Plan a print project
Plan a print with measured dimensions, a printer and material, and clear acceptance checks.
What it does
Plan a print with measured dimensions, a printer and material, output files, and acceptance checks.
- Ask for the measurements, printer, material and environment before anything is modelled
- Keep measured, given and open values apart instead of inventing a dimension
- Choose how many parts to print and which face goes on the plate, with the reason
- Name the files to produce and the checks that decide when the part is done
You don't need a Benchy account for this one. Your agent works with your own files and the applications named in the instructions.
Add it to your agent
In Claude Code, save it where the agent reads its skills:
shell
mkdir -p .claude/skills/plan-a-print-project
curl --fail --location -o .claude/skills/plan-a-print-project/SKILL.md https://benchy.world/skills/plan-a-print-project.mdThe instructions
SKILL.md
---
name: plan-a-print-project
description: >-
Plan a 3D-printed object: purpose, measured dimensions, printer, material,
output files, and acceptance checks. Use before
modelling, when the brief is a sketch, a photo, a sentence, or a broken part.
title: Plan a print project
date: 2026-09-26
author: Benchy
tags: [3d-printing, planning, fdm, skill]
license: MIT
metadata:
version: "0.1.1"
schemaVersion: 2
surface: "Any agent · no account needed"
---
# Plan a print project
Produce a one-page plan before modelling. Record missing measurements,
printer limits, material requirements, and unresolved choices.
## Ask before you plan
Get answers to these. Where the user does not know, write the question into
the plan as open; never invent a measurement.
1. **What it does.** What the object holds, joins, protects or replaces, and
what happens if it breaks. If a failure could hurt someone (load-bearing,
child use, food contact, heat or electricity), say so plainly and recommend
a qualified review. This skill does not certify safety.
2. **Size and fit.** The overall dimensions in millimetres, and every
dimension that must mate with something else (a screw, a shelf, another
part), with its tolerance. Ask for calipers readings over estimates.
3. **Printer.** Make and model, build volume, nozzle diameter, and whether it
has an enclosure or multi-material.
4. **Material.** What the user has, and the required stiffness, flexibility,
temperature range, and outdoor exposure. Check the filament manufacturer's
specifications and printer requirements before recommending a material.
5. **Where it lives.** Indoors or outdoors, temperature range, sunlight, water.
## Write the plan
Return a short document with these sections, in this order:
- **Brief:** one paragraph: the object, its job, and who uses it.
- **Constraints:** a table of dimensions, tolerances, printer and material,
each marked _measured_, _given_ or _open_.
- **Approach:** how many parts, and why. Split a part when it is larger than
the build volume, when a split removes most of the supports, or when
layer direction would put the load across layers instead of along them.
- **Print orientation:** for each part, which face sits on the plate and where
supports are likely.
- **Files to produce:** an editable source (for example a `.blend` or CAD file),
a print file (`.3mf` for units and parts, or `.stl` with units recorded
separately), and a short notes file. Slicer project settings depend on the
application that saves the 3MF.
- **Done when:** the checks that decide completion, such as a test print of the
critical fit, measured dimensions within tolerance, and the part doing its
job for a stated time.
- **Open questions:** everything still marked _open_.
## Hand off
After modelling, use `prep-a-model-in-blender` to check the mesh and
`print-prep` for slicing. Keep the plan beside the source and print files.
## What this skill does not do
It does not model, slice, or print. It does not decide that a part is safe.
It reports what was measured and what was assumed, and keeps the two apart.