Plastic 3D Printing Services
Functional plastic parts with no tooling and no minimum order. Printed in engineering thermoplastics, then finished, machined, or moved into a mold by the same team.
- Six print resins: ABS, PC, PA (Nylon), PEEK, TPU, PLA.
- Typical tolerance 0.13 mm, prototype parts in 3 to 7 days.
- DFM review and quote back in under 24 hours.
What Is Plastic 3D Printing?
Plastic 3D printing builds a part directly from your CAD file, one thin layer of melted thermoplastic at a time. There is no mold and no cutting tool, so the first part costs the same as the tenth and a design change costs nothing but print time.
That makes it the fastest route to a part you can hold, test, and fit into an assembly. It is also the right answer for low volumes: below roughly 1,000 parts a year, paying for an injection mold rarely pays back.
Meco runs five plastic processes in one place, so printing is a step rather than a destination. We print the prototype, then mold the same part in plastic injection molding when volume justifies a tool. Printed parts can also be CNC machined for critical faces, painted or surface finished, and built into a finished unit through product assembly.
Need metal instead of plastic? See metal 3D printing. Comparing the whole plastics family first? Start at custom injection molding services, or read our guide to moving from prototype to production.
Typical Tolerance
0.13 mm
On printed features. Tighter faces are finished by CNC machining after printing.
Lead Time
3 to 7 days
Prototype parts. No tooling stage to wait through.
Layer Height
0.1 to 0.3 mm
0.1 mm for detail and accuracy, 0.3 mm when speed matters more.
Order Size
1 to 50+
No MOQ. One part, a bridge run, or a switch to molding when volume climbs.
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What You Get With Meco 3D Printing
Printing a file is the easy part. What changes your cost and schedule is the engineering around it, and what happens to the part after it comes off the build plate.
Build Orientation Review
Printed parts are weakest between layers, so orientation decides whether a clip survives. We set the build angle against your load direction, then cut supports where they would scar a show face.
Prototypes in 3 to 7 Days
Print, review, revise, print again. Testing fit and form before a mold is quoted is the cheapest engineering change you will ever make, and it removes the risk from your tooling spend.
A Real Path to Volume
Print now, mold later, same supplier and same engineer. We hold the geometry, redesign it for draft and wall thickness, and quote the tool when your volume crosses the break-even point.
Hybrid Print and Machine
Printing alone will not hold a bearing bore. We print the body, then machine the critical diameters and mating faces in house, so one part carries both complex geometry and a real fit.
Print, Finish, Ship
Support removal, sanding, painting, and inserts, then packing and delivery from warehousing in North America and Asia. See the full list of Meco capabilities.
Not Sure Printing Is Right?
Send the file with your annual volume. If a mold, a machined blank, or a thermoformed tray is cheaper, we will say so in the quote instead of selling you prints.
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Which 3D Printing Technology Fits Your Part?
Five plastic printing technologies dominate industrial work. They differ most in accuracy, minimum feature size, and whether the part needs supports at all. Meco runs industrial FDM in house and quotes the rest through our network.
| Technology | Typical Tolerance | Layer Height | Min Feature | Supports | Surface Finish | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDM | 0.15% (0.2 mm floor), industrial | 0.05 to 0.3 mm | 0.2 mm | Yes | Visible layer lines | Large functional parts, jigs, housings, engineering resins |
| SLA | 0.5% (0.2 mm floor) | 0.02 mm | 0.1 mm | Yes | Smooth, near molded | Fine detail, appearance models, clear parts |
| SLS | 0.3% (0.3 mm floor) | 0.10 mm | 0.5 mm | None | Grainy matte | Nylon parts, living hinges, nested small batches |
| MJF | 0.3% (0.2 mm floor) | 0.08 mm | 0.5 mm | None | Grainy, dyes black | Consistent nylon properties, higher part counts |
| PolyJet | 0.05 to 0.1 mm per 100 mm | 0.004 mm | 1.2 mm rigid | Yes | Very smooth | Multi-colour and rigid plus rubber-like models |
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3D Printing vs Injection Molding vs CNC Machining
The honest answer is that volume decides, not the technology. Here is how the three routes compare on the numbers that actually change your unit cost.
| Factor | Plastic 3D Printing | Injection Molding | CNC Machining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tooling cost | None | $2,000 to $80,000+ per mold | None, fixtures only |
| Lead time to first part | 3 to 7 days | 2 to 8 weeks for tooling | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Typical tolerance | 0.13 mm | 0.05 mm | 0.01 mm, ISO 2768 |
| Sweet spot volume | 1 to 50 | 1,000 to 10,000,000+ | 1 to 10,000 |
| Design change cost | Free, reprint the file | Tool rework, days to weeks | New program, hours |
| Internal channels and lattices | Yes | Only with slides or lifters | No, the cutter cannot reach |
| Surface off the machine | Layer lines, needs finishing | Tool finish, gloss to texture | Machined, Ra 0.4 μm achievable |
| Part strength | Weaker between layers | Isotropic | Full stock properties |
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Finishing a Printed Part
A printed part off the plate has layer lines and support marks. What you do next decides whether it looks like a prototype or like a product.
