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Hi everyone,

I need to SLS/print a chair on 1:5 scale, but i’m not experienced in preparing models for printing. There are alot of tutorials on how to prep parts for SLS, but this model I want to print is an assembly. There are some interfering faces, and the frame is made with 1.5mm thickness tubes, which might/will cause problems for printing. Also, the seat is made with surface modelling and I was wondering if this is a problem or if the software deals with this. So I was wondering if anyone had any advice on preparing this model for SLS. I can’t attach the assembly on this site, but I can include the STL file, and some screenshots.
Assem angled frame.STL (1.67 MB)

Chair Distance sadles.PNG
Chair Distance sadles.PNG1242×509 358 KB
Chair Foot.PNG
Chair Foot.PNG516×567 78 KB
Chair Interference.PNG
Chair Interference.PNG749×671 126 KB

2 Likes
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Hi Onebur,

From what you’ve written I’m not exactly sure if you want the print itself to be small parts that you can put together as an assembly yourself or if you would like the chair to be printed in one go but the final version will be an assembly.

From what I can see, the model looks like it has very clean geometry and I don’t think the .STL file will cause any trouble. So, printing the chair in 1 go shouldn’t be any trouble.

Simply scale the chair to 1:5 of it’s original scale and upload it right here:

Then, feel free to discuss the specific details and needs of your project with the Hub itself. I hope this was useful and please don’t hesitate to respond if you have any further questions.

Best regards,
Robin - 3D Printing Expert Lead - 3D Hubs

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Hi Robin,

Thanks for the quick response. Nice to know that there are people who put time into helping me. In the model, there are a few points where tolerance is crucial. The tubes are 1.5mm thick, and if printed on 1:5 scale, these will be 0,3mm thick. Isn’t this too thin to print? Also, I made the seat with surface modelling, so it is hollow with 0mm thickness, so that won’t be printed. But I’m working on making that a solid part.

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Hi Onebur,

Of course, happy to help! From your comment I understand that you are planning to print all the parts separately then and you’re right, parts with 0.3 mm thick are too small. The parts should have a minimum wall-thickness of 0.8mm, but I would recommend to go a bit higher to make sure the print is not so fragile. Of course the operator of the SLS printer will be able to tell you more.

And in regards to the seat itself. I took a closer look and indeed, it looks like the polygons are not merged together in certain areas so you’re right there as well, it will need to be a solid part. Looks like you already got the right idea :slight_smile: