[hiisukun]

That's an incredible idea -- I should chase down the 3 or 4 libraries near me and see if they have a 3d printer. If they have one, the staff there are probably quite keen for visitors to print a file.

I do wonder about longer prints and how that might go, but that's a problem for another day.

Re: 3d printing as a service, when I googled it here in Australia it was plentiful, expensive, and mostly focused on higher quality materials - for prototyping serious gadgets, it seemed. There were generic websites that seemed to be based overseas, but the options (and therefore my guess at quality) were behind a wall of lingo and technologies. I would have needed several hours I think to google, ask LLMs, etc, before understanding which to choose. And then? They were still not particularly cheap -- I expected to spend less on the case than the screen.

[inhumantsar]

there are sites out there that aggregate local 3D printing companies and some let you submit a model to get automated quotes from a bunch at once. I found my favourite local printer/supply store that way a few years back. if we have them in Canada then I'd be surprised if there wasn't an equivalent in Australia.

there's also services like Shapeways which can print in basic or exotic materials and ship them

[fragmede]

RIP shapeways