Buying 3D parts by mail order. Caveat Emptor*. Seller is printing replacement parts.

[LDO]

*Before I say anything, I have to mention that Texas 3D Customs/Charles Estes make great parts. I have several of his engines and they are beautiful. No warping, no “spilled jelly”, no awkwardly placed support structure. The little bumps are generally in areas that will not be seen after assembly. I have no reservations at all recommending his printed parts. 
 

I changed the thread title. It was asking if warped 3D parts can be corrected. I got a 1/8 scale Ferrari 365 Daytona engine off eBay. The block/crankcase, heads, and cam covers are all warped. Other parts may be as well. The crankcase is flat on the bottom and warped on top. I believe it’s a lost cause. I’m not going to try to mill the top flat and rebuild that. I would rather just scratchbuild the whole part. I’ll reach out to the seller and see if he will make this right. I don’t have warm fuzzy about this. If someone will send out bad parts, it’s likely a sign that they are not good at making the parts. I bought a complete show car kit that had big problems with the body, tires, and a few other parts.  I contacted the seller and he sent more garbage. I don’t have time to re-engineer/rebuild junk. I threw it away. I’m not even giving away something like that. I don’t want to run anyone away from this great hobby. 

Edited May 13 by LDO

[mcs1056]

Oh, C'mon.

Did you ever buy a Dodge built after lunch on a Wednesday? WAY worse fit than that.

[Swamp Dog]

i been building with 3D for years now. 3D parts can be straighten out with warm to hot water depending on how thick they are, once straight hold it under cold water like your kitchen sink. body's on the other hand it would depend on what part, hood yes the whole body file 13 it. the key if you dont know the seller pay him PayPal G&S if he dont like that walk away. Texas 3D Customs great people to deal with

Edited May 10 by Swamp Dog

[Ace-Garageguy]

A while back I suggested starting a thread about 3D-printed parts suppliers, naming names for both the good ones and the garbage.

I've bought a fair amount of 3D stuff that was just plain trash for one reason or another, either incorrectly scaled, poorly proportioned, poorly printed, warped, or gooey. I've also bought some stuff that was acceptable, and some that was over the top excellent.

HONEST product reviews with no bashing, just fair and reasonable descriptions of quality and business practices, would go a long way towards getting the bad makers out of the game...or just warning us who to avoid.

 

[1972coronet]

"My wallet's safe."

[stitchdup]

It looks like they reduced the angle the parts were printed at to try and print it faster. I get this happening on bodies quite often which would be around the same size. Theres every chance the seller just didn't notice the warp as when the parts are seperate and still on the supports they can look decent. Its only when you use them you find the flaws

[Mark]

The good 3D printers are most likely hobbyists who know the subject matter and know what other hobbyists expect in terms of quality.  3D seems to have attracted "printers" who will crank out whatever they think will make money, with no knowledge of what they are making or what it should look like.  I doubt the first group would have sent something like that out.

Edited May 6 by Mark
D--- spell check

[Texas_3D_Customs]

Not sure how I got mentioned here. But that's not mine. Parts can warp after the fact but it's usually due to improper orientation and the stresses of layer curing unevenly. I of course would argue the best people printing were into 3D printing first and of course modeling as you can indeed model with 3D printing in mind.

[gtx6970]

The fear of receiving junk

Keeps me.from buying these 3d parts same as resin from sellers I've never dealt with before 

 

This will change at some point I'm sure.

 

But for now...I have far more than enough to keep my busy

[LDO]

5 hours ago, Texas_3D_Customs said:

Not sure how I got mentioned here. But that's not mine. Parts can warp after the fact but it's usually due to improper orientation and the stresses of layer curing unevenly. I of course would argue the best people printing were into 3D printing first and of course modeling as you can indeed model with 3D printing in mind.

I wanted to mention the one seller whose parts are consistently top notch. I didn’t want to say never buy anything through mail order. The pictured parts are from an eBay seller in Europe. 

