Display On-Demand

I was able to print a 3D SpielMas display on-demand for under $11.

Using the design created by Tyler Canning, I was able to research a solution for printing a copy of the display.

I had given out some oversized meeples to members of my online gaming group 2020 to help them celebrate the festival. I didn’t have access to a 3D printer during the pandemic, so I set aside the idea of printing them a display as well.

For this year’s festival, I decided to finally research print-on-demand solutions for 3D printing. My assumption was the industry has matured, and after about 30 minutes of evaluation I found a fantastic resource.

Craftcloud

Using the website Craftcloud, I was able to:

1. Upload a design

2. Choose the material, finish, and color

3. Pick the cheapest/nearest shop

I was able to review a quote and see how long it would take to make and send.

Canada

My challenge was being able to take Taylor’s original design and increase its size about 140% to accommodate the larger size meeples. Using calipers, I was able to see how much bigger the size of the podium would have to be to allow for the meeples to fit. Fortunately, you can scale in Craftcloud as part of the quote creation process.

I was able to submit my request and get back a finished copy in a week. It enabled me to test the process and perform some quality assurance. The finished product was better than I could have ever done!

It meant I was able to deliver that print to my Canadian friend, who had come down to the States to camp and play tabletop games, which saved me even more money on international shipping.

Published August 20, 2022.