I just came across this cool tutorial which walks you through how to prep models in Maya for 3D printing. ~Specular
What is Rapid Prototyping?
Think of a Rapid Prototyping machine (known as Printers,) as a hot glue gun attached to a printer's head! As the head of the printer goes back and forth, the hot glue gun - using a variety of very sophisticated materials, will shoot (jet) a bit of the material on a surface, layer upon layer, until a wall is "grown." The head of the printer stays at one level, moving left-to-right, and the base where the sculpture is build (know as the tray,) drops down! Because of this, printers have their limitations, and their eccentricities…
Find the tutorial here: http://www.710films.com/TutorialsTips/CG/RapidPrototyping/Chapter1/Chapter1.html
