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Author Topic: Anyone 3d printing ?  (Read 2171 times)

Offline boneio

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 479
Re: Anyone 3d printing ?
« Reply #15 on: August 30, 2022, 08:34:05 PM »
Thirding (or fourthing) the votes in favour of wash and cure station. Its a modest outlay when considering resin itself is about 25 quid a bottle, and as others said, it keeps things neat and tidy. Designed for purpose tools are usually better than mucking about with something thats halfway there.
I too find the curing station a must, otherwise winter nights I'd effectively be pausing the process.

I have had 3 fdm printers and they're far more faff in terms of maintenance and skill level, though much cheaper in materials, and thus ideal for terrain. I couldn't believe how much easier resin was - especially when using presupported models, it just works.
When using badly supported or self supported (same thing in my case!), I've found my success rate drops to perhaps 50 to 70 percent.

It's good advice also to join a patreon or two if you find a sculptor you like - it's a factor of ten or more cheaper than buying those models later from the marketplaces.

And yes, I've found ultimately the outcome is in fact to increase my pile of opportunity, given its so easy to pop a print on while I'm working, grab it a few hours later, then start a new one...  lol

Offline ulverston

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 474
Re: Anyone 3d printing ?
« Reply #16 on: September 01, 2022, 04:40:16 AM »
Thanks for this Bonelo, it seems like you are certainly mastering printing! I think you nailed it when you said find a sculptor that you ike, mostly I just see dragons and fantasy stuff where I would like to print historical or moderns. I will keep searching. Thanks for the help

Offline Verderer

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 964
Re: Anyone 3d printing ?
« Reply #17 on: September 03, 2022, 06:22:02 AM »
I've been printing with Ender 3 for some years, and this summer I got me a Anycubic Photon Ultra resin printer and the bigger Anycubic wash&cure station. I would recommend wash&cure station, simply because it makes the process very easy and quick. I usually remove the prints from buildplate, but I leave the supports on, expecially if the models are very fragile. After wash, I cut the supports of and then cure the model. Or, if it contains very thin and fragile parts, I even cure it before cutting of the supports from those parts. It really depends.

One thing to consider when choosing a resin printer is the size. The Photon Ultra is pretty small as far as print size is concerned, so if you intend to print larger models, then a larger printer might be better choice. Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen all make good ones. But you can split large models in pieces and then print those, I've done that with a lager spider.

Second consoderation is the resin itself. Assuming you want to play with your prints, then you need to choose a type of resin that's not too fragile. All resins are pretty fragile, compared with metal, but there are some types that work better for playing in 28mm size etc. I've even printed some Warmaster stuff which came out alright, but then I dropped one base, and all the spears broke off... :(

Third thing, what is the resin chemically like. Is washable with IPA or similar liquids? All resins are toxic waste, in that you can't just pour it in the sewer. You can extend the life of your washing liquid if you cure the washed resins in it, so IPA it is recycled for use, after you remove the resin lumps. These days you get water washable resins, I haven't tried them out, but the do seem to get good or mixed reviews. The liquid is still toxic with the resin in it, so you can't pour it in sewer, and need to separate the resin by curing. But hey it's water, it's almost free and doesnt' stink to high heaven (IPA does, wear some mask or ventilate well?) And most resins are finicky, they require fairly warm conditions, so printing in unheated shack can be difficult.

So there's a lot to get your head around to at first, but if you watch some youtube videos, you soon get the hang of it.

Two tips: firstly, the most crucial thing to get right with printing resin, is the exposure time, both for the first initial layers (so the print fixes well to the plate), and the rest of the printing, so you get all the details good, and no missing bits. There are some good test prints which tell you if your setup is doing under or over-exposure. Thsi needs to be right.

Second tip, when (not if) you do get print fails, partial or otherwise, always empty the resin wat and filter the resin when you pour it back to the bottle... if tiny bits remain in the resin, they can really ruin the FEP film that forms the bottom of the wat. So you need to replace the FEP in the worst case. Plus some print bits can attach to the FEP real hard, so you need to bump them off to assure succesful print next time (there's videos about that too). So get a funnel and some disposable paint filters for this purpose.

