Is it legal to 3D print from the free version?

joseph_koester

I know it is possible to export an stl file and use it for this. But sites like shapeways and 3d hubs require you own the rights to the part, and the free version is all public. so is it legal to 3d print designs I make? also, does the free version stay free forever?

brucebartlett

NO! absolutely not. 
Stealing someone's IP, and using Onshape to recreate and print would be an entirely different issue but not in any way related to the software used. 

larry_hawes

I read that post in a completely different way. I thought the OP was suggesting that since OS has a free version and all models were public that there was no way to 'own the rights' to the public model and therefore would violate the terms that required such ownership. 

I would think that there were no rights to own with a public doc created with OnShape but that one could freely 3D print their creation as an exported STL file from OS. Could be wrong but hard to imagine the printing houses having a problem with printing a freely created model in OnShape...

mahir

I have a similar interpretation as @larry_hawes. It's not that you have zero ownership over public models. You just don't have any privacy. So as long as someone else does not own the design you're printing, you're fine.

brucebartlett

Yes I may have read it wrong, it will be good to hear from the OP.  Printing someone else's public document, yes that could be seen as stealing, however, it is in the public domain. I think there is some good discussion somewhere on this forum, search "creative commons". https://forum.onshape.com/search?Search=creative+commons

larry_hawes

joseph_koester said:

I know it is possible to export an stl file and use it for this. But sites like shapeways and 3d hubs require you own the rights to the part, and the free version is all public. so is it legal to 3d print designs I make? also, does the free version stay free forever?

I'm pretty sure he was asking if it was "legal to 3d print designs I (he) make(s)." Hard to imagine one would need permission for such a thing but then again there's no way to 'own the rights' of a public doc. 

BTW Thingaverse has thousands upon thousands of public STL docs that have been downloaded and printed millions of times with no issues that I know of. Still curious, as always about what I may be missing....