3D printing for Mechelen

There is a fair amount going on around 3D printing in and near Mechelen. Thomas More, a university of applied sciences, gives advice and demonstrations to manufacturing companies at its De Nayer campus in Sint-Katelijne-Waver; according to Voka Mechelen-Kempen, the regional chamber of commerce, the campus is not itself a print company and refers print jobs on. It is a good address if your business wants to know whether the technique is for you.

If you simply want a part in your hands, it can be made for you: here one part is an ordinary order.

Mechelen is a student city: Thomas More has 7,500 students in the city, all of whom, the college says, will pass through the renovated De Vest campus at some point. Some of them will sooner or later have to put something tangible on the table in front of a jury.

Take a scale model of a piece of furniture or an interior at 1:20. The chairs, a staircase, a light fitting: small parts that cost a night with cardboard and glue and come out right first time from a printer. You draw them in your own software and export an STL or STEP. Check the scale and the wall thickness before you send it, because a chair leg of 0.3 mm exists only on your screen. Which format to send is on the page about printing your file.

One piece of advice that saves money: do not send your file the evening before the deadline. The lead time of 3 to 5 working days starts at your approval, and the post needs time after that as well. What your model costs is on the pricing page and in your quote.