What is a printed jig genuinely good at?
Putting something in the same place every time. Printing is cheap, fast and forgiving, which suits a fixture that locates and repeats rather than one that cuts or carries load.
The useful mental split is between jigs that position and jigs that take force. Positioning is where printed plastic shines: it is dimensionally good enough, it is soft enough not to mark a finished part, and when the job changes you throw it away without a second thought.
The common ones in the workshops we supply:
- Drill and hole-position guides, with a steel bush pressed in where the bit passes through
- Alignment and assembly fixtures that hold two components in relation to each other while they are fixed or bonded
- Go-no-go gauges for a dimension somebody is currently checking with callipers and judgement
- Soft-faced holders and cradles that grip a finished part without scratching it
- Spacers, shims and setting blocks for a machine setup done by eye at the moment
- Templates and marking guides for a repeated layout on site
How long will a plastic fixture last?
A locating fixture in daily use typically runs for months or years. Anything with a cutting tool touching it wears much faster, which is why a steel bush goes in at that point.
The failure mode is wear, not breakage, and it is gradual. A positioning jig loses accuracy slowly as the locating faces polish down. That is easy to manage: when the parts start drifting, you reprint it for a fraction of what the first one cost.
Where printed jigs do fail suddenly, it is almost always because the load pulls layers apart rather than along them. The bracket design guide covers the same principle, and it applies identically to fixtures.
How accurate is a printed jig?
Around three tenths of a millimetre on a typical fixture. Fine for locating a part or guiding an assembly; not fine for anything needing hundredths, where a machined jig is the right answer.
That figure is usually better than what it replaces, which is a line drawn with a pencil and somebody’s eye. The honest comparison is not printed against machined, it is printed against no jig at all.
More on what to expect in the tolerances guide, including how to design in the clearance that makes a fixture work first time.
What does it cost, and what is the payback?
Twenty to sixty pounds for a typical one-off, plus drawing time if you have no file. If it saves one scrapped part or half an hour of rework, it has already paid for itself.
That is the whole argument for printed tooling and it is a simple one. Machined fixtures are good and they cost hundreds, which means somebody has to be confident enough in the design to commit. At thirty pounds nobody has to be confident. You try it.
Can we change it after we have used it?
Yes, and you should expect to. The first version teaches you what the fixture actually needs. Printing lets you find that out for the cost of a reprint instead of a retooling charge.
In practice the third version is usually the one that stays on the bench. We keep every revision, so going back to an earlier one is also free if the change turns out to be wrong.
When should we use metal instead?
When a cutting tool bears directly on the fixture, when the setup has to hold hundredths of a millimetre, or when it sits somewhere hot. We will say so rather than take the job.
A sensible middle path is to print the jig, prove the design in production for a few weeks, then have the proven version machined. You commit metal money once, to a design you know works.
Do you work with local businesses on repeat tooling?
Yes. Several Suffolk workshops reorder the same fixtures as they wear, and we hold the files so a replacement is one message and prints identically to the last.
If that is the shape of what you need, the trade page covers invoice terms, kept files and batch reorders, and collection from Mildenhall is free.
Common questions
What jobs is a printed jig actually good for?
Repeatable positioning: drill guides, alignment aids, assembly fixtures, go-no-go gauges, spacers and soft-faced holders that locate a part without marking it.
Do I need my own printer to use printed jigs?
No. Most workshops we supply have no printer. We draw and print the jig, you use it, and we reprint it when it wears out or the job changes.
How long does a plastic jig last in production?
A locating fixture used daily typically lasts months to years. A drill guide without a steel bush wears faster, so we fit one where the bit passes through.
Can you change the design as we learn?
Yes, and that is the point of printing. Iterating a jig costs tens of pounds, not a tooling charge, so the third version is usually the one that earns its keep.
What does a one-off jig cost?
Commonly twenty to sixty pounds printed, plus drawing time if you have no file. Against an hour of rework it pays for itself almost immediately.
Will you keep the design for reprints?
Yes. We keep your file and the settings, so a replacement is one message and comes out identical to the one it replaces.
Published 5 October 2026.
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