3D printing files discussion

Greetings, Lately I’ve been developing a device model in Blender and can’t wait to see my meshes become real! Could you please share:

• Your thoughts and experiences with various 3D printing providers (such as Shapeways, etc.)
• Materials that are gentle on the skin yet offer good stiffness
• Thoughts on whether 3D printed PA is suitable for body jewelry/piercings Thanks!

I've used Shapeways, Sculpteo, and i.Materialize. For their standard printing services, the quality is quite consistent, but Shapeways has significantly undercut the other two on price. Looking at options specifically, Sculpteo stands out as you really don't need to look further; they offer more choices than the others combined. I attempted to set up a shop on their platform to sell my products using their various materials and finishes, but it felt lacking. Additionally, their support team frustrated me quite a bit with both the speed of their replies and their attitude. Delivery time is another factor—Shapeways has never missed a promised date and often delivers faster than expected. i.Materialize has been precisely on time every single time, while Sculpteo was later than promised. That makes an easy decision for me regarding timing. For prototyping, owning your own FDM printer is the best route—you can fail quickly and fix issues without major costs or delays until you get it right. I use PETG for prototyping because it's more forgiving than PLA while still being rigid enough to hold body parts securely. If you really want to eliminate porosity, PETG can be sealed with a conformal coating; I recommend this approach for any toy that interfaces directly with the orifice. ABS provides a production-like finish and sealed pores if you apply vapour-smoothing. The drawback is that printing with ABS releases harmful particles into your home environment. For final products, Nylon is typically used because it has zero reactivity with the body, though SLS printing leaves it semi-porous. Sculpteo's smoothing beautifier process promises to seal these pores, and in my personal experience, the finish is fantastic and feels smoother than any other option. Regarding PA/body piercing jewelry: I'm somewhat hesitant to suggest nylon for those specific pieces, but all three printers mentioned have metal printing processes available, including stainless steel if you look around enough. Hopefully that's a substantial amount of information to help you get started. If you have more specific questions, please follow up here as others may be interested! JosieLynn