How to brief a maker for an anatomy or dental model
What to put in a job post for a 3D printed anatomy, dental teaching or prototype model: purpose, file and licence, scale, material, colours, labels and quantity.
Lab and clinic organisers that never touch patients
By the Medical 3D Parts editors, The Spool List · Published October 14, 2026
The short answer
Makers can print organisers and holders for labs and clinics that never touch a patient and stay outside the cleaning and sterilisation cycle: desk organisers, model trays, label and sign holders, cable clips, tablet stands and racks for non-sterile use. Anything made to clean or sterilise devices, or that holds instruments through a sterilisation cycle, is out.
Not everything in a clinic is a medical device. The MHRA's borderline guidance says "not all equipment used in a healthcare environment" is one [1]. A sign holder at reception is furniture; a tray that goes through a sterilisation cycle with instruments is a different matter: EU law counts "products specifically intended for the cleaning, disinfection or sterilisation of devices" as devices [2].
What makers here print
- Desk and drawer organisers, and model trays and holders for a lab bench.
- Label, sign and leaflet holders.
- Cable clips and tidies for carts and desks.
- Tablet and phone stands for reception.
- Pipette stands and tube racks for non-sterile use.
Steps
- Describe where it goes and what it holds. Confirm it never touches a patient and never goes through cleaning or sterilisation.
- Measure the space and the items it holds, and add photos with a ruler in shot.
- Ask about wipe-down: tell the maker which cleaning product you use, and check that product's instructions for plastics.
- Ask for the material the maker suggests for your use.
Heat and cleaning
PLA deforms in an autoclave: a 2023 study found finer PLA parts suffered "major deformations" and only coarse structures stayed usable [3]. Keep printed organisers away from autoclaves and hot washers, and never use them as sterilisation cassettes.
Get a teaching or display model printed
Post the model free on The Spool List with your file, size and labels. Makers with resin and FDM printers send a price and a lead time, and you choose.
Medical 3D Parts is run by The Spool List Ltd. This button opens our own marketplace, which earns a commission from makers on completed orders. Teaching, display, practice and prototype models only: nothing for use in or on the body.
Sources
- MHRA: Guidance on legislation, Borderlines with medical devices (PDF, V1.1, May 2016) (accessed October 14, 2026)
- Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on medical devices, Article 2 (EUR-Lex) (accessed October 14, 2026)
- Neijhoft et al., Sterilization of PLA after fused filament fabrication 3D printing, Polymers 2023;15(2):369 (accessed October 14, 2026)
Rules are quoted as the sources state them, checked October 14, 2026. They differ by country and change: check the source before relying on them. This page is general information, not medical, dental or legal advice.
Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above by the Medical 3D Parts editors. Medical 3D Parts is a guide published by The Spool List Ltd. Its buttons lead to The Spool List, our marketplace, which earns a commission from makers on completed orders. Makers are independent people and small workshops, not registered medical device manufacturers or dental laboratories.