3d4fun is a 3d design and printing business based in Hornsby, NSW. We specialise in educational resources, toys/games for kids (and grownups), homewares and general assistance products. We are a small business, with big ideas on how 3d printing can provide fun and assistance in the school, home and workplace.
All of our products are printed in PLA (Polylactic Acid) plastic – a food-safe, biodegradable plastic made from organic resources including corn starch and sugarcane. Please note that while care is taken on ensuring a great quality product is produced for you, small imperfections can often be seen as a result of the layer by layer 3D printing process.
We use Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers. The way it works is that a spool of filament is loaded into the 3D printer and fed through to a printer nozzle in the extrusion head. The printer nozzle is heated to a desired temperature, whereupon a motor pushes the filament through the heated nozzle, causing it to melt. The printer then moves the extrusion head along specified coordinates, laying down the molten material onto the build plate where it cools down and solidifies. Once a layer is complete, the printer proceeds to lay down another layer. This process of printing cross-sections is repeated, building layer-upon-layer, until the object is fully formed. Depending on the geometry of the object, it is sometimes necessary to add support structures, for example if a model has steep overhanging parts (taken from https://all3dp.com/1/types-of-3d-printers-3d-printing-technology/).
3d printing is by no means a fast process. One of our simplest products the Trolley Key takes about 30 minutes to print, whereas one of our larger pieces the T-Rex Skull takes over 24 hours. A complete set of our lower case Foundation Tiles takes approximated 140 hours to print!
All orders are typically printed and shipped within two weeks. For larger orders, please feel free to contact us for more accurate timeframes.