Tips and Advice - Printing in Plastic: Build Your Own 3D Printer - page 31

Verify All Measurements
But how can you know for certain that the sheets have printed at actual size? The easiest way is to take
the measurement sheet for a part (Part K, for example, seen in Figure 3-1) and verify that two or three of
the measurements printed on the measurement sheet match the measurements you obtain by placing
a ruler to the full-size template sheet. If the measurement sheet says the length of Part K is 11.5”, then
the measurement you take with the ruler on the long edge of Part K should equal 11.5”. If not,
something's wrong. Either you measured incorrectly (so check again) or the template sheet is not
printed at actual size.

■ Note Always be consistent in how you measure. For example, if you measure from the inside of the sharp black

line representing the contour of one part, measure from the inside of all the lines for other parts. Some folks will
measure outside-to-outside, some inside-to-inside, and others will split the difference (which is quite hard with
such a thin line on a set of building plans). Just be consistent and never be afraid to double-check a
measurement.

Even if you trust that your sheets have been printed at actual size, we recommend that you verify the
dimensions provided on a measurement sheet against the full-size template sheet before performing
any cut or drilling operation.
Figure 3-3 shows us using our Incra rulers to verify that a dimension taken from a measurement
sheet matches the actual dimension measured on the full-size template. It takes just seconds to do but
can save you a lot of time by reducing the chance you'll cut a piece incorrectly and have to go back later
and re-cut.