I Can't Print That - Learn Me Outsourced 3D Printing

I've got a battery charger that I really like, the venerable Opus BT-C3100. A known problem with the charger is a noisy fan, due in part to its small 25mm size. I have to keep the charger in a inconvenient location in the basement in order to avoid the annoying racket the fan makes. 

80mm fans are cheap. Even if I paid someone $20 to print a modified case, it would be a fun experiment in the process. There are numerous free "case mod" files on Thingiverse. I don't want to sell this thing, I just want someone else to print it for me.  Are there services that can do that? 

I think Shapeways is one company that does printing. 

I looked it up for something in the past that I didn't want to print for someone else (I think you upload the STL and it estimates your cost).  I recall it being more expensive than it was worth to either of us for whatever silly little thing we wanted to make.  But the option does exist.

I've had stuff printed at the County library.  Email them a .stl file and pick it up in a couple days.  You even get a choice of color.  Not cheap though.  Something like 10 cents a gram. 

Shapeways is popular never used them as normally design to my printer's ability.  Do you have a printer and are just not able to print this case or looking for someone to print for you?

I don't have a printer. 

I've seen a few things in the past that I said "that'd be cool to have" but yea, I don't want to pay outrageous prices for something that only costs a few bucks in materials. 

pheller said:

I don't have a printer. 

I've seen a few things in the past that I said "that'd be cool to have" but yea, I don't want to pay outrageous prices for something that only costs a few bucks in materials. 

How do you feel about machinists charging money for their work? Material cost is only a fraction of what it costs to get something machined, even if you provide the CAD files. We've got an in-house printer and the cost of the plastic is by far the least of its operational costs.

I second the public library option. My nieces and nephews print stuff at the local public library and if it was expensive, there's no way my sister would be doing it.

We're starting to work with a company in Vegas that's putting out parts that are a legit alternative to injection molded plastic. It'll probably keep some low volume parts available. I don't know what they'll cost yet, but probably less than making them out of aluminum. They've got multi-million dollar printers.

In reply to pheller :

Shapeways or Protolabs is likely your best option.  If those are way outta the water on price shoot me a PM I'm always looking for 3D printing projects.

I understand the costs. What I'm saying is, if it's too expensive, I won't do it. If someone has determined they can do a print for me for a good price, I'll do it. I have no baseline for what stuff might cost. 

OOo I just found out our local college has an open to the public maker lab that charges 10 cents a gram.

Just to confirm, that would be $45 for a 1lb object? Correct? 

Yup, 26 grams in an ounce, 454 grams in a pound. Ignore the rounding error :) A 1 lb 3D print is a pretty big print.

I have a few printers. Shoot me an IM. 

Edit: just saw your post about the college. If that doesn't work out, let me know.