Six core services, all run in-house from our Dorset workshop, from a single prototype to a full production batch. Whether it's a functional marine bracket for a Portsmouth boatyard or a scale model of a Portsmouth landmark like the Emirates Spinnaker Tower, if it can be modelled, we can usually print it.
First mock-up to iteration to small batch. Next-day form-fit-function prototypes with DFM feedback before you pay for a failed print.
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1 to 1,000 units at consistent tolerance, a real alternative to injection moulding for runs under 1,000, with no tooling spend.
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No file, no problem. We model from a brief, sketch, calipers or the physical part itself in Fusion 360 or SolidWorks.
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Branded activations, exhibition pieces and launch giveaways, one hero piece or 400 matched units, delivered for your event date.
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Experiential builds and branded installations, 2m+ pieces engineered for structural integrity, with transport and on-site install.
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Discontinued or unavailable parts reverse-engineered and reproduced, measured, redrawn and reprinted from a single broken original.
Learn more →"James handled the 3D printing for a functional heat-resistant component we needed in batch production. He helped dial in the prototype first with their design service, then produced the final batch with really consistent results. Super fast 3D print turnaround and great quality across all the 3D printed parts. Will 100% be coming back."
"We needed a sit-in F1-car for an exhibition to showcase our new racing game. 3D Printing Express took our CAD, optimised it for strength and weight as we had no idea how it all worked! Turned out beautifully. They colour matched the finish and was looking like the real deal. On show day the cockpit ran non-stop, adults and kids jumped in."
"We ordered a batch of 100 PA-12 parts from 3D Printing Express and could not be happier. Every part arrived consistent, dimensionally accurate, and ready for use straight from the box. The PA-12 gave us the strength and stability we needed for functional testing, with minimal post-processing required."
"I needed parts 3D printed for mounting a 5G router to a pole. I used the online form to upload the STL files. James contacted me directly via email, helped optimise the geometry for printability and shipped fast. Brilliant communication."
"James was very helpful, discussed our project in detail. Supported us through the development. We had a few difficulties which were managed well. Would definitely use again and recommend."
Our workshop is at Broadstone Business Centre, Moor Road, Poole BH18 8AZ. Orders go out on a tracked UK-wide courier; local collection is by arrangement.
Monday – Friday · 09:00–17:30
Collection by arrangement · email before 10am for same-day.
Brief in. Quote in 6 hours. Print. Shipped UK-wide. Four steps from your file to a part on your bench.
Send the file
PDF, STEP, STL, sketch, or a photo of the part. Whatever you have, we will work with it.
Inside 6 hours
Reviewed by a real engineer. Pricing breakdown, lead time, and printability flags before you commit.
UK fleet, 3 days
multiple in-house FDM printers in our Dorset workshop. Hardened-steel nozzles on CF jobs. Photo proofs on request.
Next-day courier
Royal Mail Tracked or DPD Next Day, UK-wide · or collect from our Dorset workshop by arrangement.
Here's the whole process · idea to parts in your hands, in 4 simple steps. Send us a file, photo, sketch, or just a description of what you need, we'll work with whatever you've got. Quote back within 6 hours. Two-minute read, no jargon.
A snapshot of the colours and grades we run most often. We stock Polymaker and Fiberon filaments as standard, with engineering-grade composites on request. Portsmouth jobs typically run in PLA, PETG, PA12-CF or ASA.
Not sure which material is right for you? We can help.
Email us your use case →A snapshot of the kind of work we handle for Portsmouth, a Solent marine or engineering firm, a University of Portsmouth research group, a boatyard or marina business near the Harbour, or an engineering workshop needing functional prototypes.
Portsmouth is a maritime city to its core, a naval harbour, cross-Solent and island ferries, marinas and a cluster of marine and aerospace engineering firms packed onto Portsea Island. Parts built for that world meet salt, UV and vibration daily, the very conditions where the PLA and PETG most print shops run start to fail.
For Portsmouth's main sectors · marine and engineering, university and tech R&D, product development · we tend to start with ASA for the harbour and marina work, add PA12-CF for load-bearing brackets and structural prototypes, PETG-GF for stiff, dimensionally stable parts, and UL94 V-0 grades where a flame rating applies. Filament comes from Polymaker and Fiberon.
