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Limits & specs

Every enforced limit in one place: file sizes, model dimensions, pricing rates, order timing, and caps.

6 min read

This page lists every hard number the platform enforces: the maximum file size, the largest model we can print, the labor rate, the ship-by window, and more. Each figure below reflects a limit in the code, not a rounded guideline.

Files and uploads

These limits apply when you add a design in Catalog → Files. A separate, stricter 25 MB cap applies to public instant-quote uploads. Both are listed below.

File and upload limits

SpecLimitNotes
Accepted formatsSTL, OBJ, 3MF, STEPThe extension and the file’s actual contents are both checked. A renamed file is rejected.
Reliable formatsSTL and 3MFOnly these two complete analysis end to end. OBJ and STEP upload successfully but typically error during slicing.
Max file size (seller upload)500 MBEnforced when the file is selected and again on the server.
Max file size (public instant quote)25 MBA separate, stricter cap for public quote uploads.
Thumbnail image5 MB PNGThe preview image stored with your model.
Concurrent uploads5Up to five uploads and five analyses run at once. Additional work waits in a queue.
Upload completion window30 minutesAn upload must finish within 30 minutes of starting, or it expires and must be restarted.
  • Accepted formats
    LimitSTL, OBJ, 3MF, STEP
    Notes
    The extension and the file’s actual contents are both checked. A renamed file is rejected.
  • Reliable formats
    LimitSTL and 3MF
    Notes
    Only these two complete analysis end to end. OBJ and STEP upload successfully but typically error during slicing.
  • Max file size (seller upload)
    Limit500 MB
    Notes
    Enforced when the file is selected and again on the server.
  • Max file size (public instant quote)
    Limit25 MB
    Notes
    A separate, stricter cap for public quote uploads.
  • Thumbnail image
    Limit5 MB PNG
    Notes
    The preview image stored with your model.
  • Concurrent uploads
    Limit5
    Notes
    Up to five uploads and five analyses run at once. Additional work waits in a queue.
  • Upload completion window
    Limit30 minutes
    Notes
    An upload must finish within 30 minutes of starting, or it expires and must be restarted.

Use STL or 3MF for reliable results

Save any file that matters as STL or 3MF. Both slice cleanly. OBJ and STEP are accepted at upload but tend to fail during analysis, which produces a Failed status instead of a price. See File requirements for the full walkthrough, including the 3MF units issue.

Model dimensions

After upload, an automatic slice measures your model and checks it against three hard limits. Crossing any one of them rejects the design with a specific error rather than storing it as partially usable. The values are exact: the maximum is 255.0 mm, not 256.

Geometry limits enforced during analysis

CheckLimitResult if exceeded
Largest side (any axis)≤ 255.0 mmA model over 255 mm on X, Y, or Z is rejected with “Model is too large.” This is a per-axis check, not total volume.
Smallest side≥ 0.5 mmA model whose smallest overall dimension is under 0.5 mm is rejected with “Model is too small.”
Volume≥ 0.001 cm³A near-empty or zero-volume mesh is rejected with “Model appears empty.”
  • Largest side (any axis)
    Limit≤ 255.0 mm
    Result if exceeded
    A model over 255 mm on X, Y, or Z is rejected with “Model is too large.” This is a per-axis check, not total volume.
  • Smallest side
    Limit≥ 0.5 mm
    Result if exceeded
    A model whose smallest overall dimension is under 0.5 mm is rejected with “Model is too small.”
  • Volume
    Limit≥ 0.001 cm³
    Result if exceeded
    A near-empty or zero-volume mesh is rejected with “Model appears empty.”

Checks we do not perform

Two commonly expected rules do not exist. Your model does not need to be watertight or manifold; a mesh with holes still slices. And wall thickness is never measured: there is no minimum-wall rule anywhere in the system. Thin walls may print poorly, but nothing blocks them. The only geometry correction we apply automatically is flipping inverted normals.

Pricing rates

These are the rates behind your make cost, the amount PrintPort3D charges your card to manufacture one unit. Your customer pays you separately through your own store. A print costs material plus tiered labor, and optional hardware adds its part price with no labor. Print time and weight come from the automatic slice and are never entered manually.

The rates that build your make cost

RateAmountNotes
Labor$3.00 / print-hourThe same rate for every hour, pro-rated below an hour. A 30-minute print is $1.50.
Materialper-gram × gramsWeight (model volume × filament density) times your filament’s per-gram price from the live catalog.
Material fallback$0.02 / gramUsed only when a filament has no price set. It is not a fixed PLA rate.
Hardware and insertspart priceMagnets, screws, MagSafe, and similar components add their price with no labor charge.
Assembly (optional)$1.00 / partOnly when you choose “Assemble it”. Every printed copy and hardware piece in one unit counts.
Order minimum$2.00 / orderIf the whole order’s make cost comes to less than $2.00, the charge is $2.00. Once per order, never per unit; shipping is not part of it.
  • Labor
    Amount$3.00 / print-hour
    Notes
    The same rate for every hour, pro-rated below an hour. A 30-minute print is $1.50.
  • Material
    Amountper-gram × grams
    Notes
    Weight (model volume × filament density) times your filament’s per-gram price from the live catalog.
  • Material fallback
    Amount$0.02 / gram
    Notes
    Used only when a filament has no price set. It is not a fixed PLA rate.
  • Hardware and inserts
    Amountpart price
    Notes
    Magnets, screws, MagSafe, and similar components add their price with no labor charge.
  • Assembly (optional)
    Amount$1.00 / part
    Notes
    Only when you choose “Assemble it”. Every printed copy and hardware piece in one unit counts.
  • Order minimum
    Amount$2.00 / order
    Notes
    If the whole order’s make cost comes to less than $2.00, the charge is $2.00. Once per order, never per unit; shipping is not part of it.

