3D printers

[General308]

Ok so this got brought up and I like the ideal of 3d printed terrain and buildings....What do you recommend and why?

[NeonKnight]

For terrain go with a Creality CR-10 or Ender, they have LARGE print areas to allow for some large size prints.

these were all done on a CR-10

[General308]

Those look really good

[pascal]

Unless you really need the size, I'd probably stick with "smaller" printer like the Ender 3 or CR20 Pro...

Keep in mind that larger potentially means a less stable frame. And large prints take a very long time, at which point you need to think whether or not you're going to trust these things to run overnight given that they can be a fire hazard (Anet *cough*).

One big advantage of the Ender 3 is that it has a ton of support for it, and you'll likely be upgrading it, my most useful upgrades have been:
- PEI Flex Steel bed
- SKR mini E3 V1.2 mainboard replacement
- BLTouch sensor (easier to setup with the SKR as opposed to the original mainboard)
- BMG extruder clone

Also take a look at the Prusa Mini, which seems to going to be a strong contender as well...

[Bedwyr]

Just adding in that CR-10 prices are now about in line with CR-3 pro. So the extra size and default glass base ends up being bonus.

[dgorsman]

A lot of people need to be broken of the idea all prints need to be unitary/all in one go.  Many can be broken up into logical chunks and assembled.  There's a number of advantages, such as: bulk production of pieces; reduced chance and effect of print failure; better optimization of orientation; easier to paint/weather prior to assembly.

For example tall buildings could be printed as individual floors and stacked as needed for each game session.

[Bedwyr]

Modular is always good to consider.


Funny you should post because I was just breaking out the new CR-10 to prepare to print. I haven't yet leveled the bed or figured out most of the system's menu, but it's coming. The manual is truly worthless, though. Better to look up YouTube videos and Reddit/Facebook groups.

[Grognard]

how much $$$ are you talking to get started with a CR10?
or any mid-range/capability 3d printer?
I see the forums gushing over the functionality, but nobody will put out specific $$ info.

[Bedwyr]

$300 for that one. You get good resolution and print size for the money. It's about the cost of two decent color inkjet multifunction printers.

Some are $230 or so. I'm not sure what you sacrifice besides size there.

[Insaniac99]

Some are $230 or so. I'm not sure what you sacrifice besides size there.

First and foremost: Safety. Some of the cheapos are known to catch fire.

Other than that it's a sliding scale of part quality & reliability, how long the printer stays tuned after you tune it, what materials it can print (many cheap printers lose the heatbed, and lose quality in the hot-end so can only print the easier plastics), and other stuff.

[Cergorach]

Were to get started? Actually deserves a return question, what do you want?
- Do you want to start another hobby? An Ender 3 is fun (I have one), but it requires some modding and if you want it quiet (because it is noisy) it'll take a bit of money and 'expertise' to fix it. There are a lot of resources on YouTube for that, see: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbgBDBrwsikmtoLqtpc59Bw For example.
- So you want to get started right out of the box or don't you mind a (longer) learning curve?
- Do you want this to be a learning experience (that might break your 3D printer) so you don't mind a cheaper 'flawed' 3D printer.
- What kind of money do you want to spend?

And that's besides the FDM vs resin printer question. Resins are a bit more toxic and messy then PLA filament (FDM)...

For FDM printers:
- If you want a cheap, but decent hobby project that will allow you to upgrade all kinds of things (and imho requires upgrades). An Ender 3 (Pro) is often less then $200 (depending when and where you get it).
- If you want something that really doesn't require upgrades and should work out of the box, get an Orignal Prusa Mini for $350. https://www.prusa3d.com/original-prusa-mini/ Sure, it has a smaller printbed, but for BT scale minis, that shouldn't be an issue. If you want your projects printed faster, you can get another. ;-) Only issue is currently, new orders will ship in June 2020 due to high demand.

[grimlock1]

First and foremost: Safety. Some of the cheapos are known to catch fire.