When you send a brief, describe the application context · the environment, the load, the regulation if any. We'll suggest the right material in the quote and ship a test sample first so you can verify before the full batch runs.
UV and saltwater resistant · steady across Portsmouth's harbour and marinas · fittings, enclosures and signage for a saltwater city.
Carbon-fibre composite · ~95 MPa tensile. Load-bearing brackets, jigs and structural prototypes · the grade for Portsmouth marine and engineering work.
Flame-retardant · self-extinguishing within 10s of flame removal. Regulated environments.
There's a reason Portsmouth packs so much industry into so little ground: it's the UK's only island city, most of it crammed onto Portsea Island, which has the highest population density of any of the British Isles. That concentration shows up in the local economy · a defence and maritime base wrapped around the naval dockyard, with firms like BAE Systems, QinetiQ and Airbus Defence and Space anchoring a tight engineering cluster. Operations of that kind typically need functional parts rather than decorative ones: jigs and fixtures, equipment housings, load-bearing brackets and replacement fittings, often to a drawing with a tolerance on it. That's exactly the work we're set up for · PA12-CF where a part has to be stiff and load-bearing, ASA where it has to live out in the salt air, and an NDA on request where a brief touches anything sensitive.
Beyond the engineering side, the city's heritage pull · the Historic Dockyard, the Mary Rose, the ferries crossing from the International Port · means a place like Portsmouth also generates demand for replica and display pieces, museum mounts and exhibition props, where a clean surface finish matters more than load rating. A University of Portsmouth research group here would usually want one-off rigs and adaptors that off-the-shelf kit can't cover, and PETG-GF or UL94 V-0 grades suit a lot of that. From our Dorset workshop, Portsmouth orders ship UK-wide on a tracked courier once they're made, with collection by arrangement if you'd rather drive over.
Most Portsmouth orders are shipped, not collected for most jobs · once your quote is approved and the part is made, it goes out UK-wide on DPD Next Day or Royal Mail Tracked. Email your file before noon and on simple geometries in stocked materials we can often dispatch within 24-48 hours. Collection from our Dorset workshop is by arrangement.
| Tier | Cut-off | Lead time | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collection (Dorset) | 10am | Same-day / next morning | Broadstone workshop · by arrangement |
| Express | 12pm | 24-48 hrs | DPD Next Day · UK-wide |
| Standard most popular | Any time | 2-5 working days | Royal Mail Tracked or DPD |
| Economy | Any time | 5-10 working days | Royal Mail Tracked |
Lead times depend on complexity, material and queue · all tiers reviewed and confirmed in your 6-hour quote. Volume runs of 50+ units get a fast turnaround quote with batch pricing · email for bulk-pricing tiers.
A snapshot of jobs we've shipped for businesses across the south coast. Full case studies cover the brief, build, and outcome.
Five things in your brief mean a faster, more accurate quote and a printable file first time. None of these are dealbreakers if missing · we'll ask · but the more you tell us upfront, the quicker you'll have a sample part on your bench.
One sentence on use case · "it's a bracket holding a 200g PCB inside a sealed sensor enclosure" beats "I need a bracket" every time. Tells us load, environment, tolerance.
STEP and STL are easiest. Sketch, scan, or a photo of a broken part also work · we reverse-engineer in-house if no CAD exists.
1 prototype, 10 iteration units, 100-unit batch, 1,000-unit production run · changes the print strategy and the unit price. Bracket batches over 50 get batch pricing.
Event date, demo day, regulatory deadline. If you tell us, we'll quote the lead time honestly · we'd rather decline than miss a date.
If you know you want PA12-CF, tell us. If not, describe the use case and we'll recommend the right material in the quote.
Every quote we send comes back with the same structure · no upsells, no hidden fees, no algorithmic "best guess". An engineer reviews the file, prices the work and shares any flags before you commit.
Total filament used in grams + total print hours. PA12-CF runs slower than PLA but uses less infill for the same strength. We show both so you can see the trade-off.
Support removal, sand, paint, assemble · only what you've asked for. Each finish has a separate line. No "premium finishing" mystery surcharge.
