Cost, save, export and publish a piece

Saving keeps the design — the recipe — not a model file: it rebuilds the shape, the templates and the STL whenever you open it. Costing is on Plus and Pro; everything else here is free.

Before you start

Save it

1. Name it

   In Fit & export, type a Name.

2. Save

   Press Save to library (just Save after the first time).

Export it

Export STL downloads the smoothed shape for a slicer. Export design downloads a .piece.json — the same recipe as a saved design, which Import opens again fully editable. Nothing is uploaded.

Price it (Plus and Pro)

1. Open the Cost tab

   Press Cost. Each layer is a row.

2. Pick each layer's material

   Choose it under Material, and set Qty. Sheet goods are costed off the same flat area the Unfold tab prints.

3. Spend your stash first

   A layer cut from something in your Stash says From your stash: … of …, and the total becomes Left to buy. Untick it to price the whole layer.

4. Send it to a build

   Under Send to My Builds, choose the Build and press Add … components. Arrived from a build's Model ›? Press Set the estimate to $… instead to cost that piece.

Publish it to the Design Shop

With the design saved and no unsaved changes, press Publish to the Design Shop › in Fit & export. The publish form opens with the design picked — see Publish and sell your designs.

If something's off

Publish to the Design Shop › has gone

It hides while there are unsaved changes — changing an unfold setting counts. Save, and it comes back.

“Give the design a name before saving it.”

Type a Name first.

“… needs a thickness of at least 0.5mm.”

Set that layer's Thickness (cm) to 0.05 or more.

“That file isn't a Piece Forge design…”

Import opens only .piece.json files exported from Piece Forge.

I deleted the design I had open

It's still on screen — save it again to keep it.