3D Printing and more
The Ōamaru Public Library has equipment such as 3D printers available to use during opening hours. Please read the information below to find out more about what equipment and materials we hold.
Occasionally we will run a maker or repair event, but we are mainly focused on your projects.
If you're familiar with some of the equipment listed below, you can also book a time to run your idea past us. Please contact us on 03 433 0850 to find out more.
3D Printing
Can I get something 3D printed?
Yes you can! If you are confident about what you are doing and you already have your design prepared as an .stl file, please ring us on 03 433 0850. Or email library@waitaki.govt.nz with your file attached.
I'm new to 3D printing, how can you help me?
We would encourage you to explore the pre-made designs on Thingiverse and Prusa's Printables. If you would like to design your own object, then we recommend you use Tinkercad - especially if you are a beginner. For the more advanced, there is Autodesk Fusion 360 which has a free trial period but is fairly pricey.
You can also download our handy PDF that takes you step by step on how to get a 3D object printed at the Ōamaru Public Library as painlessly as possible. This worksheet was developed for a Makerspace Monday workshop we ran earlier in 2023: 3D-Printing-Worksheet-2023.pdf(PDF, 1MB) NOTE: we no longer run these workshops and encourage you to come in with your own project in mind.
What printers do you have?
We have two Prusa I3 Mk3S 3D printers and one of the original Mk3 (this one is good for added material in the PLA filament, like glitter)
Pricing
Pricing is based on the weight of the finished design including structural support ($0.20 per gram) + a print fee of $1 to cover general wear and tear of the printers.
Materials
Our current choice of filament is PLA - a biodegradable, non-toxic filament. You are welcome to bring your own filament if you have specific design properties in mind. We source our filament from a local supplier and have a range of colours. We currently stock:
Cricut
We have a Cricut Maker 3, an Easy Press 2 heat press for making heat transfer projects like tee shirts and tote bags and a Cricut Mug Press.
Cricut Maker 3 can cut so many materials we can't actually list them all here, so we recommend you go to Cricut's MATERIALS LIST to find out what material to choose and which blade is recommended with what cutting pressure and multi-cut settings you'll need to set the machine at.
We recommend you familiarise yourself with this list before choosing a project to work on.
Please also note that Cricut Maker 3 uses Smart Materials - materials that do not require a cutting mat. If you are not using Cricut's smart materials or you want to use non-Cricut brand materials, be sure you know what tools you'll need to use and the mat you'll need to put your materials on (see what mats we've got, below).
The Cricut can now be booked for $5 an hour. You will need to bring your own materials and a laptop with Windows 10 as we are still working on getting a dedicated PC and printer for the Cricut.
- Cricut rotary blade
- Cricut basic engraving tip
- Cricut single scoring wheel
- Cricut premium fine point blade
- Cricut deep point blade
- Cricut Midas foil tip (fine, medium, bold)
- Cricut core essential tool set
- Cricut roll holder (for extra-long materials)
- Cricut 30.5 x 30.5cm or 12" x12" mats: fabric mat, light grip mat, standard grip and strong grip
- Cricut basic perforation blade
- Cricut knife blade
- Cricut fine debossing tip
Easy Press 2 - comes with a Cricut Medium Easy Press Mat
Cricut Mug Press - please bring your own sublimation mug blanks and infusible ink and other materials.
Sewing Machine and Over-locker
Please let us know if you would like to book this equipment for use in the library.
Creative Bug
In addition to the hardware we supply, we also have a subscription, free for you to use, with Creativebug. Creativebug has thousands of video tutorials on almost any art or craft