3D printing in Geelong

Based in Geelong, not just serving it

Most of what this site describes runs by email and post: photographs in, a quote back the same day, a part in a satchel. Geelong is the exception, because the workshop is here. A finished part is delivered free within the Geelong area, or collected from the workshop if that suits better, which for an urgent job removes the one step nobody controls — the courier.

The hours are the same as the rest of the business: Monday to Friday 7am–6pm, and Saturday mornings 8am–12pm, which is when a lot of Geelong collections happen.

What Geelong makes, and why that suits printed parts

Geelong has been a manufacturing city for a long time, and the shape of that manufacturing is exactly the shape that generates work for a workshop like this one.

Advanced manufacturing at Waurn Ponds. Deakin University's ManuFutures hub was built to house up to fifteen advanced-manufacturing enterprises alongside the university's research, and a second building — ManuFutures 2, with a product engineering development laboratory and six tenant bays — followed it. Businesses at that stage of development are prototyping constantly, revising constantly, and rarely need a hundred of anything. That is the prototyping and short-run work described elsewhere on this site, ten minutes from where it is made.

Established industry in the north and east. North Geelong, Breakwater, Moolap and South Geelong carry the city's older industrial areas, and the Geelong Ring Road Employment Precinct between Corio and Lara carries the newer ones. Older plant is where obsolete parts come from: machines that still work perfectly, made by companies that no longer support them.

The port. The Port of Geelong is the sixth-largest in Australia by tonnage, handling petroleum, grain, woodchips, alumina and fertiliser through wharves on Corio Bay. Bulk handling means conveyors, guides, chutes, wear strips and sensor mounts — the unglamorous plastic components that stop production when they fail and are rarely on a shelf.

Partsmith has been supplying parts to businesses and workshops around Geelong and the Surf Coast since before this site existed, and that is where the description above comes from: a local workshop that can measure a part, model it and have a replacement ready the same week fits the work this city produces.

How a Geelong job runs

Send a photo of the part, drawing or assembly with a rough size, and say what machine it belongs to. Quotes go back the same day where possible.

Drop the part off, or send it. For anything that has to mate precisely with other hardware, having the original on the bench is the surest route, and in Geelong that can be a ten-minute detour rather than a courier.

Prototype, fit, then final. A test piece is printed and offered up to your hardware before the final part is made. For a local job the test fit can happen at the workshop with the mating part in hand, which usually saves a round.

Delivered, collected or posted. Within the Geelong area delivery is free; collection from the workshop is always an option; and post covers everywhere else. The choice is yours per job.

Melbourne, from Geelong

Being in Geelong is no disadvantage for Melbourne work. Quoting is by photograph and email regardless of where you are, and a finished part posted from here reaches Melbourne overnight. The industrial west — Werribee, Laverton North, Altona — is the nearest of Melbourne's manufacturing corridors to Geelong by road, which is why a good share of enquiries come from there.

Areas served from Geelong

Collection is practical across the Geelong region, and post covers the rest of Victoria. Enquiries regularly come from the suburbs and towns around the workshop:

• Geelong and inner suburbs — Geelong, South Geelong, Newtown, Belmont, Highton, Grovedale, Waurn Ponds
• The industrial north — North Geelong, Corio, Norlane, Lara
• The east and the Bellarine — Breakwater, Moolap, Leopold, Drysdale, Ocean Grove
• The Surf Coast — Torquay, Jan Juc, Armstrong Creek

Beyond those, the process is identical and the part travels by post. Melbourne is the next page along.

Pricing in Geelong

The minimum order is $75. Above that, a quote is built from the job rather than from a rate card, and it is a firm figure before any work starts.

What changes the price

• Modelling. A ready STL costs least; a broken original that has to be measured and modelled costs more, because that is where the hours go.
• Print time. Size, wall thickness and infill decide how long the machine runs. Fifty small parts can be quicker than three large ones.
• Material. PLA, PETG and flexible TPU are priced differently, and the duty the part has to take chooses between them.
• Quantity. A repeat part skips the design work, so a reorder costs less than the first.
• Urgency. Standard turnaround is the base; faster options exist for a machine that is down, and in Geelong that can mean collection the same day.

Send a photo and a rough size and you will have the number, usually the same day.

Who this suits

Geelong businesses and workshops with a part that has to function: a maintenance team with a machine down, a manufacturer needing a fixture for one operation, a developer at Waurn Ponds needing the fourth revision by Friday, a robotics cell needing jaws shaped to one product. Everyday and moderate loads are routine work; wear parts are welcome as consumables. Every quote includes an assessment of the duty, so where a part belongs in metal you hear that at the start.

Behind the page is over six years' experience and more than a thousand prints, and five jobs written up as they happened — the evidence for everything claimed above.

Frequently asked questions

Do you deliver in Geelong?

Yes — delivery within the Geelong area is free. Collection from the workshop can be arranged instead, during business hours or on Saturday mornings. Say which you prefer when you request the quote and it gets agreed with the job.

Can I drop the original part off rather than post it?

Yes, and for anything that has to fit precisely against other hardware it is the best option. Measurements taken on the bench from the actual part are the most reliable input there is.

How fast can a Geelong job turn around?

Quoting is usually same-day. Turnaround depends on the part — modelling is normally the longer half — and faster options exist where a machine is down. Say so at the enquiry and it gets scheduled accordingly.

Do you cover the Bellarine and the Surf Coast?

Yes. Ocean Grove, Torquay and the Bellarine are close enough that collection is practical, and post covers everything else.

Who owns the files, and will you sign an NDA?

If you supply the file it stays yours and is used for your parts only. If we model the part for you, the model comes with you — STL with the job, STEP on request. An NDA before you send anything is fine; the file policy is set out in full on the About page.

Is there a minimum order?

The minimum order is $75. It is published so you can judge the fit before spending time on an enquiry.