Designed for someone who is curious about 3D printing but has never touched a printer or slicing software. The session covers the complete workflow from digital model through slicer setup, print settings, and machine operation to a finished physical object — using both FDM and resin where appropriate to the participant's interests.

• What FDM and resin printing actually are and what each does well
• Introduction to slicing software — taking a file from model to print-ready GCode
• Understanding the key settings that affect print quality and speed
• Starting a print and understanding what's happening during each phase
• Post-processing: removing supports, curing resin, surface finishing basics
• The most common failure causes and how to avoid them

By the end, participants have produced at least one print themselves and can replicate the process independently at home.

We work with schools across the Western Cape — both for student group visits to the showroom and for teacher-focused training sessions designed to equip educators with the practical knowledge to run 3D printing activities in their own classrooms or makerspaces.

For student groups, the session is structured around hands-on engagement with the printers, understanding the design-to-physical-object process, and seeing both FDM and resin output quality compared directly. For teachers, the focus is practical competency: we cover the specific printers the school is considering, slicer setup, maintenance routines, and how to manage a print queue in a classroom environment.

Schools across the Helderberg, Stellenbosch, and greater Cape Town area have brought groups to our Somerset West showroom — the location works well for a school excursion combining a practical maker experience with curriculum relevance in technology, design, and engineering subjects.

Already have a printer but not getting the results you expected? This session format addresses specific problem areas rather than covering the full beginner workflow. Common topics include:

• Bed adhesion failures and how to resolve them consistently
• Support strategy — where supports are needed, where they can be eliminated through print orientation, and how to remove them cleanly
• Resin post-processing — correct wash and cure workflow, resin handling, tank maintenance
• Material troubleshooting — stringing, warping, layer separation, under-extrusion
• Getting a specific result: print settings for miniatures, functional parts, or presentation-quality surface finish

Sessions are tailored to your specific printer and the problems you're experiencing, rather than a generic curriculum.

For someone exploring whether 3D printing could be a business opportunity — a print-on-demand service, a custom product line, a prototyping service for local industry — this session covers not just the technical workflow but the practical business considerations: realistic production rates, consumable costs and margins, quality control, the limits of what each technology can produce at scale, and how to set appropriate expectations with customers.

If you're considering buying equipment to offer 3D printing as a service in the Cape Town or Winelands area, this session will give you a realistic picture of what's actually involved before you commit capital to it.