Shapeways has been my go-to 3D printing service for a long time. I have created and printed several objects through them and the experience has always been great. The website interface is smooth and easy to use and it only takes minutes to upload a model and send it to print using one of the dozens of materials available.
Unless of course you are using Blender and trying to print something using Shapeways full-color materials.
The full-color Sandstone is one of the few 3D printing material options that allow for full color (I haven’t had a chance to try the Multi-Color Polyjet material yet). The resolution is good, and printing in color adds a little extra something to your creation, but it can be infuriating to get it working correctly when exporting from Blender.
Color 3D Printing Workflow
Add the “3D Print” add-on to Blender
To start with, install the 3D-Print Toolbox add on under Edit > Blender Preferences > Add-ons. This will give you a new “3D-Print” tab in the right-hand toolbar when you press N in the 3D viewport. It gives you some great tools for prepping a 3D object for print, but I will save that for another tutorial.
Prepare for Model Export
Add the “Import-Export: Web3D X3D/VRML2 Format” add-on to Blender
Make sure your model has been cleanly UV unwrapped and textured. Multiple objects and multiple materials are OK. Once your model is ready and textured, it’s time to export it. For Shapeways full-color materials, the desired export file type is a .x3d file. If you can’t find this file type under File > Export, then go to Edit > Blender Preferences > Add-ons and add the Import-Export: Web3D X3D/VRML2 Format add-on.
Export the Model
There is an Export option in the “3D Print” sidebar add-on mentioned earlier, but I still like to use File > Export, as it offers a few more options for export, like object orientation. Select .x3d as the file type and save it to your desired folder.
Modify the Code
You’ll need a text editor like Sublime or VS Code to add a line of code.
Don’t worry, this sounds scarier than it actually is. The .x3d file itself still needs to know where to find the UV texture file. To fix this, you’ll need a code editor. My personal favorite is VS Code, but there are dozens out there. Once it is downloaded and installed, open the program click File > Open File then navigate to the .x3d file recently exported from Blender.
With the file opened, you’ll see the innards of your model, in code form. Use CTRL+F to find the word “Appearance”. It should look like this: <Appearance> or </Appearance>. Within that tag is some data about the material used on the object. Replace that entire Appearance tag with the following:
<Appearance>
<ImageTexture DEF="IM_phoneholder" url="TEXTURE_FILE.png" />
</Appearance>Obviously change the “TEXTURE_FILE.png” name to the appropriate name for your UV texture file. If you have multiple objects, there will be multiple <Appearance> tags in the file. There is an <Appearance> tag for each object, so make sure you add the above code for each, including the corresponding UV texture file name for each respective object. Save the file.
Sending it to Shapeways
The final step is to upload it to Shapeways. You’ll need to take your newly modified .x3d file, and send it to a zip file including your UV texture or textures. Once it is all packaged up, it is ready to upload!