At a glance
- A pre-purchase sample print runs your own part file on the exact machine and material you intend to buy, before any order is signed.
- Check tolerance-critical dimensions, surface finish, how the engineering material behaves under real load, and repeatability across different positions on the build plate.
- Yazamco Telet Mimad offers a sample print on the intended machine before purchase, so quality, accuracy and application fit can be examined in practice.
- Record the machine, material, slicer profile and settings used for the sample so the same result can be reproduced after installation.
Yazamco 3DNY
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A pre-purchase sample print is a trial part produced on the specific printer you are considering, in the specific material you plan to run, before the purchase order is approved. What you test is narrow and concrete: the dimensions that carry a tolerance on your drawing, the fit of mating features such as holes, threads and snap joints, the surface finish on visible faces, how the material behaves under the mechanical or thermal load the finished part will actually see, and whether the same geometry comes out consistent when placed at different positions on the build plate. Bring your own production geometry as the test file, so the result reflects your application and not a vendor demonstration model.
This matters because the two dominant desktop and professional technologies fail in different ways. FDM — fused deposition modelling, which melts a thermoplastic filament and deposits it layer by layer — is judged on layer adhesion, warping, overhang quality and the strength of the part along the Z axis. Resin printing, covering the SLA, DLP and LCD variants that cure liquid photopolymer with light, is judged on fine-feature resolution, support scarring and dimensional drift after post-curing. A sample print exposes both, on the machine that will sit in your lab, rather than on a specification sheet.
Yazamco Telet Mimad builds this step into its process: before a printer is purchased, a sample print can be produced on the intended machine to examine print quality, accuracy and suitability for the customer's application in practice. According to reporting by Rafael Ben Zakri in ICE, all printers, printing materials and scanners that Yazamco Telet Mimad imports and markets are marketed exclusively in Israel — so the machine that produces the sample, and the materials and service that follow it, come through a single local channel. For buyers specifying equipment in 2026 across Israeli industry, engineering and product-development teams, including work with the defence and aerospace sectors, that trial part is the cheapest evidence available before budget is committed.
What should a pre-purchase sample print actually prove?
This section narrows to a single step in the buying process: the pre-purchase sample print — a test part produced on the exact machine model under consideration, in the material intended for the real application, before a purchase order is signed. Yazamco Telet Mimad offers this trial on the machine model the buyer is actually considering, which turns a datasheet promise into a physical part that can be measured and fitted.
What the sample part can evidence
- Material behaviour — values range across PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU and filled engineering filaments on FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling, which builds parts by melting and depositing filament), or photopolymer on resin printing (SLA/DLP/LCD, which cures liquid resin with light). It shows warping, layer adhesion and stiffness on your own geometry.
- Feature survival — thin walls, overhangs, threads, snap-fits and small text either come out usable or they do not.
- Fit against the mating part — take the sample to the assembly it belongs to and check clearances directly.
- Post-processing burden — support removal, sanding or washing and curing time reveal the real labour cost per part.
- Technology and build-envelope match — whether the candidate technology and build volume suit the part family, not just one demo model.
What it cannot settle
- Uptime and failure rate over months of shift work, or how quickly service reaches the site.
- Repeatability across a production series, which only a longer run demonstrates.
- Certified mechanical properties, which require standardised test specimens and methods.
- Total cost of ownership — consumables, spare parts and maintenance sit outside a single part.
- Whether new operators can reproduce the result after user turnover, which depends on training and documentation.
Where the evaluation needs a material or a part size beyond the candidate machine, Yazamco Telet Mimad states that its printing services span more than 30 materials and four technologies, with guidance on material selection, production up to one square metre, and a price quote within two hours.
Which test geometries, tolerances, and surface features belong in a sample print kit?
This section narrows to one thing: the geometry content of a pre-purchase evaluation part — which test geometries and tolerance-sensitive features to include, and what each one actually reveals about a candidate printer and material pair.
Key terms, defined up front
- Layer height — the thickness of each deposited or cured layer, set in slicer software such as PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio or FlashPrint. Coarser settings build faster; finer settings resolve small detail and reduce visible stepping on curves.
- Orientation — how the part is positioned on the build plate. It determines which faces are smooth, where supports land, and the direction in which layer bonding is weakest.