Other than that it's a sliding scale of part quality & reliability, how long the printer stays tuned after you tune it, what materials it can print (many cheap printers lose the heatbed, and lose quality in the hot-end so can only print the easier plastics), and other stuff.

Printers in that $200-$300 range often don't even have a heated bed.  That's something I run into with my Flashforge Finder.  Differential cooling can cause the edges of a print to lift up off the stage, creating distortion.  Depending on how bad, it can junk the part, but often the upper portions will print fine, but the bottom is spoon shaped. Heated bed helps prevent this and helps with adhesion of the initial layers. If those break loose, you come home from work and find a pile of PLA spaghetti in the machine. :-(

A lot of people need to be broken of the idea all prints need to be unitary/all in one go.  Many can be broken up into logical chunks and assembled.  There's a number of advantages, such as: bulk production of pieces; reduced chance and effect of print failure; better optimization of orientation; easier to paint/weather prior to assembly.

For example tall buildings could be printed as individual floors and stacked as needed for each game session.

This!!  There are ways to take files you get from Thingiverse and edit them, but I don't know them yet.  But presumably you are modeling your own parts.  In that case, Tab A and Slot B are your friends.  Dovetails are also wonderful.  Just remember to add draft angles or it can bind up 1/16" too soon.  Don't ask me how I know this.   :-\


In general, a better machine, with higher resolution and thinner layers will mean less finishing work.

It probably won't be too big an issue for making terrain, but higher end machines have the option of printing support structures out of PVA.  All machines should be able to do supports that you have to tear away later.  PVA support is nice because it's water soluble. A warm water bath and a toothbrush are all you need to remove it, and it doesn't mar the surface the way homogenous supports will.

If you can afford it, avoid being pennywise and pound foolish in terms of build volume.  Adhesion gets a bit squiffy at the edges of the the build space.  My Flashforge officially has a 5"x5" table but I try really hard to stay inside 4"x4".

[Bedwyr]

Printers in that $200-$300 range often don't even have a heated bed.  That's something I run into with my Flashforge Finder. 

The CR-10 I just bought has a heated bed with glass top.

[NeonKnight]

The CR-10 I just bought has a heated bed with glass top.

And may I suggest for a few bucks more:

https://www.amazon.ca/Creality-Upgraded-Platform-Tempered-310x310x4mm/dp/B07J9YW4WR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1USPLW0PWSKY8&keywords=cr-10+glass+bed&qid=1582733337&sprefix=CR-10+Gla%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-3

I got one and have never had adhesion issues since (no fiddling with tape, etc!)

[Bedwyr]

I was going to do my first test print with a glue stick on the glass. Bad idea?

[NeonKnight]

I was going to do my first test print with a glue stick on the glass. Bad idea?

No. I just found after fiddling with TAPE and GLUE and what not else, I went to one of those and never had an issue with adhesion since

[Cergorach]

Those plates are SO much better then just glass, it's a worthy investment imho!

Something like a Flashforge Finder misses a lot of the essentials and doesn't grow with you (you can't upgrade it). They look great and might seem fine for an absolute beginner, but you often don't stay an absolute beginner (for long)...

Something like the Ultimaker S5 costs $6,000 but that is imho way overkill unless you intend to use it mostly professionally... ;-)

[grimlock1]

Those plates are SO much better then just glass, it's a worthy investment imho!

Something like a Flashforge Finder misses a lot of the essentials and doesn't grow with you (you can't upgrade it). They look great and might seem fine for an absolute beginner, but you often don't stay an absolute beginner (for long)...

Something like the Ultimaker S5 costs $6,000 but that is imho way overkill unless you intend to use it mostly professionally... ;-)

I picked it up used for $130, and other toys have been higher on the budget list.  ^-^

[Bedwyr]

Achievement unlocked. The CR-10 performed very well on the first test print and I now have a very good looking li'l doggy. I see and understand what the resolution is capable of now. The finish is sort of satin in its roughness with very occasional layer artifacts that looks like the tiniest mold lines. Very very acceptable.