| Finish | What It Does | Use It When |
|---|---|---|
| Support removal | Cuts and cleans support contact points, included as standard | Every part with an overhang |
| Sanding and priming | Removes layer lines and prepares a paintable surface | Appearance models and customer-facing samples |
| Painting | Colour match, gloss or matte, applied over primer | Show models, marketing samples, colour approval builds |
| CNC post-machining | Cuts precision bores, faces, and mating surfaces after printing | Any fit tighter than the printed 0.13 mm, via CNC machining |
| Threaded inserts | Heat-set brass inserts for repeated assembly and disassembly | Anything bolted together more than once |
| Assembly | Printed parts joined with fasteners, adhesives, and bought-in components | Multi-part mechanisms, via mechanical assembly |
Scroll inside the table to see every row and column
Plastic 3D Printing FAQs
What is plastic 3D printing best suited for?
Plastic 3D printing suits parts you need fast, in small numbers, or with geometry no mold or cutter can produce. That means prototypes, fit and form checks, jigs and fixtures, low-volume end-use parts, and spares for products that are out of production. It also suits internal channels and lattice structures, which are impossible to machine and expensive to mold.
What tolerance can plastic 3D printing hold?
Meco works to a typical 0.13 mm on printed features. Accuracy depends on layer height, resin shrinkage, and part size, so a 200 mm part will not hold the same absolute tolerance as a 20 mm one. When a feature needs to be tighter, we print the body and then CNC machine that surface, which is the standard way to get a printed part to a bearing or seal fit.
How long does a 3D printed part take?
Prototype parts run 3 to 7 days, and your quote with DFM feedback comes back in under 24 hours. There is no tooling stage, which is the whole point: molding needs 2 to 8 weeks for a tool before a single part exists. Finishing steps such as sanding, painting, or post-machining add time and are quoted separately.
3D printing or injection molding: which is cheaper?
Volume decides. Printing has no tooling cost, so it wins outright at low quantities, and below roughly 1,000 parts a year a mold rarely pays back. Injection molding usually takes over between 1,000 and 5,000 parts a year, because the tool cost spreads across more units and the unit price drops sharply. Send your annual volume and we will price both.
3D printing or CNC machining: which do I need?
Choose printing for organic shapes, internal cavities, and fast iteration with no fixture cost. Choose CNC machining when you need a real tolerance, a fine surface, full material properties, or a metal part. Many parts want both: print the complex body, machine the two faces that matter. We do both in house, so it stays one purchase order.
Which resin should I print in?
Meco prints in ABS, PC, PA (Nylon), PEEK, TPU, and PLA. Pick PC for stiffness and heat, Nylon for wear and repeated flexing, TPU where the part must be rubber-like, PEEK for chemical and high-temperature service, ABS for tough general housings, and PLA for cheap visual models. Tell us the load, temperature, and environment and we will pick it with you.
Why is my printed part weaker in one direction?
Because a printed part is built from bonded layers, and the bond between layers is weaker than the material within a layer. A clip printed flat can be several times stronger than the same clip printed upright. We set build orientation against your load direction before printing, which costs nothing and is the single biggest strength decision on the part.
Can printed parts be finished and assembled?
Yes. Support removal is standard, and we add sanding, priming, painting, heat-set threaded inserts, and CNC post-machining as needed. Printed parts can then go into mechanical assembly or a full product build with bought-in components, packed and shipped from our warehousing network.
Is there a minimum order, and what protects my design?
There is no MOQ, so one part is a valid order. Meco is IATF 16949:2016 certified, the automotive quality standard built on all ISO 9001:2015 requirements, and we run FAI reporting and full lot traceability. Your design stays yours: we provide IP protection and sign NDAs before work starts. Production is in Thailand and China, managed from Canada.
How to Get Started
Upload a STEP, IGES, or STL file with the resin, quantity, and annual volume you expect. NDA first if you prefer.
We check wall thickness, overhangs, and load direction, confirm printing is the right process against molding and machining, and price it. First time doing this? Read how to make a prototype.
Industrial printing with in-process monitoring, then dimensional verification against your drawing before anything ships.
Support removal, finishing, optional machining and assembly, then packed delivery. When volume grows, the same team quotes the mold. See whole product manufacturing.
From Printed Prototype to Production
Guides written by our engineering team on prototyping, scaling, and choosing the right process.
From Prototype to Production
Real timelines, tooling costs, DFM stages, and how to move a printed part into a molded one without restarting.
Read the guide →
How to Make a Prototype of an Invention
Prototyping methods, what each really costs, when to file a patent, and how to pick a manufacturer you can grow with.
Read the guide →
What Is On Demand Manufacturing?
How low-volume, no-tooling production is changing sourcing in aerospace, medical, and electronics programs.
Read the guide →Swipe for all three guides
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