Print bureau interface for three-dimensional printing

1. A system for fabricating a three-dimensional (3D) object comprising:

a first network interface to:

obtain user authorization credentials and a 3D model of the 3D object from a client system via a network, wherein the 3D model is generated by a 3D design tool residing on the client system and the user authorization credentials are provided by a user of the client system;

a second network interface to:

receive, from a selected print bureau via the network, a reference identifier identifying a job to fabricate the 3D object using a resource of the selected print bureau, wherein the resource of the selected print bureau fabricates the 3D object in response to receiving a request from the client system; and

a processor to:

authenticate the user authorization credentials;

identify capabilities of a plurality of print bureaus;

compare characteristics of the 3D model with the identified capabilities of the plurality of print bureaus to identify a subset of the plurality print bureaus that are able to fabricate the 3D object from the 3D model;

send a list of the subset to the client system via the first network interface;

receive an identity of the selected print bureau via the first network interface, the selected print bureau being a member of the subset;

generate log-in information that conforms with rules specific to the selected print bureau based on the authenticated user authorization credentials; and

send the 3D model and the log-in information to the selected print bureau via the second network interface.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first network interface is to further:

send to the client system a link to the resource of the selected print bureau.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further:

convert the 3D model received from the client system to a file format accepted by the selected print bureau.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further:

determine whether the 3D model includes features that are too small for the 3D object to be fabricated successfully.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further:

determine whether the 3D model is a closed volume.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further:

determine whether the 3D model represents a true volume.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further:

determine whether each face of the 3D model is correctly oriented.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further:

modify the 3D model to reduce an amount of material used during fabrication of the 3D object.

9. A system comprising:

a processor;

a first network interface to:

obtain user authorization credentials and a 3D model of a 3D object from a client system via a network, wherein the 3D model is generated by a 3D design tool residing on the client system and the user authorization credentials are provided by a user of the client system;

a second network interface to:

receive, from a selected print bureau via the network, a reference identifier identifying a job to fabricate the 3D object using a resource of the selected print bureau, wherein the resource of the selected print bureau fabricates the 3D object in response to receiving a request from the client system; and

a system memory comprising code to direct the processor to:

authenticate the user authorization credentials;

determine whether the 3D model represents a closed volume;

if the 3D model does not represent the closed volume, then automatically repair the 3D model to generate a modified 3D model representing the closed volume;

identify capabilities of a plurality of print bureaus;

compare characteristics of the modified 3D model with the identified capabilities of the plurality of print bureaus to identify a subset of the plurality print bureaus that are able to fabricate the 3D object from the modified 3D model;

send a list of the subset to the client system via the first network interface;

receive an identity of the selected print bureau via the first network interface, the selected print bureau being a member of the subset;

generate log-in information that conforms with rules specific to the selected print bureau based on the authenticated user authorization credentials; and

send the modified 3D model and the log-in information to the selected print bureau via the second network interface.

10. The system of claim 9 , the system memory comprising

code to direct the processor to:

send the modified 3D model to the selected print bureau through the Internet via the second network interface; and

send a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to the client system via the first network interface, wherein the URL identifies the resource of the selected print bureau.

11. The system of claim 10 , the system memory comprising

code to direct the processor to further:

convert the 3D model received from the client system to a file format accepted by the selected print bureau.

12. The system of claim 9 , the system memory comprising

code to direct the processor to further:

determine whether the 3D model includes features that are too small for the 3D object to be fabricated successfully.

13. The system of claim 9 , the system memory comprising

code to direct the processor to further:

determine whether the 3D model represents a true volume.

14. The system of claim 9 , the system memory comprising

code to direct the processor to further:

determine whether each face of the 3D model is correctly oriented; and

for any face of the 3D model that is not correctly oriented, change the orientation of the face.

15. The system of claim 9 , the system memory comprising

code to direct the processor to further:

automatically create a hollow space inside a closed volume of the 3D model.

16. The system of claim 9 , the system memory comprising

code to direct the processor to further:

automatically create a drain hole coupling a hollow space to an external surface of a 3D volume.

17. A method, comprising:

obtaining user authorization credentials and a three-dimensional (3D) model of a 3D object from a client system via a first network interface, wherein the 3D model is generated by a 3D design tool residing on the client system and the user authorization credentials are provided by a user of the client system;

comparing characteristics of the 3D model with capabilities of a plurality of print bureaus to identify a subset of the plurality print bureaus that are able to fabricate the 3D object from the 3D model;

sending a list of the subset to the client system via the first network interface;

receiving an identification of a selected print bureau from the list from the client system via the first network interface;

authenticating the user authorization credentials;

generating log-in information that conforms with rules specific to the selected print bureau based on the authenticated user authorization credentials;

sending the 3D model and the log-in information to the selected print bureau via a second network interface;

receiving, from the selected print bureau via the second network interface, a reference identifier identifying a job to fabricate the 3D object using a resource of the selected print bureau, wherein the resource of the selected print bureau fabricates the 3D object in response to receiving a request from the client system.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

sending a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to the client system via the first network interface, wherein the URL identifies the resource of the selected print bureau.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

converting the 3D model received from the client system to a file format accepted by the selected print bureau.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

modifying the 3D model to reduce an amount of material used during fabrication of the 3D object before sending the modified 3D model to the selected print bureau.