Every user starts with an email of this type: 

You have now entered the 14-day Free Trial Period. Your login details:
login: 

password: ABC (please reset the password)."

In this case, ABC is the company name you gave when signing up or requesting a demo, and youremail@mailservice.com the email address you entered. Email address and password combined give you access to your account. 

The email contains a link to the login page, but should you lose it, no problem, as long as you remember the email address you signed in with.

Signing in

To sign in, go to https://digifabster.com/ and click here: 

This form will open:

Fill in your email, and if this is the first time you log in, click "reset password". 

You'll get an email with a password reset link, which looks like this: 

Chances are this email ends up in your spam folder, due to the clearly generic content, please check that folder. The content of the email is this:

Click the link, it will take you here:

Fill out your new password: 

and click "SET NEW PASSWORD". This will take you here:

Click on "login page", and you're back here:

Fill out the password you have created on the previous step, click "sign in", You'll see this:

Click "ABC". 

You're now in what we call the "back office". If you haven't gone through the onboarding program during your demo or did not do a demo, you'll see this:

Simply choose "3D printing" or "CNC", you'll get a short tour which you will have to finish before you can use the tool. 

On the left side of your screen you see the headings above, of which we've marked:
Orders; Machines and Materials; Install widget; Settings; Billing; Help. We'll go through them in the order we usually use when doing a demo

The basic assumption in DigiFabster is that a machine can handle several materials and that the manufacturing cost of any model depends on both machine characteristics and material characteristics. In general, the "machine" part contains information on how to cost machine time per model, in other words, how to fairly divide overhead, whereas the "material" part contains info about direct costs, i.e. material consumption, plus, not completely logically, post production costs. 

First, the machine is set up, then the material that goes on it. If you have several identical machines there is no immediate need to set them all up. 

There is no combination of inputs that "breaks" the algorithm, thus you can use (or not use) any combination of pricing parameters. Switching the page from "Basic" to "Advanced" (top right-hand corner) will give you access to more pricing parameters:

The input of decimals requires a point, not a comma: 1.5 instead of 1,5 if you want to input one and a half. 

So much for the general remarks, click "Machines & Materials" on the left hand of the screen, this page opens:

First, choose the correct tab (1), then click "create new printer"  (2) (or "create new machine" if you've chosen the "CNC machines" tab). 

Choose the correct print technology. We offer 3DP (binder jetting), FDM, MJF, Multijet/Polyjet, SLA, SLM and SLA. Each has its own, slightly different template, but in the "Basic" setting you mainly choose the printer itself and thus its envelope size, so the system knows which models are too big or too small for this printer. 

Besides, the choice of technology at the Basic level influences how supports will be calculated:
3DP, MJF, SLS: none
FDM, SLA, SLM: supported from 45 degrees overhang angle
Multijet and Polyjet: any overhang is supported. 

Once you've chosen the technology, you can choose your printer from the "printer" dropdown. IMPORTANT: Should your printer not be available from the drop-down you can create it yourself: Write the name, click "Create Printer", check spelling and click "Add printer"

Now fill out the envelope dimensions for this new printer.

The next heading is "lead time", i.e. the number of days you wait until you start printing. In DigiFabster documents this parameter is alternatively called "lead time" and "priority". 

Adding lead time options is a nice way to add a bit of margin by, for example, offering "express service" @ 50% extra. 

Save the printer by clicking "SAVE PRINTER". You will be asked if you want to add a material. You will need at least one printer and one material to start working with the widget, so click "YES".

You are now on the material page, the printer you have been working with is preselected and now you can add a material, either from the drop-down or by adding your own, like in on the printer page above.

The contents of the fields "Display name" and "Note for user" will be visible to your end user, so think about how to best use these fields.

As said, "sandstone" and "britle, gypsum-like material, good for visual prototyping" will be visible for the end user. Use these fields with care, they are an excellent way to explain what the material is like and why the user should choose it (or not). 

The next field (in the "Basic setting) is "price for model volume, without supports".

For this fast setup, it is enough to only use this field. The "volume" in "price for model volume" is the volume of the geometrical CAD or .stl model, without considering varying material consumption due to, for example, a lower infill percentage or the presence or absence of supports. 

We could add different executions and post production options, but, in principle, the printer/material combination is now ready for use on the widget. Please ignore the rest of the fields for now and click "SAVE MATERIAL".

To test the widget go to the "Settings" page (clickable on the left side of the screen)

On the "Settings" page, scroll down a little to the heading "Your widget"
 

Copy the link and enter it on a new tab in your browser.

Have a closer look at the URL: it is a generic address showing the name of your company and the addition "mode=iframe". This means that this is an inline frame that can be embedded in your website, simply by copy/pasting it. We'll return to that point later. 

For now, let's have a look at the widget itself:

The main element is "UPLOAD 3D MODEL". This model can be of the following formats: .stl (standard in 3D printing), .step (standard in CNC), .dxf (for "2.5D" models, meant to be handled by different cutters with a fixed z), and a number of full color formats, again mainly for 3D printing.  