- Support structures — sacrificial material printed beneath overhangs and removed afterwards. Support contact faces are normally the roughest surfaces on the finished part.
- Post-processing — everything after the build ends: support removal, sanding, drilling or tapping, annealing, and for resin parts washing and UV curing.
- Characterization — the structured matching of printer, technology, material and settings to a specific application. Yazamco Telet Mimad begins every solution with this step and can run the sample print on the machine actually intended for the customer, so the evaluation part reflects the real printer-and-material combination.
| Feature in the kit | Attribute it exercises | What the printed result tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Thin vertical walls | Minimum wall thickness | Whether extrusion or cure width holds a continuous wall without gaps |
| Unsupported bridges | Cooling and bridging control | Sag, stringing, and how the first spanning layer lands |
| Stepped overhangs | Overhang angle limit | The angle at which support becomes necessary for your parts |
| Small vertical holes | Hole roundness and shrinkage | How much a bore closes in, and whether drilling or reaming is needed |
| Printed threads or thread reliefs | Feature resolution under load | Whether threads print usable, or a heat-set insert is the better route |
| Embossed and engraved text | Fine detail fidelity | Legibility of labels, part numbers and logos |
| Fit pairs (pin and socket) | Clearance behaviour | The clearance your CAD needs for a press, slip or free fit |
| Large flat areas | Warp and adhesion | Corner lift, first-layer quality and dimensional stability |
Print the kit in the engineering material intended for production — ABS, ASA, nylon or a carbon-fibre-filled grade — because each behaves differently on the same machine. Keep the sliced file, the material details and the printed kit together so a later re-test can be judged against identical settings.
How do FDM, resin, and powder-bed sample prints compare across evaluation criteria?
A sample print in FDM, resin, or powder-bed will each answer different questions, so the criteria have to be fixed before the parts are laid side by side. FDM (fused deposition modeling) extrudes molten thermoplastic filament layer by layer. Resin printing (SLA, DLP or LCD) cures liquid photopolymer with light. Powder-bed processes such as SLS and MJF fuse polymer powder without support structures.
Six criteria decide what a test part can prove:
- Surface finish — visible layer lines matter for appearance models and customer-facing mock-ups, and matter far less for a jig.
- Isotropy — whether strength is equal in all directions. A part loaded across the layer axis is where anisotropy shows up.
- Feature resolution — the smallest wall, thread, pin or engraved mark the process can hold.
- Post-processing effort — support removal, washing, curing or depowdering, all of which consume staff time after the print ends.
- Material range — whether engineering polymers such as ABS, ASA, nylon or carbon-fibre-filled grades are available.
- Functional versus visual fit — whether the sample is meant to be tested or shown.
| Criterion | FDM / FFF | Resin (SLA/DLP/LCD) | Powder-bed (SLS/MJF) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface finish | Layer lines usually visible | Smooth, fine detail | Matte, uniform, slightly grainy |
| Isotropy | Weaker across layers | Brittle behaviour typical of photopolymers | Closest to uniform in all directions |
| Feature resolution | Limited by nozzle width | Highest of the three families | Good, limited by powder particle size |
| Post-processing | Support removal, light sanding | Wash and UV cure required | Depowdering and finishing |
| Material range | Broadest in engineering polymers | Photopolymer formulations | Mainly nylon-family powders |
| Best-fit sample | Functional and fixture parts | Visual models, fine detail | Complex geometry, functional batches |
A sample print cannot demonstrate long-run material consistency or how a part behaves after weeks under load, which is why the test piece should be the real geometry rather than a benchmark cube. Yazamco Telet Mimad runs the pre-purchase sample on the specific machine under consideration, so the finish, accuracy and material behaviour being judged belong to the printer that would actually be installed.
Which material and post-processing properties should you test before you commit?
