When considering the use of rapid prototyping (RP), there are many issues a designer has to address for handling an STL model, the de facto standard fur RP. Today designers can skip all these issues by visiting web-based service bureaus that readily supply needed information for the RP services. Since orders are taken for RP parts through the web page of service providers designers are now asked to upload their STL files to the company server either by direct upload, ftp file transfer, or as an e-mail attachment. If the service bureau, however, fixes or edits an STL filceto optimize the RP process but neglects to tell its customer about the rework in detail, it may cause problems down the line in processing of the original CAD data for other applications. In this paper, we propose a framework for a collaborative virtual environment between CAD designers and RP processes on the internet which directly provides designers with an advanced preprocessor functionality, design visualization, as well as model display, repair, and slicing over the network. This can help smooth data transfer from CAD to RP process with minimum inconsistency in CAD.