Custom Manufacturing

In addition to offering classes and activities where you can learn how to make things yourself, The STEAM Engine can also make parts for you!

If making it yourself isn’t in the cards, we’d be happy to help you out. Our Prusa MK4 3D-printer and Omtech Polar 350 laser cutter can handle most hobby jobs, but cannot hold the tight tolerances that might be needed for precision engineering prototypes. These are the types of jobs we love to take:

  • You found a 3D model online and want to get it 3D printed

  • You need customized coasters, keychains, or other souvenirs for your wedding, birthday, or other party

  • Your child drew a picture and you’d like to immortalize it on a wood clock, cutting board, or other keepsake

  • You want to do a design & 3D-printing project with your class, but your school doesn’t have a 3D printer

  • Your robotics team needs to 3D print a custom part

If you have a project in mind…

Please send us an inquiry! If it looks like something we can do, we’ll send you a quote with some options.

 FAQs

  • It really depends! Quotes are based on the amount of material used, and the amount of time it will take to set up the job. To give you a rough ballpark, in the picture above we would charge:

    • $45 for the dice castle

    • $55 for the set of seven 2-color name keychains

    • $40 for the set of four animal keychains

    • $20 for the pair of nameplates

    If you're interested, please send me an inquiry and I'll be happy to give you a quote! We also offer discounts for schools.

  • PLA (the plastic used in our 3D prints) is a food-safe material, however we cannot guarantee the cleanliness of the printer. Additionally, 3D-prints should never be re-used for food, because food and bacteria can collect in the small grooves between layers, and PLA can melt at typical dishwashing temperatures. Use for food at your own risk.

    On the laser cutter, if we start with a food-safe substrate such as a mug or cutting board, the final product will also be food-safe.

  • Our 3D printer has a maximum build volume of 9.84" x 8.3" x 8.6" (w x d x h).

    Our laser cutter can hold pieces of material up to 12" x 20", with a processing area of 11.8" x 20".

  • For 3D prints, we accept STL, STEP, 3MF, OBJ, and AMF.

    For laser cutting, AI, SVG, DXF, PDF, HPGL, PLT, and RD are best. These are vector formats, which means they can scale to any size without getting blurry. We also accept PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, TGA, and GIF. However, these are image formats, which means they may get blurry or pixelated if they're scaled up too much bigger than the original.

More Questions?