What type of 3D printer do you use ?
We use a Bambu Labs X1c 3D printer (pictured) with a 4 color AMS system. Find out more here.
What's the difference between PLA and PETG ?
At Tinkaholic we use PLA for most products and PETG where we require strength, food safety and/or heat resistance. PLA produces a smoother print finish and allows for multiple colors however is heat resistant to only 55 degrees. PETG is stronger, particularly the carbon fibre version and is heat resistant to 74 degrees. PETG CF has limited color options, we tend to only use black.
We use PETG for any product that touches food given it's non-toxicity, most drink bottles are made from PETG.
You can learn all about the properties of different filaments here.
Can I use a different type of filament ?
Yes, the X1c is capable of printing many different filaments from TPU (rubber) up to carbon reinforced nylon (as strong as steel but very expensive). If you would like to design or print a product in a different material please get in touch.
You can learn about all the different filaments here.
What color filaments do you have ?
Typically we stock the basic colors used in our designs - black, white, red, green, yellow, blue, dark blue and orange. There is a huge variety of colors and filament finishes available, you can see them all here.
If you have a specific color scheme or finish in mind please get in touch.
What software do you use ?
We are big fans of Fusion360 for product design and use Bambu Studio as a 'slicer' (the software that turns a design in to g-code that the printer can understand).
For content creation we use the Adobe suite of products.
Can I watch my product being printed online ?
Yes, we're able to 'live stream' your print on youtube via the camera inside the printer. If you would like to watch your print live on 'tinkacam' please get in touch.
What's the quality like ?
Our products are 3D printed on one of the best printers available on the market, however they are not 'six sigma' commercial grade quality and may have minor imperfections and color variations.
We use a .4mm print head however also have a .2mm print head for very fine printing (at the cost of print speed and strength).
Myself and others have personally tested all the designs for utility and functionality over a number of years and have finessed the designs accordingly. If however for any reason you're not happy with the quality or durability of your product please let us know. We will of course try to make things right for you however the information is also very useful for design modifications and continuous improvement.
Your constructive feedback is greatly appreciated regardless of how negative it may be. Please don't hesitate to get in touch.
What are the design basics I need to know ?
The easiest way to think about how to print a graphic on a 2D surface is - we dig holes (0.2mm deep) and fill them with different colored plastics. Therefore the most important design principle is to ensure the 'holes' (shapes) are enclosed.
In other words drawings must be made of fully enclosed shapes, lines must be long thin shapes (.4mm wide minimum) and text must be outlines of letters. The smallest 'hole' possible is .4mm * .4mm.
You can see the skull in the picture is a series of enclosed shapes.
The file types used by Fusion360 are SVG or DXF files. These are native drawings that can be manipulated in the CAD software.
For designing new products the most important concept to understand is that 3D printers print in small incremental layers (down to 0.08mm thick) and can't print a layer over thin air. They can print at angles however but care should be taken beyond 45 degrees.
How did you create the Radguard graphics ?
Fusion360 accepts SVG or DXF files as native drawings that can be manipulated in the software. The process of creating the SVG files for the Radguards is as follows:
1. Do a search on Pinterest or Google for 'your image' svg - for example 'skull svg'.
2. Copy the image and paste it in to Adobe Illustrator, MS Powerpoint or similar drawing software.
3. Export the image as an SVG file, this will turn it in to an outline of the original image.
4. In Fusion we then 'extrude' the enclosed shapes (dig a hole) .2mm deep and fill it with different colored plastic.
You can see in the image on the right that the skull is an outline and we have selected it's eyes (in blue) to be extruded a different color. (If the shape is not enclosed we can't select it).
Where can I find the Radguard template ?
You can find it here
I have a great idea for a product, can you help me ?
Yes, please get in touch and I would be happy to discuss your product idea with you and how we can bring it to life.
Can you create branded merchandise for my store/club ?
Yes, we'd be very happy to discuss creating branded merchandise for your store or club (etc). We can also do wholesale deals on volume order products and/or cross-promotional deals.
Can I have a copy of an STL file so I can print a product on my own 3D printer ?
Existing product designs are the IP of tinkaholic and not available to share.
I woud be very happy to collaborate with you on the design of a new product however the STL files remain the property of Tinkaholic.
If I design something cool is it really free ?
Yes, there are conditions of course however we will refund your money if you design something we love !
For more information go here.
Why do you spell color incorrectly ?
Unfortunately Shopify uses American English by default so we had to spell it incorrectly for consistency across the site. Drives us nuts too.
How do I care for my product ?
The main thing to be mindful of is if your product is made from PLA it is only heat resistant to 55 degrees. Please be careful leaving your product in your car as it may deform if left in the sun.
Are you located in Australia ?
Yes, we're located south of Sydney, we own the 'com.au' domain however have chosen to use our '.com' address in case we decide to sell internationally in the future.
Do you ship outside Australia and New Zealand ?
We currently only ship to Australia and New Zealand. If you really desperately want something get in touch and we'll see what we can arrange.
Can I purchase your products in a store ?
Our products are only available online at the moment given this is a 'side hustle' and something I do in my spare time. Please get in touch however if you'd like to stock Tinkaholic products in your store !
Can I order over the phone ?
It's online orders only at this time. Most calls to our phones these days are spam ! so we can't guarantee we'll pick up, we will however definitely get your online order or email enquiry.
Are you closed on public holidays ?
Our website is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please note however this is a 'side hustle' given I work full time, this means delivery and response times are slower than other stores however I am hyper diligent on communication and fulfilment and will set clear expectations accordingly.
How long will shipping take ?
Please note Tinkaholic is a 'side hustle' given I work full time, this means delivery and response times are slower than other stores however I am hyper diligent on communication and fulfilment and will set clear expectations accordingly.
Typically we print products weekly and send them asap, from there it's 2-5 days within Australia via Australia Post. If for some reason there is a delay at our end we will let you know.
Our shipping policy can be found here.
I haven't recieved my product, where is it ?
Parcel taking too long ? drop us an email and we'll happily help to track it down for you.
What is your returns policy ?
Our returns policy can be found here.
I forgot to add something to my order after checking out, can I place a second order and combine the shipping ?
You sure can, please send us an email and we'll do our best to ship everything together (providing we've not sent the first order), we can also refund your shipping for one of the orders (or ship free if the total is above $100).
I'm mad and want to speak to the manager !
We're very sorry to hear this and eager to ensure you're delighted with our products and service.
We will do everything we can to make things right, please contact us here with 'complaint' in your email heading and we will prioritise your issue and reply asap.
Do you hate spam email and annoying website pop-ups ?
We sure do !
We've intentionally designed our email subscription and website to minimise the aspects of online shopping we dislike ourselves.
If you subscribe to our emails and the frequency is too high, or information is unhelpful, please let us know !
Are you interested in buying SEO or website optimisation services from me ?
No thanks, don't even...
I'm an 'Influencer' can I have some free swag ?
Probably, get in touch and let's see what we can do....
I'm from Pinkbike, can I write a story about Tinkaholic ?
YES PLEASE.
I'm from Coles/Woolworths, can we do a deal on your Trolley phone holders ?
YES PLEASE.
Can Tinkaholic become a full time job for you ?
I wish. I've done supply/demand analysis on each product and the manufacturing times are way too slow on 3D printers, plus demand would need to be exceptionally high to yield a decent profit.
I love it though and wished I'd done this for a living at a younger age.
The dream is one of my products goes viral and I can invest capital in faster/high quality manufacturing. Fingers crossed !