[64SS350]

6 hours ago, Texas_3D_Customs said:

Not sure how I got mentioned here. But that's not mine. Parts can warp after the fact but it's usually due to improper orientation and the stresses of layer curing unevenly. I of course would argue the best people printing were into 3D printing first and of course modeling as you can indeed model with 3D printing in mind.

You are mentioned because you have set a high bar for quality and service! 

[bobss396]

I have had parts like headers warp long after I received them. They were stored in the box they came in. 

[Texas_3D_Customs]

17 hours ago, bobss396 said:

I have had parts like headers warp long after I received them. They were stored in the box they came in. 

That is most likely due to absorbing moisture. All plastic does to a degree, 3D prints are notoriously hydroscopic. Due to how additive manufacturing works they are inherently porous. Moisture will then cause the print to warp on the layer lines. I always recommend either painting relatively soon after receiving them or storing them in a coold dry place best in a sealed container with desiccant.

[martsky]

I am by nature a Luddite but 3-D printed parts fascinate me.  I have only used two suppliers but they both provided very accurately detailed results.  The recommended two are:

Ron Olsen's store on Shapeways (now defunct?) for many parts and bits.

jpgmodels.com in Ljubljana.  Many itty-bitty parts and some female mating sockets required enlarging but very authentic result on their Ferrari 250 Columbo engine. Delivery and shipping were prompt and well packaged (may be changed due to new tariffs?).

Fun fact, Ljubljana once had the tallest sky scraper building in Europe.

M

[SpeedAndViolence]

On 5/5/2025 at 10:16 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

A while back I suggested starting a thread about 3D-printed parts suppliers, naming names for both the good ones and the garbage.

I've bought a fair amount of 3D stuff that was just plain trash for one reason or another, either incorrectly scaled, poorly proportioned, poorly printed, warped, or gooey. I've also bought some stuff that was acceptable, and some that was over the top excellent.

HONEST product reviews with no bashing, just fair and reasonable descriptions of quality and business practices, would go a long way towards getting the bad makers out of the game...or just warning us who to avoid.

 

This should be a top priority. I haven't bought straight up garbage yet, but I got close enough that I definitely pay closer attention. Im getting the impression that 3D printing businesses in this hobby are akin to your favorite fast food chain restaurant on every street corner.

Some establishments have their...* ahem *...stuff together, others...well..I would not go within a city block without a tetanus shot and a carton of liquid charcoal to chug... just in case. 

Edited May 13 by SpeedAndViolence

[Leo64]

On 5/10/2025 at 11:57 AM, martsky said:

I am by nature a Luddite but 3-D printed parts fascinate me.  I have only used two suppliers but they both provided very accurately detailed results.  The recommended two are:

Ron Olsen's store on Shapeways (now defunct?) for many parts and bits.

jpgmodels.com in Ljubljana.  Many itty-bitty parts and some female mating sockets required enlarging but very authentic result on their Ferrari 250 Columbo engine. Delivery and shipping were prompt and well packaged (may be changed due to new tariffs?).

Fun fact, Ljubljana once had the tallest sky scraper building in Europe.

M

In case you didn't know, Ron has been slowly moving his parts on to the Cults3D website.  You can check what he has added to his page here: https://cults3d.com/en/users/rolsen01/3d-models

Ron makes some really nice parts, you just have to be careful because when he first started design parts he made them at 1/8th scale, but then he decided to do them at 1/12th scale, so some of the parts are still at the 1/8th scale.  So you may have to scale them differently if you are wanting to print at like 1/25th scale.  But again, they are great parts.

Steve A.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 5/10/2025 at 12:29 AM, Texas_3D_Customs said:

That is most likely due to absorbing moisture. All plastic does to a degree, 3D prints are notoriously hydroscopic. Due to how additive manufacturing works they are inherently porous. Moisture will then cause the print to warp on the layer lines. I always recommend either painting relatively soon after receiving them or storing them in a coold dry place best in a sealed container with desiccant.

Thanks. I didn't know that.

Guess I'd better dig everything out, check it, and shoot something on all the parts.

[iBorg]

File a claim with eBay. That might prevent others from the same outcome.

[LDO]

The seller is printing replacement parts.