What’s New at ZeroCore: Link Imports, STEP Uploads, Colour Slots and More

We have shipped a lot of changes to zerocore.sg over the last few weeks, mostly to the quote page. You can now paste a MakerWorld link instead of downloading a file. You can drop in a STEP file straight from CAD. Multi-colour 3MF files now show exactly which colour goes where. Here is what changed and how each feature saves you time.

Paste a Link from MakerWorld or Printables

A lot of people who come to us have found a model online and just want it printed. Until now that meant downloading the file, finding it in your downloads folder and uploading it again. Now you can paste the link into the import box on the quote page. You can also search MakerWorld from the same box.

We show the design card with the designer, the licence, the files and profiles available, and the colour count, print time and weight where the site publishes them. Pick the file or plate you want. Where the site allows it, we fetch the file for you and price it straight away. Some sites, such as Cults3D, Thangs and MyMiniFactory, don't allow direct downloads. For those, we show the model card and a short "download it there, drop it here" guide, so you are never stuck. There is a full walkthrough in our guide to getting a MakerWorld model printed.

More File Formats: STEP, IGES, OBJ and ZIP

STL and 3MF are still the most common formats, but engineers mostly work in STEP and hobbyists often have OBJ files. The upload box now accepts all of these:

• STEP and IGES: export straight from Fusion 360, SolidWorks, Onshape or Inventor. We convert the file on our side, so you don't have to convert STEP to STL yourself first.
• OBJ: the file is converted to a printable mesh automatically. Textures and material (.mtl) files are ignored, because colour comes from the filament you pick.
• ZIP assemblies: upload a multi-part project as a single ZIP file. A STEP or IGES assembly works the same way. We split it into parts and price every part individually.

The upload limit is 100 MB per file, and you can drop several files at once. Each one gets its own quote.

Colour Slots: See Where Every Colour Goes

We replaced the old "single colour / multi-colour" tabs with colour slots. If you upload a multi-colour 3MF (for example, a project saved from Bambu Studio), we read how many filaments it uses and create one slot per filament automatically. Map each slot to a colour we stock. The preview shows exactly which parts of the model each slot covers, and you can drag it to rotate. No more guessing whether "colour 3" is the eyes or the base.

If the colour doesn't matter to you, you can make every slot random and save 3% on PLA and PETG. It's a good fit for fidget toys, test prints and anything nobody will inspect closely.

Smarter Quotes: Orientation, Units and Rush

• A better way up. We auto-orient every model. If another orientation would be cheaper or faster, the quote page shows it, along with the price and print hours it saves. The price you see is the price you pay.
• Inch-to-millimetre fix. A model exported in inches arrives exactly 25.4× too small. If your model looks suspiciously tiny, the quote page says so and offers a one-click "Scale ×25.4" fix.
• Pick your collection date. A production calendar shows the next 14 days of open slots. Choose one when you order instead of messaging to ask.
• Rush priority. When it's offered, you can pay a surcharge to move your print to the front of the queue.
• Share and compare. "Share config" copies a link with your chosen settings (material, colours, quantity, orientation and so on), so someone else can open the same setup and add the model file. The link carries the settings only, not the model or the price. "Save to compare" keeps up to three configurations side by side.

A Proper Order Page

Every order now has its own page. You can find it from the confirmation email, or at /track with your email and the 8-character reference code. From it you can:

• Follow the status from deposit, to printing, to ready, to shipped (with a tracking number) or collected.
• Pay your deposit or balance by PayNow QR, and add your collection date to your calendar.
• Get updates on Telegram.
• Report a problem with photos within 30 days. If a print is wrong or defective, we reprint it free.
• Reorder a paid print job at today's price, as long as its model file is still on file.

Signing in with Google adds order history, saved addresses and a file library (up to 20 MB per file), so you can re-quote a part months later without digging for the file. You can still check out as a guest.

The Shop: Lithophanes, Printers and Seasonal Drops

• Custom lithophanes: upload a photo, preview the lithophane live, choose a size and frame colour, and check out. Prices start at $50. Read how to choose a photo that works.
• Buy a printer: we now sell the Bambu Lab printers we use every day, from the A1 mini to the H2D and H2C. Pay by PayNow and collect or have it delivered.
• Seasonal drops: limited-time designs with a fixed number of slots. The Deepavali Light Drop is open now, and the Christmas Gift Drop opens in November.

Small Things That Add Up

• Site-wide search: press Ctrl+K (or ⌘+K on a Mac) on any page to search guides, FAQs and policies.
• Install the site as an app: add zerocore.sg to your home screen. On Android, you can then share an STL, 3MF or OBJ file from another app straight into a quote.
• Live chat: the chat bubble in the corner of every page answers common questions about orders, materials and pricing. WhatsApp still works too.
• Portfolio client credits: projects in our portfolio can now name the organisation they were made for.

For Schools and Businesses

Nothing here changes how organisations order. We are still a registered vendor on Vendors@Gov and the SAP Ariba Network, purchase orders are welcome, and quotations and invoices are itemised as standard. The business page lists the supplier identifiers your procurement team needs. Students can still ask for the student rate. Our student guide explains how.

Have a model, a link or a STEP file? Drop it on the quote page and see the price in seconds.

Get an instant quote. If you find something that doesn't work the way this post describes, tell us in the chat and we'll fix it.