Next step: familiarizing myself with a slicer.

Is the Fusion 360 slicer add-in really as bad as reviews say or will it work reasonably well for model setup?

[pascal]

The better question put bluntly why even consider the slicer in Fusion 360?

Even if it was half-decent, it's still behind held hostage by Autodesk, given that they can make it non-free at any point, so why invest (read waste) your valuable time in it, when there are good alternatives.

Anyhow, the big two in the slicing game are PrusaSlicer (which is an enhanced derivative of slic3r) and Cura. Both of these are very high quality pieces of software, and most importantly information about these is most abundant (meaning easiest to master).

In any slicer make sure you have 6mm on the Ender3 or probably 7mm? on the CR10 of retraction (longer bowden tube usually means more retraction), and you have wipe/comb on retraction enabled.

Also, at some point, when you're starting to have issues with your hotend (or need to replace your Bowden tube for whatever reason), you may want to look into:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIkjR2Ytx-g
While your printer is new, and working fine, leave it be though.

[pascal]

You may also want to look into matte filaments...

[Bedwyr]

The better question put bluntly why even consider the slicer in Fusion 360?

Even if it was half-decent, it's still behind held hostage by Autodesk, given that they can make it non-free at any point, so why invest (read waste) your valuable time in it, when there are good alternatives.

Convenience and trust. I'm a longtime subscriber of Eagle for pcb fabrication and they've done right by me to this point. However, I'm not opposed to other tools.

[NeonKnight]

In any slicer make sure you have 6mm on the Ender3 or probably 7mm? on the CR10 of retraction (longer bowden tube usually means more retraction), and you have wipe/comb on retraction enabled.

Hmm...I'll have to check this out.

I know I finally after two years replaced my first nozzle on the CR10

[pascal]

Then you must have had a 0.6mm nozzle at the end (even if you started out at 0.4mm)...  ;D

To maintain print quality you'll probably want to replace the (brass) nozzle every few months if you print a lot...

[Bedwyr]

Retraction means the amount filament gets pulled back from the nozzle to prevent strings, right?

What's wipe/comb?

[Insaniac99]

Retraction means the amount filament gets pulled back from the nozzle to prevent strings, right?

What's wipe/comb?

Combing is is skipping the retract and z-hop steps and traveling inside the model when possible.

Check out this more full guide, with photos to compare the differences:

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/af822o/psa_limit_your_combing_distance/

[I am Belch II]

Looking to pick one up soon, hopefully it wont start a fire.

[NeonKnight]

Retraction means the amount filament gets pulled back from the nozzle to prevent strings, right?

What's wipe/comb?

No clue either of those, but...TURN IRONING ON

makes the top layer much smoother

[Insaniac99]

Looking to pick one up soon, hopefully it wont start a fire.

Don't buy a printer that is less than $300 MSRP (as a general rule), Check for certifications, don't leave flammable stuff near it.

[Cergorach]

Don't buy a printer that is less than $300 MSRP (as a general rule), Check for certifications, don't leave flammable stuff near it.

That is really bad advice, that insinuates that $300+ is safer, but it isn't. The Ender 3 is half that (at times) and performs better then a lot more expensive machines. Trusting blindly on safety on more expensive machines and 'selfsigned' certificates is asking for trouble! Check the machine yourself, test the machine yourself, especially at this price bracket.

[I am Belch II]

I would be sold on a 3d printer if I could see it and play with one, more than a 30 second demo at a convention.

[Bedwyr]

I would be sold on a 3d printer if I could see it and play with one, more than a 30 second demo at a convention.

I would say it's just about time. The quality is way up and paintable*. The only question is what kind of printing. Minis are best on resin/uv and structural stuff is best on melty PLA/ABS. If you need a turbine blade I can't help you. Would refer you to GE aviation and their laser sintering process.

*may still need filler primer and sanding. Nearly smooth to touch but you know how mold lines reveal themselves on miniatures.

[Cergorach]

I would be sold on a 3d printer if I could see it and play with one, more than a 30 second demo at a convention.