DPD Next Day or Royal Mail Tracked · fixed price by parcel weight. Portsmouth orders almost always go by tracked courier; workshop collection in Dorset is free by arrangement.
If the engineer spots a thin wall, a support-trap or a tolerance risk, we flag it in the quote · with a suggested fix. You decide whether to proceed or revise.
Batch runs of 50+ units automatically include a per-unit price breakdown so you can compare cost-at-scale before committing. No VAT to add, the price we quote is the price you pay.
Our Dorset workshopOur workshop is at Broadstone Business Centre, Poole BH18 8AZ, in Dorset. We take on work right across the Solent and Hampshire: Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Waterlooville and Portchester, alongside our home patch in Dorset.
Every order ships UK-wide on a tracked courier (Royal Mail Tracked or DPD Next Day) once it's made, for Portsmouth that usually means parts on your bench the working day after dispatch. Collection from the Dorset workshop is by arrangement.
We take on work from right across Portsmouth, from Southsea and Fratton to Cosham, Old Portsmouth, North End and the Gunwharf waterfront, with the M27 and M275 linking the island city straight to our Dorset workshop. From functional marine and engineering parts to display pieces and research models, if a part lives near the water we'll usually steer you toward a UV- and saltwater-stable grade. We cover the rest of the south coast too, see the areas we serve.
Price is set by three things: material cost, print time, and any post-processing you need. A single small prototype in PLA costs substantially less than a 100-unit batch in PA12-CF. We give you an itemised breakdown in every quote, no black-box pricing.
PLA is the most cost-effective. PETG, ABS, and ASA sit in the mid range. Engineering composites like PA12-CF and PC cost more per gram but need less infill for equivalent strength, often comparable over the life of the part.
Small parts (under 100g) typically run 2–6 hours. Larger enclosures or batch runs scale proportionally. We run multiple in-house FDM printers so parallel printing keeps lead times short without premium surcharges.
Support removal and a basic finish are included. Sanding, painting, colour-matching, or assembly are priced separately. We'll list every finish step as a line item, you choose what you need.
Orders of 50+ units qualify for batch pricing, the unit price drops as we optimise print orientation and plate fills. Tell us your target quantity in the brief and we'll quote it alongside a 10-unit pilot option.
We quote every job individually, no online calculator gives accurate prices for engineering-grade FDM. Send your file and application context to get a line-itemised quote in 6 hours. No commitment to order.
Our workshop is at Broadstone Business Centre, Moor Road, Broadstone, Poole BH18 8AZ, in Dorset. We also run a second workshop in Newbury, Berkshire. Every part is printed in-house, we don't outsource to third-party bureaus. James handles client briefs and design; Freddy runs production.
Quotes within 6 hours on business days. Typical production is 2-5 working days depending on complexity and material; once a part is made it ships to Portsmouth on a next-day tracked courier (DPD or Royal Mail Tracked). Urgent jobs with a fixed event date: tell us on the brief and we'll confirm within 24 hours whether we can hit it.
We ship UK-wide. Across the Solent and Hampshire we serve Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Waterlooville and Portchester, alongside our home patch in Dorset · Poole, Christchurch and Wimborne. For larger or recurring orders we can arrange a regular courier slot.
Portsmouth is a naval and maritime city, so the work we're set up to take on there is mostly marine and engineering: brackets, fittings, jigs and weather-stable parts for boatyards, marina businesses and marine engineering firms. We're also a good fit for university research groups, Solent tech and product-design startups (enclosures, mounts and prototypes), and the heritage and museum sector for replica and display parts. For anything commercially sensitive we're happy to sign an NDA.
Yes. Send a broken part in the post or drop one in if you're local, send a photo, send a sketch, or just describe the part. We do reverse engineering and CAD in-house · James will build the file and quote you. Especially useful for obsolete or discontinued parts where no digital file exists.
Most Portsmouth orders ship UK-wide on a next-day courier, usually the fastest option, since we're in Dorset. If you'd rather collect, that's fine by arrangement from the Broadstone workshop. For genuinely urgent jobs, send the brief before noon and we'll tell you honestly what's achievable.