Important to know: This widget can be tweaked according to the conditions of your agreement with DigiFabster (e.g. 20 uploads at a time instead of 10) and according to your wishes, through customized CSS. Ask your support contact how to do that once you have started your subscription. 

The language selector will try to switch to the language of your client's browser, you can add your own terms and conditions and make customers accept them before using the widget through the "Settings" page, but we'll come to that. 

Uploading is straightforward, either by dragging and dropping into the box or by clicking "UPLOAD 3D MODEL". For this test run, I prepared a cube of 3 x 3 x 3 cm with a 1 x1 x1 cutout, thus 26 cubic centimeters. We set the pricing to $0.50 per cubic centimeter model volume, so the price should be $0.50 x 26 = $13.00.

Click "ADD TO CART" and, at the bottom of the page, "PROCEED TO CART".

Click "NEXT STEP" on the cart page.

Fill out your telephone number (the widget will by default input the rest of your data itself)

and click "NEXT STEP" again. 

This is the order summary page: 

Click confirm the order, the payment page will show:

Since there is no payment method set as yet, the user only has the option to either print out the invoice and pay by bank transfer or contact you directly. There is still a bit to be done to really go online. For this, we go back to the "Settings" page. 

The easiest way to go to the "Settings" page is to click on its tab at the top of your browser: 

Upload your logo and save it, it will show up on your widget. Tip: use a background with the same color as the widget's and crop the picture until only the logo remains, like this:

It will show up on your widget like this:

Fill out your address, it will show up as pick-up address and on your invoices:

Save.
Fill out invoice details, they will show up in the footer of your invoices, so people will know where to send you money if they decide to pay by wire transfer: Click "EDIT"

A lot of info can be added, like banking details, registration, etc:

Any field you fill out will appear in your invoice. To get back to the main Settings page click "Settings" on the left. 

Enter your terms and conditions and save them, so your user can accept them on the first step of the widget:

Now go to the right side of the Settings page.
Here you select Timezone and currency, and input your local VAT/Sales tax % while editing its name. In the Netherlands, its name would be BTW, in France TVA, etc. I'm using the Netherlands version.

Very important: Choose a payment option, so you can receive payment online. I use Paypal for this example:

As long as the email you enter is linked to a Paypal account, it will work for both credit cards and online credit card payments. Save. 

Last but not least: Shipping options. In the USA you can use the Shipping Company option, in the rest of the World flat rates are more dependable.

After each new option click "ADD". You can keep adding when you're done you click "SAVE'.

That's it for the Settings, for now, let's try another order and see what's changed.
Again click "COPY LINK" under 'Your widget" and paste the address in your browser. 

We have a logo and terms and conditions.
The second page is showing the correct amount of VAT, including the correct name for the tax, in this case, "BTW":

Same for the third page:

The 4th page is now showing delivery options besides "pick up". Delivery costs will be added after clicking "NEXT STEP".

Last page:

As you can see, the "Pay Now" button is active, and if you click it it will show: 

Those who have Paypal can pay via their PayPal account, the rest can use their credit card. 

Last but not least: Your invoice footer now looks like this, i.e. your banking info has been added: 

The widget is now fully operational. 

By now we have two orders in our back office. Go to "Orders" by clicking on that heading on the left side of the page near the top: 

You can open them by clicking on the order number:

An order page is quite big and contains a lot of information and options: 

The top of the page has the info about the order itself, like its total cost, its status, and the client. The bottom of the page contains information about what has been ordered:

By clicking on the model name, in this case, 3x3x3.step, you can drill down to the model to be printed. 

You can manage your orders by changing the status at the top of the page, right hand corner. Every status change will cause an email declaring the new status to go to your end user and your own email. 

Installing the widget sounds harder than it is. As said, the widget is an inline frame, or iframe, and will show up on your web page at the place in the HTML code you installed it. To do this, go to "</> Install widget", click "COPY" at one of the two installation options, and copy into the HTML text of your web page. 

The easiest way to pay for DigiFabster is by switching from your free trial plan to one of our standard paid plans and registering your credit card. To do that follow these steps:

Choose "Billing" on the left side of the page.

Click "CHANGE PLAN"

Click "UPGRADE" on the Business Starter plan.

You will be asked to register your credit card. Please do so. 

After you've registered your card, $1 will be automatically deducted from and returned to your credit card account, simply to check its validity. This should not alarm you.  

All other deductions will be done manually, and only after you've received an email informing you about the planned deduction. Should you find that, for any reason, something is not in order with the sum in question, please let us know as soon as possible, we'll first discuss with you what's wrong and what should be changed. 

There are two easy ways to get help: On the left side of the page, near the bottom, you'll find the heading "Help", which will give you access to articles like this one. 

In the right bottom corner of your browser window, you'll find a chat box, which connects you directly to a member of the DigiFabster team, who will be able to either help you immediately or get help from TechDev.