Join a 'local' maker-space and 'play' with one there...

[I am Belch II]

I would say it's just about time. The quality is way up and paintable*. The only question is what kind of printing. Minis are best on resin/uv and structural stuff is best on melty PLA/ABS. If you need a turbine blade I can't help you. Would refer you to GE aviation and their laser sintering process.

*may still need filler primer and sanding. Nearly smooth to touch but you know how mold lines reveal themselves on miniatures.

I think Badger Airbrush made a primer that works really good with 3d printed stuff. Its going to happen at some point. I really want to make some small micro fighters to all the way up to larger stuff. I think I will get one soon, just hoping the filament  and other things are easy accessible.

[Bedwyr]

Ok, my second print is done, this time with the new terrain. I have three questions, though:




1) What causes that slight spaghetti effect on the surface? There are three spots like that. It's not too bad and can be covered up by primer or filler easily, but knowing could prevent future issues.

2) Adhesion. I used a glue stick on glass directly and it worked wonders. However, I had a lot of trouble getting the piece off the bed. Spatula wouldn't wedge underneath and only worrying the piece awhile got it off. I'm concerned that a larger piece will refuse to come off at all.

3) Time. The new L3 terrain piece is much larger and so I expect a longer print time. Is 15 hours still reasonable or is that too much? I tried decreasing infill to 10% and trying cubic vs. line infills, but never got that much change. Again, I'm ok with time taken if that's considered normal.

[Bedwyr]

Re 2): I see some ideas here. Using an actual razor blade or floss seems to be the most promising.

[NeonKnight]

Ok, my second print is done, this time with the new terrain. I have three questions, though:




1) What causes that slight spaghetti effect on the surface? There are three spots like that. It's not too bad and can be covered up by primer or filler easily, but knowing could prevent future issues.

Don't know what you are refering to, Can you highlight the point you mean

2) Adhesion. I used a glue stick on glass directly and it worked wonders. However, I had a lot of trouble getting the piece off the bed. Spatula wouldn't wedge underneath and only worrying the piece awhile got it off. I'm concerned that a larger piece will refuse to come off at all.

Can't answer as I got the CR10-Glass bed thing I pointed to upthread

3) Time. The new L3 terrain piece is much larger and so I expect a longer print time. Is 15 hours still reasonable or is that too much? I tried decreasing infill to 10% and trying cubic vs. line infills, but never got that much change. Again, I'm ok with time taken if that's considered normal.

yep...these things take TIME! 15 Hours is a good midpoint for some terrain.

I have pieces that will take upwards of 34 hours to print  :yikes:

[Bedwyr]

Don't know what you are refering to, Can you highlight the point you mean

That's not actually part of the sculpt. There's some holes in the midst of those wobbly bits. Not a big deal, but concerning for other print hiccups.

Can't answer as I got the CR10-Glass bed thing I pointed to upthread

Actually I have the same and I'm simply nervous about damaging even the glass.

[NeonKnight]

Are you talking this?

https://www.amazon.ca/Creality-Upgraded-Platform-Tempered-310x310x4mm/dp/B07J9YW4WR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1USPLW0PWSKY8&keywords=cr-10+glass+bed&qid=1582733337&sprefix=CR-10+Gla%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-3

Cause if so...I would not recommend putting a glue stick on it.

I use nothing at all, get awesome adhession, and at the end of a print I can either:

1 - pry off with the metal scraper/spatula thing (If I need to do another print later)

or

2 - wait 30 minutes or so for a full cool down and just lift it off (no stick at all)

as to the artifact, no clue. might have been a bad bit in the print?

[Bedwyr]

Are you talking this?

https://www.amazon.ca/Creality-Upgraded-Platform-Tempered-310x310x4mm/dp/B07J9YW4WR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1USPLW0PWSKY8&keywords=cr-10+glass+bed&qid=1582733337&sprefix=CR-10+Gla%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-3

Cause if so...I would not recommend putting a glue stick on it.