Labor is tiered rather than linear, so longer prints cost less per hour. Several worked totals:

Labor, worked out

Print timeLabor costCalculation
0.5 hour$1.500.5 × $3.00
1 hour$3.001 × $3.00
2 hours$6.002 × $3.00
6 hours$18.006 × $3.00
10 hours$30.0010 × $3.00
  • 0.5 hour
    Labor cost$1.50
    Calculation0.5 × $3.00
  • 1 hour
    Labor cost$3.00
    Calculation1 × $3.00
  • 2 hours
    Labor cost$6.00
    Calculation2 × $3.00
  • 6 hours
    Labor cost$18.00
    Calculation6 × $3.00
  • 10 hours
    Labor cost$30.00
    Calculation10 × $3.00

Prices settle beyond PLA Basic

Any material other than PLA Basic — PLA Matte, Silk, Glow, PETG, ABS, or TPU — is re-sliced in the background for an accurate time. Until that finishes, the line is marked an estimate and uses the PLA-baseline time. It updates automatically. The full breakdown is in Price your products and Costs & pricing.

Orders, timing, and shipping

Several numbers govern how orders are tracked, timed, and shipped. The most important is the ship-by promise: 72 hours (three business days) from when an order is placed to when it ships, and 48 hours for TikTok Shop orders.

Order timing, scan, and shipping numbers

SpecValueMeaning
Ship-by window ("Late")72 hours (3 business days); TikTok Shop 48 hoursPlaced to shipped. Past this window, an order appears under the Late tab. This is an internal promise, not a carrier date.
At-risk warning~50 hoursAt roughly 70% of the window, an open order is flagged as at-risk so it can be prioritized.
Orders scanned1,000Your Orders, Finance, and Overview pages read up to your 1,000 most relevant orders. Older history may not appear.
CurrencyUSDEvery total is treated as US dollars. Order records carry no currency field, so a customer total is labeled an estimate.
Ships fromOrange, CAOur warehouse (Orange, CA 92867), not your address.
CarrierCheapest USPS (UPS for TikTok Shop)Selected automatically. TikTok Shop rejects USPS labels bought outside TikTok Shipping. There is no carrier or speed picker in the Orders page.
  • Ship-by window ("Late")
    Value
    72 hours (3 business days); TikTok Shop 48 hours
    Meaning
    Placed to shipped. Past this window, an order appears under the Late tab. This is an internal promise, not a carrier date.
  • At-risk warning
    Value~50 hours
    Meaning
    At roughly 70% of the window, an open order is flagged as at-risk so it can be prioritized.
  • Orders scanned
    Value1,000
    Meaning
    Your Orders, Finance, and Overview pages read up to your 1,000 most relevant orders. Older history may not appear.
  • Currency
    ValueUSD
    Meaning
    Every total is treated as US dollars. Order records carry no currency field, so a customer total is labeled an estimate.
  • Ships from
    ValueOrange, CA
    Meaning
    Our warehouse (Orange, CA 92867), not your address.
  • Carrier
    Value
    Cheapest USPS (UPS for TikTok Shop)
    Meaning
    Selected automatically. TikTok Shop rejects USPS labels bought outside TikTok Shipping. There is no carrier or speed picker in the Orders page.

Charges held for manual review

As a financial safeguard, an order routes to manual review instead of charging automatically when the make cost would exceed $500, or when a single item is over $200. This is a spending guardrail, not a problem with your file. See Tracking & delivery for how the five-day window plays out.

Custom orders and the product composer

Two more areas have hard caps: building a product in the composer, and placing a self-serve parts order (a custom order) — printed parts from your own files, one to 500, prepaid, shipped from our warehouse in Orange, CA.

Copies per file (composer)1–50
A single design can be set to between 1 and 50 copies when you build a product.
SKU length≤ 80
A product’s SKU can be up to 80 characters. It joins your store listing to a PrintPort product and is matched case- and whitespace-insensitively (both sides are uppercased and trimmed), so the characters must match but the case need not.
Product name≤ 160
A product name can be up to 160 characters.
Hardware per product≤ 100 each · 50 types
Add up to 100 of any one component, across up to 50 different component types.
Parts per order≤ 500
A single parts order can print at most 500 copies total across all files.
Component types per parts order≤ 50
Up to 50 different hardware types in one parts order.
Files and copies in a parts order≤ 100 files
Up to 100 selected files; any one of them can take the whole 500-copy total.
Shipping cartons per parts order≤ 50
An order too big for one parcel ships in identical cartons of up to 24 × 18 × 18 in and 40 lb.

Custom orders are prepaid

On a custom order the buyer prepays the full total, parts plus shipping, to PrintPort at checkout. Your saved card is not charged again later. This is the opposite of a marketplace order, where your card pays the make cost. Full details are in Order parts.

Related pages

For a specific number not listed here, these pages carry the rest: the materials we stock, the storefronts you can connect, and every term defined.

Material catalogThe materials and colors we can print, and which are variants of one another.Supported platformsEvery storefront you can connect through Shippo.GlossaryMake cost, SKU, and design vs. product vs. listing, with every term defined.File requirementsFormats, sizes, and preparing your model in depth.Price your productsHow make cost, break-even, and the below-cost alert work.Order partsPrinted parts from your own files — one sample or a run of up to 500.

For a live figure, the landing page quote slider gives a quick margin check before you sign in, with no file upload required. Estimate prices there use a sample rate table and can differ from your real make cost at checkout.