Ok, third tip as a bonus: the second most important thing for succesful prints, is getting the supports right. This comes with failure and watching loads of videos on the topic. But it's better to over-support than under (which usually gets you a failed print), and slicing apps like Lychee have some pretty useful functions for it. And big solid pieces should be made hollow, so they take less resin and cure ok, and then you need to make holes in them.... etc. etc.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2022, 06:33:38 AM by Verderer »

Offline Tolemykus

  • Student
  • Posts: 17
Re: Anyone 3d printing ?
« Reply #18 on: September 11, 2022, 10:28:05 PM »
   I've been printing in both FDM and DLP (resin) for the last several years. Started with an Ender 3 then added an Anycubic Photon. I then added another Ender 3 then upgraded the Photon to a Mono.

   Don't buy a Mono and if you look at any other Anycubic's machines, make sure their FEP screens don't use their proprietary preassembled FEP frames. Currently you can't get them and have to send to China for the whole vat replacement when the FEP goes bad. However, there is a 3rd party replacement vat that uses the standard FEP sandwich frames with screws. But, you may as well just buy the Elegoo Mars.

   Wash and cure stations. I don't own one and don't want one. They seem like a good idea. Seems to keep the mess contained. However, if you look up Uncle Jessy on Youtube, in a recent video, he mentioned he has several of them and they all broke fairly easily and are not worth the expense to fix. I think its on the video about using wood glue to clean a screen. Too much to say to that so you decide. :)

   Anyway, the files. Don't buy a printer until you are sure that there are files you want to print. The printer is nothing unless you have the things you want to print. As you noticed there are hundreds more fantasy files than anything else. This is slowly changing. Look at some of these places:

https://www.wargaming3d.com/

   This site is a commercial, with some free files, suppository for historical stl files. There are some sci-fi.

   In a couple weeks Enemy Spotted Studios is having a kickstarter for stl files and prints for modern military style models. In Country will be the name. They also sell some things on their website. Their print models are closer to 30mm though. They also have a near future sci-fi line for their Killwager game.

   There have been some other kickstarters for stl modern. If by modern you mean WWII on forward, there are several and some of them sell on MyMiniFactory.com. Some also sell on their own websites as well as allow late pledges. 3D breed have made several sets of WWII as well as other models.

   There was a kickstarter called Iraq War about a year or two back that had U.S. Marines and Insurgent models. Have not seen another kickstarter from him nor have I seen his models for sale. You can try to see if there is a late pledge if you want.

   Thingiverse and wargaming3d has WWII and modern vehicles in 1:100 scale. Of course, the scale can be changed easily and they seem to be suited to rescaling. Some files are terrible when you rescale them.

Hope this help.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2022, 10:31:49 PM by Tolemykus »

Offline Cypher226

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 582
    • Friendly Fire
Re: Anyone 3d printing ?
« Reply #19 on: September 12, 2022, 01:21:24 PM »
All I have to add on the printers front is that Elegoo's customer service is top-drawer, whereas Anycubic's is reportedly almost non-existant.  This was what pushed me into buying an Elegoo printer.

In terms of manufacturers for moderns, as well those previously noted there is
Combat Octopus

Turnbase Miniatures

and for detail bits and objective-type pieces, TT Immersion

Offline Puuka

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 584
  • The Deputies come
    • Shaggy Puuka Dice Bags and Accessories.
Re: Anyone 3d printing ?
« Reply #20 on: September 30, 2022, 07:18:59 PM »
I'm 3D printing terrain. Currently working on the Stormcrow Mansion
Those figures are the Hasslefree Hamlet (Scooby) Gang.

I've also added an image of someone else's that is further along than I am.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2022, 07:31:02 PM by Puuka »
Looking for a set of rules that adaptable for different genres.

Offline Codsticker

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • *
  • Posts: 3276
    • Kodsticklerburg: A Mordheim project
Re: Anyone 3d printing ?
« Reply #21 on: September 30, 2022, 09:35:05 PM »
That's impressive!

 

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