Nope, just a glass plate that came with the unit. Still don't bother gluing?

as to the artifact, no clue. might have been a bad bit in the print?

Ok. I didn't know if there was an obvious "If you see this in your print, consider changing setting x to reduce re-occurrence."

[NeonKnight]

Nope, just a glass plate that came with the unit. Still don't bother gluing?


Ok. I didn't know if there was an obvious "If you see this in your print, consider changing setting x to reduce re-occurrence."

Nope, when I switched to that glass, never had an issue with printing/adhession ever again.

Just give it a wipe (make sure no dust or anything), and I'm off to the races.

[grimlock1]

That's not actually part of the sculpt. There's some holes in the midst of those wobbly bits. Not a big deal, but concerning for other print hiccups.

Actually I have the same and I'm simply nervous about damaging even the glass.

Go back to your slicer and look at the .gx file.  I've had a couple cases where the conversion from .stl to .gx created weird artifacts in fine details. 

[Bedwyr]

Go back to your slicer and look at the .gx file.  I've had a couple cases where the conversion from .stl to .gx created weird artifacts in fine details.

Will do. Also, what is .gx vs .gcode?


Second print out. Pretty happy. There is some warping on one corner, though. I may add a brim on the next attempt:

[pascal]

FlashForge uses a non-standard intermediate format between their slicer and printers, which apparently is called GX, it's functionally equivalent to GCode as far as I know, but just incompatible for incompatibilities sake. It's basically a horrible business practice. Pro-Tip: don't buy FlashForge...

As far as safety is concerned... consider the following:
[1] Don't leave the printer on while you're gone or unconscious when you can avoid it
[2] Place a smoke detector near your printer
[3] Verify your firmware has overheating protection enabled and working (there are videos on YouTube for this)
[4] Pick a printer with a metal frame, and metal parts near anything that becomes hot (heater block, nozzle, heated bed)

(If I'm not mistaken most of the Anet house-fires were due to point 3 & 4, but may have been detected earlier if 1 & 2 were accounted for).

With regard to bed surface...

On a printer with a smaller bed, say roughly Ender 3 and smaller, a flex steel sheet with a PEI sticker is the way to go for PLA prints. Since switching to PEI I've had no adhesion issues at all (without any special slicing provisions and no glue/tape needed), and no removal issues. Just take off the plate (the bed usually has a magnetic sheet adhered to it) and flex it, and the print really just pops off, so no scraping...

On printers with a larger bed however, glass plates are still fairly common, even though it's possibly one of the worst surfaces with regard to adhesion/removal. If I'm not mistaken glass beds are still common on larger printers because non-glass beds tend to be non-uniform, and non-uniform beds cause issues of their own. The larger the bed is, the more pronounced and common of a problem this is.

Your upgrade options for a larger printer are probably fancier glass like UltraBase (no experience with it), or possibly a flex steel PEI sheet if your particular heated bed is incredibly straight, and/or when combined with a BLtouch or something to compensate to some degree (but a BLtouch is not an end-all-be-all solution).

As for getting prints with better optical quality:
[1] You may want to try lowering jerk/acceleration to 5/250 or so...
[2] You may want to try setting bridging flow ratio to 0.7 or something along those lines, as that might help with bridging (not a problem here per-se)...
[3] Be mindful of the temperature you're printing at, for gaming pieces, where strength is a secondary concern, you can probably print PLA as low as 190 degrees Celsius...

Your milage may vary of course...

[Asgo]

I would generally advice to check if
A) I would have the intended output volume that justifies the overhead - in money and time - 3D printing can be a hobby in itself
B) I have a fire safe work area where I can produce the volume required by A without constant oversight.
while I generally agree with this:

...
As far as safety is concerned... consider the following:
[1] Don't leave the printer on while you're gone or unconscious when you can avoid it
[2] Place a smoke detector near your printer
[3] Verify your firmware has overheating protection enabled and working (there are videos on YouTube for this)
[4] Pick a printer with a metal frame, and metal parts near anything that becomes hot (heater block, nozzle, heated bed)
...

