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3D Printing Minis
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<blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 7403984" data-attributes="member: 151"><p>Speaking as someone with two 3D printers (A Robo 3D R1+ and a Printrbot Simple Metal), I think I can speak a little to this. I have printed some D&D minis and some terrain, to varying effect. I'll try not to go overboard. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>There are several advantages and disadvantages to 3D printing minis. First, lets break 3D printing down into constituent technologies, specifically FDM, SLA/DLP and Sintering. Without going into too much detail, most 3D printers are FDM, which deposit heated plastic onto a bed, one layer at a time; SLA/DLP uses a liquid resin that is solidified by a laser, again one layer at a time; Sintering takes a fine powered material and applies a glue-like substance to it or uses a laser to fuse it, again, one layer at a time. So 3D printing creates very thin slices of an object, stacking them until you have the object. That's important because it is a limitation of the technology; there are work-arounds, but certain designs are more difficult compared with mold-casted miniatures.</p><p></p><p>Here's a few things to understand.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3D Printing is expensive</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3D priting is not a turnkey solution</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There are many, MANY free designs out there</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Different technologies provide different advantages/disadvantages</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">3D printing is SLOW</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Quality requires time and/or money</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Physics can be your enemy when printing</li> </ul><p></p><p>This may sound like I'm telling you this can't be done. I'm not. It totally can. HOWEVER. If you are thinking, '<em>Wow, I'll just drop $150 on Monoprice and get a printer and I'll be printing orc armies is no time!</em>' that you may need to reset your expectations some. While it has much improved since I started using printers 3 years ago, it is still very much a hobbyist pursuit, like a HAM radio or car tuning. My first printer took me 6 hours to get a print out of (including printer assembly and fine-tuning). My second printer I had going in 45 minutes...but that was a more expensive unit. Regardless, simply be aware that even when you get it running, there will be a lot of tinkering to get your unique settings right for your environment (based on your material, humidity, printer and lots of factors).</p><p></p><p>Now let's talk the real issues: quality. FDM printers, out of the box, usually only support a print 'resolution' of 100 micrometers (.1MM). That sounds super small, and it is, BUT...when printing a 28MM scale miniature, it is not as small as it sounds. This means your mini may have visible lines for each layer as it prints, possibly preventing the high-level of detail you may be expecting from a molded mini. SLA/DLP printers can go down to 25 micrometers, which as you might expect leads to very high detail...but SLA/DLP printers are much more expensive (I have a friend who has a FORM 2...it retails currently for $3500) and require things like cleanup and curing. In terms of time, for me to print a miniature from HeroForge can take from 3 to 4 hours, depending on the design and resolution. Also, depending on the design, it may not be a simple issue to print it. Characters with out-stretched limbs, for example, require you to print support structures for those limbs to be printed properly (as you can start printing a layer in mid-air).</p><p></p><p>Now, having said all of that, I can assure that you can do it, it's fun and it's quite possible to get very nice results. I will gladly go on more detail about the topic, share pics of what I've printed and so forth. I've printed some very cool dungeon tiles, for example. But I wanted to let you know you're essentially adopting a hobby to do it and that you're not going to push a button and get a beholder (which is a nightmare to print, btw). There are limitations to what it can do and what it can do EASILY, but the results can be great.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="WizarDru, post: 7403984, member: 151"] Speaking as someone with two 3D printers (A Robo 3D R1+ and a Printrbot Simple Metal), I think I can speak a little to this. I have printed some D&D minis and some terrain, to varying effect. I'll try not to go overboard. :) There are several advantages and disadvantages to 3D printing minis. First, lets break 3D printing down into constituent technologies, specifically FDM, SLA/DLP and Sintering. Without going into too much detail, most 3D printers are FDM, which deposit heated plastic onto a bed, one layer at a time; SLA/DLP uses a liquid resin that is solidified by a laser, again one layer at a time; Sintering takes a fine powered material and applies a glue-like substance to it or uses a laser to fuse it, again, one layer at a time. So 3D printing creates very thin slices of an object, stacking them until you have the object. That's important because it is a limitation of the technology; there are work-arounds, but certain designs are more difficult compared with mold-casted miniatures. Here's a few things to understand. [LIST] [*]3D Printing is expensive [*]3D priting is not a turnkey solution [*]There are many, MANY free designs out there [*]Different technologies provide different advantages/disadvantages [*]3D printing is SLOW [*]Quality requires time and/or money [*] Physics can be your enemy when printing [/LIST] This may sound like I'm telling you this can't be done. I'm not. It totally can. HOWEVER. If you are thinking, '[I]Wow, I'll just drop $150 on Monoprice and get a printer and I'll be printing orc armies is no time![/I]' that you may need to reset your expectations some. While it has much improved since I started using printers 3 years ago, it is still very much a hobbyist pursuit, like a HAM radio or car tuning. My first printer took me 6 hours to get a print out of (including printer assembly and fine-tuning). My second printer I had going in 45 minutes...but that was a more expensive unit. Regardless, simply be aware that even when you get it running, there will be a lot of tinkering to get your unique settings right for your environment (based on your material, humidity, printer and lots of factors). Now let's talk the real issues: quality. FDM printers, out of the box, usually only support a print 'resolution' of 100 micrometers (.1MM). That sounds super small, and it is, BUT...when printing a 28MM scale miniature, it is not as small as it sounds. This means your mini may have visible lines for each layer as it prints, possibly preventing the high-level of detail you may be expecting from a molded mini. SLA/DLP printers can go down to 25 micrometers, which as you might expect leads to very high detail...but SLA/DLP printers are much more expensive (I have a friend who has a FORM 2...it retails currently for $3500) and require things like cleanup and curing. In terms of time, for me to print a miniature from HeroForge can take from 3 to 4 hours, depending on the design and resolution. Also, depending on the design, it may not be a simple issue to print it. Characters with out-stretched limbs, for example, require you to print support structures for those limbs to be printed properly (as you can start printing a layer in mid-air). Now, having said all of that, I can assure that you can do it, it's fun and it's quite possible to get very nice results. I will gladly go on more detail about the topic, share pics of what I've printed and so forth. I've printed some very cool dungeon tiles, for example. But I wanted to let you know you're essentially adopting a hobby to do it and that you're not going to push a button and get a beholder (which is a nightmare to print, btw). There are limitations to what it can do and what it can do EASILY, but the results can be great. [/QUOTE]
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