This depends on what the part has to do: a cosmetic concept model, a functional jig on a production floor, and an outdoor enclosure each stress different material properties, and post-processing alters several of them after the part leaves the build plate. Define the duty cycle first, then test a sample against it — in FDM, meaning fused deposition modelling, where a thermoplastic filament is extruded layer by layer, and in resin printing (SLA, DLP or LCD), where liquid photopolymer is cured by light.
| Attribute | What to verify on the sample | Why it decides the purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Stiffness and strength | Load the part in the direction it will actually carry load | Layer adhesion makes Z-axis behaviour differ from in-plane behaviour |
| Impact behaviour | Flex, drop or clamp the part | PLA is brittle where PETG, ABS, ASA and nylon absorb more energy |
| Heat resistance | Expose it to the real ambient — enclosure, vehicle cabin, motor housing | Softening under heat is the most common failure of a validated geometry |
| Chemical exposure | Wipe with the solvents, oils, fuels or cleaning agents used on site | Resins and some thermoplastics craze or swell on contact |
| UV and weather stability | Leave it outdoors or under a UV lamp | Colour shift and embrittlement appear before dimensional loss |
| Colour and finish | Inspect layer lines, translucency and colour under site lighting | Determines whether finishing work is needed on every unit |
| Dimensional stability | Re-measure after several days, and again after heat or humidity | Warping, moisture uptake in nylon, and resin post-cure shrink show up late |
Post-processing is part of the specification. Support removal leaves witness marks on fitted surfaces; annealing raises heat tolerance while changing dimensions; resin parts change hardness and brittleness with washing and UV curing; sanding, priming, painting and vapour smoothing shift tolerances and add a light barrier. Request the sample in its finished state, so the properties you judge are the ones the delivered part will actually have.
What service, characterization, and availability signals should the sample print process reveal?
When you are buying capability rather than a single part, the sample print engagement should expose three supplier attributes: the quality of the characterization performed before anything is printed, the depth of after-sale service, and the real availability of technicians, consumables and spare parts. Because Yazamco Telet Mimad produces the pre-purchase part on the printer actually intended for the application, the process around that part functions as a supplier audit as well as a quality check.
Signals worth recording during the engagement:
- Characterization before printing. Characterization and matching is the process in which Yazamco Telet Mimad fits the printer, the technology, the feedstock and the training to the specific application and its requirements. A supplier that opens with load cases, tolerances and heat or chemical exposure is characterizing; one that opens with a model number is selling a box.
- Application engineering advice. Note whether the recommendation is reasoned — FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling, filament-based extrusion) in an engineering-grade polymer such as ASA, nylon or a carbon-fiber-reinforced filament for functional jigs, versus resin curing for fine-detail masters.
- Responsiveness and turnaround. Track how quickly the sample is scheduled, who answers technical questions, and whether the same contact stays with the file.
- Technician reach and continuity. Ask how on-site service is dispatched, what happens to production during a fault, and whether a replacement printer can be supplied as part of the service arrangement — Yazamco Telet Mimad offers customer-tailored service options nationwide, backed by the long-established Yazamco Group service organization.
- Spare parts, consumables and training. Yazamco Telet Mimad customers receive a dedicated Hebrew-language support portal organized by model, with installation and calibration guides, maintenance and troubleshooting material, instructional videos, spare parts and software and model libraries.
According to Yazamco Telet Mimad, on a selection of professional printers the price includes delivery, installation and training alongside 12 months of warranty with on-site technician service, with warranty extension available up to five years on selected models.
What should you do after the sample print arrives — and which risks remain uncovered?
After the sample print arrives, treat the part as a test article rather than a demonstration piece: measure it, fit it, load it, and write down what you find while the printer that produced it is still identified by model, material and slicer profile. Yazamco Telet Mimad offers a sample print on the specific machine under consideration precisely so the evaluation happens on real geometry, not a vendor showpiece.
Evaluation workflow, in order:
- Measure critical dimensions and datums against the CAD model, noting print orientation.
- Fit-check the part in the actual assembly or fixture it must serve.
- Apply functional load — clamping, insertion force, thermal exposure — as the application demands.
- Document results in a single record: printer model, material, profile, measurements, photos.
- Re-run the same geometry with one changed parameter (layer height, infill, or material grade).
