D&D 5E 3d printed dungeons

[tk32]

Very cool! I'm glad to see people taking advantage of 3d printers. Do you create the models to print from yourself? I like seeing creative stuff like this. Plus it goes a long way in really enhancing the game for your group.

I have the QIDI Tech x-One 3d printer (got it through Amazon, comes from China). I wanted something with great customer service, and they have been incredibly responsive and helpful! My print bed is 6" x 6" x 6" (or 150mm x 150mm x 150mm) I've tried doing some other stuff using the full 6x 6 x6. it has some type of printer margin that it needs a half inch on the outside for some reason. So the best i can do with the free software I have is 5.5" x 5.5" x 5.5".

The fat dragon dungeon models are based on one inch squares, so walls a combination of wall and floor space, so they are 2" x 2". There are just dungeon tile - floors that are 4"x4". There's hallways that are 2"x2" but only about 1 mini wide with the walls on each side.

So, I can do 1 4"x4" floor tile or I can do 4 x 2"x2" inch pieces. Corners take longer, walls and floors take the least amount of time.

So, I can kick off 4 pieces before I leave for work and they'll usually be done by the time I get home unless I'm doing 4 corners or 4 hallways. Because there's more to print, so that would take the slowest at around 12-13 hours to print but it's 4 pieces then when it's done....

 

[tk32]

I'm envious beyond words.

Do you know what your costs are per piece?

Thanks! It's fun, but as with any technology, it comes with a certain level of frustrations! I've spent many hours trouble shooting strange issues! The cost per piece on average is around $.20 - up to $.50 each. For example a single 2"x2" wall is around $.30 each. A corner is probably closer to $.35 a piece, and a hallway with walls on both sides of the floor is probably close to $.50

So it varies, but on average I can get around 40-50 pieces out of a single 1kg spool of plastic. And each spool runs around $25 including shipping depending on the color.


That doesn't include costs to paint, if one wants to paint the pieces, or maintenance costs. Occasionally the nozzles need replacing which are around $10. I would say the nozzles last around 3-4 months if printing near non stop 24/7.

 

[tk32]

Do you design your own models (and in what designer)?

I've thought about doing something like this ... probably not on quite as grand a scale. But while I'm reasonably competent, I've never used any kind of 3D cad/cam tool. How hard is it?

Nope, I bought them through Fat Dragon Games through the kickstarter campaigns. I do not design, only print. www.thingverse.com, yeggi.com and many other sites have 3d printer models free to download as well.

 

[tk32]

Oh, and how did you do the Giant Coffee Mug of Doom that's obviously prominent to the story. It looks just like a real coffee mug?

Too funny, nope, that was not printed. I do have some mug holder models to print, that I haven't printed yet. I have a dice roller castle... (You put the dice in the top and it goes down the castle stairs and comes out the bottom of the castle into a little dice bowl to see the result.... I debated printing this for my gaming sessions, but I think it'd take too long to get a result... It'd be fun for a few minutes, then, a pain.

 

[SwivSnapshot]

Thanks! It's fun, but as with any technology, it comes with a certain level of frustrations! I've spent many hours trouble shooting strange issues! The cost per piece on average is around $.20 - up to $.50 each. For example a single 2"x2" wall is around $.30 each. A corner is probably closer to $.35 a piece, and a hallway with walls on both sides of the floor is probably close to $.50

So it varies, but on average I can get around 40-50 pieces out of a single 1kg spool of plastic. And each spool runs around $25 including shipping depending on the color.


That doesn't include costs to paint, if one wants to paint the pieces, or maintenance costs. Occasionally the nozzles need replacing which are around $10. I would say the nozzles last around 3-4 months if printing near non stop 24/7.

Thanks for the info. I've been considering something like this for a while, but wasn't liking the materials costs versus possible income. At those numbers, I may change my mind.

 

[LordEntrails]

Thanks for all the info. Costs have come WAY down since I designed and printed a hundred or so of my own pieces nearly 10 years ago. Might have to actually get back into it if I move from VTT back to table top.

 

[tk32]

Thanks for all the info. Costs have come WAY down since I designed and printed a hundred or so of my own pieces nearly 10 years ago. Might have to actually get back into it if I move from VTT back to table top.

I can't imagine what this stuff would cost ten years ago! Eek. The prices continue to get better, lots of nearly turnkey printers being shipped that seem to be decent quality, and the plastic is being produced on mass. The PLA plastic is comprised of renewable resources and considered food grade. It's a Polyactic Acid or something like that, my understanding is the primary ingredient is Corn starch plus food dies / coloring.

It's a dungeon made of food. You can get higher strength materials and printers that support those materials, or printers with two extruders if you want to print 2 colors, or blend things. I have no idea how that works, sticking to simple stuff now, and in a few years, may consider moving up, but am happy with what I have so far.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I guess my main question would be: why use 3d printing to do this if the pieces are all modular and generic? We've got a set of hirst arts moulds and made some stuff up with plaster, which comes in way under the price of plastic.

I mean - I suppose if the price is coming under buying a commercial set of this stuff, sure, but if I was going to get into it, I would want to be producing special set-pieces. Do more specialized models exist?

Also - does anyone do models that interlock?

And finally - does anyone do customizable minis?

 

[SwivSnapshot]

I guess my main question would be: why use 3d printing to do this if the pieces are all modular and generic? We've got a set of hirst arts moulds and made some stuff up with plaster, which comes in way under the price of plastic.

The pieces are only as generic as they are designed to be, but for those of us interested in retailing printed figures, limited runs of 1 to 20 figures is ideal. Tiles are more problematic due to the limited printer bed size, but I suspect with a little planning, a good designer could create interchangeable tiles that could be used in multiple scenarios.

I mean - I suppose if the price is coming under buying a commercial set of this stuff, sure, but if I was going to get into it, I would want to be producing special set-pieces. Do more specialized models exist?

Yep. Check the web sites tk32 listed- Fat Dragon Games has an Orcus model that looks AMAZING.

Also - does anyone do models that interlock?

If you can design it, yes. The more important question is the plastic durable enough to snap and unsnap repeatedly without breaking.

And finally - does anyone do customizable minis?

If you want to spot me $100,000 US, I'll be happy to take a shot at it. Otherwise, take a look at Hero Forge. They have a limited ability to customize figures and I have personally seen their minis. Very good printing, but they are a little on the pricey side for the plastic minis.

 

[MNblockhead]

Thanks for sharing. I backed the first Fat Dragon Kickstarter, but ended up not buying a 3D printer. I still have all the files if I ever get the printer. Instead I bought a paper cutting machine (Silhouette) and use paper terrain and 2D minis. I can print up a paper army in an evening. 3D is still too slow and expensive for my gaming needs. I want to focus on gaming and story creation rather than modeling.

If I had a lot more money, I would buy the prepainted Dwarven Forge stuff. DM Scotty recently turned me on to some folks that sell pre-created and painted Hirst mould peices.

What I'm waiting for is for affordable print-on-demand 3D printing services. The services I've look at recently are too expensive for me, though I expect that cost will eventually come down to make print on demand minis and terrain an affordable option. The problem is that I would still need to paint them. I expect I'll stick to plotter printed battlemaps, dungeons tiles, dry erase battle-maps, and felt terrain for the foreseeable future.