Outsource your print: Shapeways

What it is: a long-running consumer-facing 3D printing service (shapeways.com), known for its automatic printability checks and its marketplace of designs.

A note on its history, and why you should double-check before ordering. The original Shapeways filed for bankruptcy and shut down in mid-2024, and the brand was later bought and relaunched under new ownership. The relaunched service works, but its material list, lead times, and policies are not the ones you may find in older articles and forum posts. Treat anything written about Shapeways before 2025 as out of date, and confirm on the site itself what it offers today before you rely on it.

Fit for the squeezer: check before you rely on it. Shapeways centers on SLS nylon (its "Versatile Plastic"), resin, and metal, none of them the FDM PETG a juice tool wants. Confirm an FDM PETG option exists for your part; if not, prefer the FDM-first services (Craftcloud, Treatstock, JLC3DP, Protolabs Network), or use the catch-cup approach (Chapter 14) so the printed plastic never touches the juice.

Before you start: have lemon_squeezer.stl ready; an account is needed to order.

The exact steps

  1. Go to shapeways.com and upload your model. STL works.
  2. Its software repairs minor errors and checks printability, then shows which materials your model can print in.
  3. From the materials it offers, choose FDM PETG if available; do not default to the nylon "Versatile Plastic" for a juice tool.
  4. Pick the finish, review the price, and add it to the cart.
  5. Follow the checkout to enter shipping and pay.
  6. When it arrives, run the arrival inspection checklist, then finish it (Chapter 14) and run the five tests (Chapter 15).

What is different about Shapeways: thorough, friendly printability feedback for each material, which is genuinely useful, but its core materials are not FDM PETG. Treat it as a strong choice for other projects more than this one.

Time and cost: shown at checkout after the printability check. Its nylon and resin parts are priced per part with a production lead time plus shipping; get the quote and confirm the material before ordering.

👉 Last: Xometry.