Any recommendations for getting some plastic parts printed? Ideally with some kind of upload and live quote feature and reasonably quick turnaround.

Not had the need to use them, but these might be helpful:

http://www.protolabs.co.uk/3d-printing/

https://i.materialise.com/

http://www.prodpoint.com/

3Dhubs is the default option I think for small scale but having seen some of the results it can definitely be variable.

What sort of volumes are you talking about? Regular or one-off? I’m building myself a Tevo Tarantula just now, it was just under £200 and the quality of prints I’ve seen from other machines is really excellent. It’s a self-build and obviously there’s the learning curve to get good results too- who knows if I’ll ever get high quality output, for now I’m viewing it as a toy really- but it might be a viable option for you.

(other i3-type printers are available… But the Tevo’s one of the cheapest metal frame models and has a really strong user community, that was what sold me the most)

What are you looking to print ? I’ve got a 3D printer at home 🙂

Have a word with Wayne at designmachineprint3d@gmail.com

He can turn around 3D printing very quickly and is much cheaper than Shapeways and the others. If you want to use someone else then Shapeways is the cheapest by a long shot but it does take a 7 to 14 days to deliver.

Shapeways are probably the biggest at this sort of thing. I’ve ordered loads of stuff from them (always other people’s designs) and they’ve been great. I understand they can be frustrating as a designer though – moving goalposts on wall thicknesses and stuff. May not be relevant depending on what it is.

As above delivery isn’t all that quick. They do periodic sales on certain materials, or free postage and stuff too.

WSF is quite good for a cheap option, FUD/FXD are much smoother, but can be a Bugger to paint, if that’s relevant.