

$45 $25 (pilot discount)

Prerequisites

Intro to 3D Printing (recommended)

Part of

3D Printing Crash Course

What you'll learn

• Case studies: the same object designed well vs. poorly for 3D printing
• Materials deep dive – PLA (easy, good for prototypes) vs. PETG (durable, UV resistant)
• Print settings that matter: nozzle temp, bed temp, layer height, infill, supports
• Hands-on: compare parts printed with different settings and materials
• Troubleshooting common failures: warping, stringing, layer separation, failed supports
• Post-processing: removing brims, sanding, and heat gun techniques

Licensing overview

Most 3D print designs you find online are licensed for non-commercial personal use only. This class covers what that means and how to stay on the right side of it.

• Understanding non-commercial vs. commercial use licenses
• Where to find designs with commercial licenses (Patreon, designer storefronts)
• How to support designers and get permission to sell prints
• Creative Commons and other common license types you'll encounter

Materials included

• Pre-printed examples showing different settings and materials
• Material comparison samples
• Examples of common print failures

What to bring

• A laptop with either Prusa slicer or Bambu studio installed (optional, you can also just follow along)
• A model you'd like to try printing (optional – we have examples ready)