Practical print workflow
How to Inspect Customer-Supplied 3D Print Files
Substantially updated 2026-10-26. First published 2026-10-04.
Before accepting a file for production, establish the intended parts, physical dimensions, permitted changes and manufacturing requirements. Record what is known and what still needs clarification. A clean file report is one input to that decision, not approval of the design or a production commitment.
Record the received job
Keep the supplied revision and original files. Ask for a known physical dimension, requested parts and quantity, process/material, fixed features and permitted edits. Clarify the intended use and who provides acceptance evidence. A filename cannot establish unit, load, tolerance or design intent.
| Field | Known / unresolved evidence | Owner and next step |
|---|---|---|
| Received file and revision | ||
| Requested parts / quantity | ||
| Known size and unit evidence | ||
| Process / material / colour / finish | ||
| Fixed features and counterpart dimensions | ||
| Permitted edits | ||
| Required acceptance evidence and method | ||
| Unresolved question |
For functional work, agree source datums, assembly path, permitted gap or retention, conditioning, hardware and who records representative measurements. The fit worksheet keeps comparable physical readings; a mesh report cannot accept an assembly.
Choose accept for slicing review, clarify, or return to source
| Observed condition | Disposition | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Known dimensions agree; completed checks understood; intended parts present | Accept for slicing review | Confirm profile, supports and quote assumptions; acceptance is not print certification |
| STL scale unknown, extra shells or missing process requirements | Clarify | Ask for a known dimension, intended parts and material/process requirements before changing anything |
| Malformed input, missing functional surface or ambiguous overlapping solids | Return to CAD | Request a corrected source export and retain the failed report |
| Nominal fit passes but brim/support footprint exceeds usable bed | Revise manufacturing proposal | Discuss orientation, splitting or another machine; do not silently shrink a functional part |
A nominal fit needs actual supports, brim and bed exclusions checked in the slicer. Do not silently shrink a functional part to satisfy a bounding box. Keep a warning and the chosen next action rather than treating every warning as a rejection.
Record unresolved requirements
Use the collection checker to keep each file's completed, warning and failed states separate. Its known closed cube completes; the open-face cube has four boundary edges and unavailable volume; malformed text fails independently. Local file context clears on reload; report history contains labels/findings rather than original geometry or cloud backups.
Pass one file deliberately to STL preflight or 3MF preflight and review destination settings. For changed geometry, compare original and revised STL before agreement.
If only G-code was supplied, use the supplied-file provenance worksheet. A printer comment or matching bed dimensions does not establish compatibility; request source geometry/project and the generating profile when unknown. A byte hash identifies equality, not authorship.
If delivery scope is unclear, agree editable project versus combined or individual geometry delivery. A flattened STL cannot replace project settings or editable placements.
Pass the agreed job to costing
After the file and job requirements are agreed, slice the intended arrangement and record complete per-material consumption and per-run time. Cost that production scope, choose a selling price, then prepare the customer quotation. Revisit intake when the model, quantity, material or required outcome changes.
Agree included prototype iterations and use elapsed lead-time planning for schedule assumptions. Planned units are not accepted or delivered units; a clean report cannot commit production capacity or a dispatch date.