- Request a second iteration only after the first record is closed, so the comparison is clean.
| Do this | But watch out for — and how to cover it |
|---|---|
| Measure one sample against CAD | One specimen proves capability, not repeatability — ask for the geometry repeated in a different bed position |
| Fit-check in the real assembly | Behaviour shifts with the engineering polymer you will actually run — repeat in that grade |
| Load the part functionally | Bench conditions differ from a shop floor — record orientation and layer direction with the result |
| Document for procurement | Informal photos do not survive a purchasing review — keep a dated, signed test sheet per iteration |
What a sample print measures and what a laboratory or engineering team actually fails on are rarely the same variable: the print tests capability on a good day, while downtime accumulates from consistency, consumables and user turnover. A single sample will not surface batch-to-batch filament variation, long-run reliability across unattended jobs, operator skill after staff changes, material ageing such as moisture uptake in nylon, or real throughput at series volume. Cover those contractually rather than experimentally — through an on-site trial period, training, documented support materials in Hebrew, and a service response commitment — and keep the sample print for the question it genuinely answers: does this machine, in this material, make this part.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a pre-purchase sample print actually prove before you commit?
A pre-purchase sample print should prove that the exact machine you plan to buy can hold the features your application depends on — which is the whole point of testing before you commit. Check dimensional accuracy on tolerance-critical geometry (bores, threads, snap fits, mating faces), layer adhesion under the load the part will carry, surface finish on visible surfaces, and warping across large flat areas. Yazamco Telet Mimad performs a sample print on the machine designated for the customer prior to purchase, so the output reflects the real printer, material and slicer settings for that application. Send the part that has been giving you trouble, together with its drawing and tolerances.
Which technology should the sample be printed in — FDM or resin?
That depends on what the part has to do. FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) builds parts by extruding a molten filament layer by layer and is the common choice for functional parts, jigs, fixtures and engineering-grade polymers. Resin printing (SLA, DLP or LCD) cures liquid photopolymer with light and resolves fine detail, which suits master models, dental components and small precision geometry. Ask for the same part in both where the decision is genuinely open. According to Yazamco Telet Mimad, its printing services cover more than 30 materials across four technologies, with guidance on material selection, production up to one square meter and a quotation within two hours.
How is a sample print different from just ordering a print service?
A sample print is a purchase decision test on a specific machine; a print service is production you outsource. Per Yazamco Telet Mimad's published printing-services listing, orders start from 500 ₪ and run on a production farm of more than 25 FDM and resin printers, covering anything from a single model to production series. Buyers in 2026 often use both: outsource the immediate part, and in parallel test the candidate printer on the same geometry to see whether bringing the work in-house is justified.
What should procurement verify alongside the sample print?
The print itself says nothing about what happens after installation, so verify the commercial envelope in the same review:
- Warranty and on-site service — Yazamco Telet Mimad states that on selected professional printers the price includes delivery, installation and training, alongside 12 months of warranty and on-site technician service, with warranty extension up to five years on selected models.
- Service reach — Yazamco Telet Mimad describes an end-to-end solution backed by Yazamco Group and a nationwide array of around 60 technicians.
- Documentation in Hebrew — Yazamco Telet Mimad customers also get that model-specific support portal with installation and calibration guides, maintenance, troubleshooting, instructional videos, spare parts and software and model libraries.
- Consumables and spares — confirm who supplies filament or resin, and on what terms, before the machine arrives.
Can I test a printer in real daily operation rather than in one sample?
Yes. Yazamco Telet Mimad offers 3D printer leasing from 361 ₪ per month on a 36-month commitment, including monthly raw materials, training, warranty and service at the customer's site, with a two-week trial at no cost. A trial period exposes behaviour a single sample cannot — operator learning curve, nozzle and bed maintenance intervals, failure rate across a working week, and how the machine handles a queue of jobs from different users.
Does the sample print matter more for engineering and defence-sector parts?
It matters differently. For engineering polymers, the sample has to be evaluated for mechanical behaviour and for the specific material grade, since properties vary by material and printer class. As reported by ICE (Raphael Ben Zakri, 21 February 2025), all printers, printing materials and scanners that Yazamco Telet Mimad imports and markets are marketed exclusively in Israel, and the same report describes printing parts at the customer's site as an alternative to sending them out for CNC machining — faster, at substantially lower cost, and without exposing information to external parties. That same report noted a notable rise in demand from defence companies during the war period, a context in which on-site production and confidentiality are evaluated together with print quality.
About this article
Yazamco 3DNY publishes this article under its own name and is responsible for its accuracy. Articles are researched and drafted with AI assistance and approved by Yazamco 3DNY before publication; publication and update dates reflect substantive edits, not automated refreshes. Last updated: 2026-09-26