How 3D Printed Trophies Are Made

Step 1: Designing Your Vision in 3D

The journey to creating an exceptional 3D printed trophy begins long before the printer starts whirring. 

Our in-house designers translate your brief into a striking custom trophy design that perfectly captures your brand and event’s identity. We send a detailed 3D render as part of your quote, giving you a crystal-clear idea of how your award will look. Once you give us the green light, we use cutting-edge modelling software to refine every single curve, edge, and internal structure. Here, we take the time to ensure your 3D printed trophy doesn’t just look incredible, but is also structurally sound and will stand proudly on stage.

Step 2: Preparing for Print

As the saying goes, if you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail! This stage is all about laying the groundwork for a flawless print.

We take your approved design file and convert it into a format our 3D printer can interpret. We thoroughly check and clean the printer to ensure it performs at its best, before running a full digital simulation of the print. This allows us to anticipate any potential challenges that we may face and place temporary structural supports if needed. These are vital for ensuring that trophies with complex geometrics and intricate details hold their shape perfectly throughout the build.

Step 5: Premium Finishing

A 3D printed trophy rarely leaves our workshop in its raw state. That’s because the true magic of these trophies lies in the finishing.

We offer a range of finishing options that are designed to enhance the depth and visual impact of your trophy, including painting, laser cutting, and plating. We can precisely match each colour to your brand guidelines, finished with metallic coatings or matte finishes to create a truly showstopping award that’s worthy of the moment it represents.

Step 6: Assembling Your Award

This stage is where the 3D printed component becomes part of the complete trophy build and transforms it into a meaningful, personal symbol of achievement.

For example, we may mount your 3D printed component onto a precision-crafted base, or combine it with other premium materials to achieve the desired balance and weight. Each piece is assembled by hand in our UK workshop, giving us complete control over the quality and consistency of every order. We then add personalisation (winners’ names, category titles, and sponsor logos) through engraving or print. 

Over the years, we’ve been proud to create some truly innovative awards that demonstrate just how powerful 3D printing can be. Here are some of our favourites:

Aquatics GB Awards

Manufactured for Aquatics GB, we crafted these custom 3D printed trophies to stand shoulder to shoulder with an impressive collection of Olympic and Paralympic medals. Each award was finished in a striking premium gloss and enhanced with vibrant printed acrylic detailing to maintain a bold, unified look across the entire series.

European Rally Championship Award

Created for the European Rally Championship, we modelled a detailed 3D tyre to match the tread of a specific racing tyre, turning the tread blocks and grooves into a striking, tactile feature. We then finished each piece with a subtle gloss black top to ensure they looked as impressive on stage as they do up close.

Coca-Cola Europacific Cup

For the Coca-Cola Europacific Cup trophies, we combined 3D printed resin with solid aluminium to achieve fine detail and an impressive finish. Each trophy stands at almost 40cm tall and recreates the iconic Coca-Cola bottle, complete with gold accents, a 3D printed label, and a bottlecap.