How to better manage print profiles?

[E.Ducky]

Alrighty so a general question for you guys and gals, and maybe more so an opinion on the matter.

Battle for Mount Olympus
I’ve recently made and uploaded my latest game which features multiple figures that are playable. Over time I have been adding “expansion sets” to add more playable figures for the main game.

Would it be better? to have:

1. a print profile just called “Expansions” and load a new print plate with the new expansion sets (kind of how I have it now).
2. make a new print profile for each “Expansion”

Guess I’m just looking on feedback on the matter and whether one is frowned upon by makerworld.

[Bjoern_3D]

Neither really… at least as far as what the print profile “rules” suggest.

Either the “expansion set” is a new model and then it’s your option 1 in the new model. Or the “expansion” is an “extension” to the existing model in which case it’s just additional plates to the existing profile. Different print profiles are meant to be used when things have to be redistributed for the A1 mini’s smaller plate or vice versa, a .2 nozzle, etc.

Say you have an AMS version of your existing model… that would be an additional profile. Of course, the daily practice looks slightly different from the “official” print profile guidelines and sometimes you have to work around limitations. Some models you find will have “alternate square base” or something like that, when really the geometry is not supposed the be altered in print profiles.

In a similar workaround, I had to basically submit a “wrapper”-model to the contest with this one The Great Greek Mythology Series - Display Stand by Bjoern 3D MakerWorld: Download Free 3D Models because you can’t submit a collection and these 36 silver coin replicas are too high poly as to fit all of them in the same .3mf, so I link to this collection Great Greek Mythology | Collection - MakerWorld: Download Free 3D Models in the model description instead.

The biggest issue is that you run the risk of having your profile removed if it doesn’t follow the guidelines. Here’s the link by the way:

MakerWorld Print Profile Upload Guidelines

[E.Ducky]

Thanks for the info! And what you mentioned is what I was concerned about. I seperated the profiles to be a bit more organized but it shouldn’t be a problem to consolidate them all into one.

[Bjoern_3D]

@E.Ducky

I seperated the profiles to be a bit more organized

Trust me, I completely understand where you’re coming from. It’s basically, whenever you have a model called “house” you’d like to be able to have print profiles “bedroom,” “living room,” “kitchen,” etc. That makes complete sense; however, MW’s take on it is:

10. Splitting a model into multiple print profiles for uploading

• If a model has multiple parts, putting them into a single print profile can prevent users from overlooking any parts during printing. Additionally, it helps maintain a cleaner and more organized model page.
• A permitted exception is if a component of your model has multiple variants; you may upload the variant as a separate print profile, although it is recommended to uploaded variants as separate plates in a print profile and name the plates accordingly.

Also, and I don’t know how many pieces you want to have in the end, but the 36 plate limit might become an issue later on as well. I’ve posted about that when I put my model together for the diorama contest…

36 Plates Limit and the Diorama Contest

So I hit the 3mf file’s 36 plates limit with my model (link) for the Diorama Contest (link). Now, this is not a request to allow for more plates in the file, rather when your contest theme reads… We’re looking for complete miniature environments that tell a cohesive story. Your entry should go beyond a single model—think layered landscapes, character positioning, environmental details, and scene composition. …there should be a way to better organize such a “model of models” and we actually h…

[E.Ducky]

I don’t forsee print plates being an issue. I managed to squeeze the 12 main game pieces into one plate (making a1 mini friendly).

Even with the extra sets and alternate bases. I might end up with 6 plates total before I move onto a different themed game.

But I’ll work on consolidating the profiles. Had to make an extra profile for the p1s and a1mini because I didn’t know that if pieces were “out of bounds” it wouldn’t make print profiles for those printers, thus not making it available for certain users.

[E.Ducky]

Just wanted to say thank you again for your help and info. Managed to get everything condensed into one print profile. Hopefully I didnt mess anything up along the way.