About
We are a UK e-commerce site dedicated to all things related to 3D printing. We have been selling 3D printers from our base in Gloucestershire since 2014, we were one of the first stores to start selling 3D printers online in the UK.
As a dedicated 3D printer shop we know about 3D printing. Our ethos is to treat our customers as clients. We will try to help you with your 3D printing problems and are always happy to answer any questions. What sets us apart from the rest is our famous customer service. We don’t claim to have all the answers but we will do our best to find answers for you to help you make your ideas manifest through 3D printing.
We are Official UK resellers of Tiertime, XYZ Printing, BCN3D, ColorFabb, LokBuild, NinjaFlex etc.. We stock a comprehensive range of 3D printers, 3D printer filament, 3D printer accessories. If you do not see what you need just get in touch and ask. This is especially important to note for spares. We can get all Tiertime, XYZ printing and BCN3D spares so if you don’t find them on the website just ask.
So why do we have our store? Well we like 3D printers and technology in general. We are exhilarated by the potential impact of 3D printing on how we create, invent and produce manufactured resources to enhance our lives. We are also very much in favour of using 3D printing in education, to this end we are always interested in offering 3D printer educational discounts to Schools, Colleges and Universities. So if you are from an educational institution please get in touch.
What is 3D printing?
Contrary to popular belief, 3D printing has been around for a while. Most 3D printers use a method called Fused deposition modelling or FDM that was invented in the 1980’s by Scott Crump who later went on to form Stratasys Ltd, a well known manufacturer of 3D printers. Basically the process of 3D printing works by laying down many layers of a melt-able material, the material in those layers become fused together as they harden. Its similar in concept to how the first ceramic, coiled clay, pots where made.
3D printed models can be made using the FDM technique from a wide variety of materials but most commonly thermoplastics like Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polylactides (PLA) are used. We mostly sell PLA as this is a more environmentally friendly type of thermoplastic in that it is made from readily available organic compounds like corn starch. PLA 3D printer filament is therefore generally biodegradable and can be recycled. Take a look at our more in depth guide to 3D printer filament materials.
In order to produce a 3D printed object then one needs a 3D printer and some 3D printer filament, but one also needs a model file from which the 3D printer can read the dimensions and shape of the object to be created and also 3D modelling and 3D printer software to get it all to work. We have an introduction to using 3D printer software that will give you an insight into the process. These are, generally speaking, stereolithography CAD files with the suffix .stl but 3D system’s Cubify range use their own version of 3D model files for their own software with the suffix .creation. we at iDig 3D printing are building up a collection of 3D printer model files in both .stl and .creation formats. We are building a catalogue of free 3D printer model files from different sources for you to download and use. This will be an ongoing process so please bear with us as we try and build up our collection. As well as our own collection though there are numerous resources on the web that act as repositories for 3D printer model files.
There is a wealth of information on 3D printing out there but we will build a collection of 3D printing How-to-Guides on the subject so that you can make the most of this revolution in manufacturing.
So happy 3D printing. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us.
We trade under the name of iDig3Dprinting (Company reg: 7974925, VAT no: 139453301).