For a model having multiple parts, particularly those that need two or more plates, is it better to upload one print profile with multiple plates inside, or many profiles, one for each part or plate?
A related question is how Makerworld counts downloads. If the print profile downlaods are simply added up for the model, then there will be an incentive to get each part its own profile.
What are your thoughts?
Depends, in my opinion for a model like my grommet this is the best layout for users to print the model they want with the cover they prefer in a single profile.
Otherwise if you think about it I have 7 different plates, if I decided to make one profile per plate and then people started creating their own print profiles the page would get overran with profiles and no one would have an easy way to pick what they want to print.
On the alternative side, here is my How to Print Ice 
page and I have 1 profile for the test objects (3 plates) and 1 profile for curated pick and print “Ice Sculptures” (4 plates). Again using the plates inside the profile instead of 1 plate per option.
To answer your question, I lean towards the user experience which would skew towards 1 profile with many plates.
Edit: Here is hopefully the answer to your download question from @Tanklet 
So far the only situation that I found having multiple print profiles make sense is to provide users the options to print more than one copy of the same models, such as a profile for printing 5 copies (on the same plate), another profile for a 10 copies, etc.
For the count of printing, it’s not clear to me. If a model has 3 parts, and each part has its own profile, will the model get 3 times the printing count of the same model having only one profile for 3 plates?
Unless you want them to have a specific number you want them to print that’s where the Copies button comes in. They can choose how many they want to print on the plate on their own.
I’m not sure I understand the second question sorry. Maybe someone else is able to give some input.
I will look into the Copies button. I don’t use the Handy app. Wonder if a general user knows about this feature.
As to the 2nd question about how printing is counted for a model, don’t worry aobut it. It should become clear over time. Thanks for the replies.
Handy app will not work with multiple plates as effectively.
Not a problem if downloading into Studio though.
I have also seen people inflating their uploads by two objects being uploaded individually and then again combined onto two plates (no genuine change, effectively a redundant upload)
It is strongly suggested to included all parts in one print profile. Users may not miss any parts when print the model. Otherwise, users may miss some plates and they may do not know where to find them accurately.
When users print a on Bambu Handy or Bambu Studio, each print job (a single plate) will be counted. A success print job will be count as 2 downloads.
For example, if you have a print profile with 5 plates and a user prints all of these plates, your print profile will get 2x5=10 downloads.
@Tanklet Thanks for your suggestion. While I agree in theory, it’s tricky when using multiple materials. A good example a fidget built with a mix of PLA, PC and TPU, as I’m currently printing right now. 
Sadly since I had to iterate a bit and deleted the plates for different materials as I went through the process, I won’t be able to upload the print profile as a verified profile. 
@Tanklet I’m still a little confused. In your scenario above, each successful plate print in the same profile counts as 2 downloads. (One for downloading it and one for printing it?) Are those downloads counted toward the profile, or the model? (or both?)
If I understand this correctly, I think it is a sensible way to count. It removes the incentive to artificially breaking up one model into multiple profiles because one can get the same number of downloads (and prints) by having one profile containing multiple plates.
It also addresses one question that hasn’t been raised, which is: how to reward complex models which take longer to develop than simple ones. Number of plates is then used here as an approximation of model complexity (not always true, but what will be a better alternative?).
If some want to set up as many plates as possible, such that a model with 10 parts that can be fitted onto 3 plates are splited into 10 plates to get more points, they would sacrifice good user experience for a short term gain. That’s not a good move long term.
They will be counter for both the target print profile and model.
We are going to refine the points reward system to avoid extra download count which happens when a user download multiple print profiles (for the same model) from the same uploader.
I’m pretty sure this isnt a thing anymore
In my opinion, you may arrange objects according to their material types. For example:
Plate 1 - PLA objects
Plate 2 - PC objects
Plate 3 - TPU objects
If you are still iterating a print profile, you may set its visibility to “Private” first. You can also print your private print profile via Bambu Handy. After it is verified, change it to public.
