How to 3D print a Eurorack front panel

2 mm is the working default: rigid enough for a 3U panel up to about 20 HP, thin enough that jack bushings and pot shafts still reach their nuts. Above 30 HP, or with heavy jacks, 2.5 to 3 mm holds better — but check that your parts have enough thread left.

• Mounting holes: 3.4 mm, a little over the 3.2 mm of the Doepfer drawing. A printed hole comes out slightly undersized, and this leaves an M3 screw free.
• Part holes: use the datasheet diameters as they are, then test-print a strip with two or three holes before committing to a full panel.
• Print flat, front face on the bed: the face is then as smooth as the build plate, and no support touches the visible side.

Labels and SVG patterns are raised on the front of the panel, so a two-colour print gives legends that will not rub off. The relief has a thickness and a depth it sinks into the panel, which is what makes the two colours bond instead of peeling apart.

1. Set the width in HP and the format, and place the parts.
2. Switch the view to 3D and check the mesh: cut-outs, mounting holes and relief all appear at the export thickness.
3. Export STL, pick the thickness, and slice with the front face down.
4. Print the body in one filament, and pause for the colour change at the layer where the relief starts if your printer has no second extruder.

• Knobs and nuts that overlap are outlined in red on the canvas; fix them before exporting.
• Panels wider than 10 HP get a middle column of mounting holes — keep it clear of your parts.
• Rack space is counted in whole HP: see the HP to mm table, or the HP and U calculator.