Personally I don't think I would get to a good/efficient usage rate if I would have to attend every print job - in particular on larger prints which might require quite a bit of consecutive time.
So having a workspace that doesn't go up in flames in case the 3D printer does would be a real plus. :)

[grimlock1]

I would generally advice to check if
A) I would have the intended output volume that justifies the overhead - in money and time - 3D printing can be a hobby in itself
B) I have a fire safe work area where I can produce the volume required by A without constant oversight.
while I generally agree with this:Personally I don't think I would get to a good/efficient usage rate if I would have to attend every print job - in particular on larger prints which might require quite a bit of consecutive time.
So having a workspace that doesn't go up in flames in case the 3D printer does would be a real plus. :)

that is unfortunately hard to do in the average home. :-(

[Colt Ward]

Bedwyr, are those pieces hollow?

[Asgo]

that is unfortunately hard to do in the average home. :-(

yeah, that's sadly the reason why my 3d printer doesn't get the usage it deserves beyond some occasional and relatively singular pieces.

[Bedwyr]

Bedwyr, are those pieces hollow?

10% infill, cubic shapes.

[Colt Ward]

Learning a bit about the 3D printers b/c I think they will be the future . . .

 . . . but why cube?  Triangular bracing IIRC is a stronger shape.

[Bedwyr]

Default on Cura. In any case, the shape is so small that it already has a lot of structural integrity. Any additional infill is maybe overdoing it a bit.

[pascal]

The main reason you still want a little bit of infill in these pieces is to make the bridging of the first top layer much easier/reliable.

So 5-10% grid (not rectilinear) fill should suffice. (the pattern of the infill really doesn't matter all that much, so using one of the faster ones should be fine).

Having at least like 6 top solids layers and top solid infill extrusion width of 0.35, with a top solid infill extrusion speed of 15mm/sec tends to help quality as well.

BTW, in PrusaSlicer you can control the Fill Angle as well, while it defaults to 45 degrees, for many pieces 0 or 90 will give you better results, since this affects the (rectilinear) top layer as well, because any remaining "lines" will sortof kindof look like roofing if oriented properly.

[Bedwyr]

So, umm, I don't think 16+ hr prints are compatible with checking and maintaining vigilance.

[I am Belch II]

Just got my CR-20 Pro today in the mail. Any good mech programs, and Battletech programs to use to print??

[IronmanV2]

Ok, my second print is done, this time with the new terrain. I have three questions, though:



2) Adhesion. I used a glue stick on glass directly and it worked wonders. However, I had a lot of trouble getting the piece off the bed. Spatula wouldn't wedge underneath and only worrying the piece awhile got it off. I'm concerned that a larger piece will refuse to come off at all.

3) Time. The new L3 terrain piece is much larger and so I expect a longer print time. Is 15 hours still reasonable or is that too much? I tried decreasing infill to 10% and trying cubic vs. line infills, but never got that much change. Again, I'm ok with time taken if that's considered normal.

2.  Rubber mallet + metal spatula works for me when pieces do not want to come loose.  I do have a glass bed so those two tools work well in that situation situation. 

3.  Yes. 15+ hours for a larger print is normal given a nozzle size of 0.4mm or less...  I do have some larger nozzles sizes and can cut down the print time considerably for pieces requiring less detail. 

[worktroll]

I'd love to have a 3D printer, but the time I'd spend coming up to speed is the time I spend painting & modding. Can't swap one for the other.

Had the perfect mix last year - worked with a gent who had just bought a printer, and was happy to print tanks for me. Alas, I left that job last October :(

[Two Guns Blazing]

I'm one of those dudes who has been saying for ages that I'm going to get a 3D printer "soon", but have always put it off...mostly because I didn't want to invest the time it takes to learn how to set the machine up, tweak the settings, learn a 3D sculpting program and learning a 3D slicer program...I have several interests and only limited personal time to devote to each...however, a lot of us have a lot more time on our hands right now due to COVID-19 and I'm one of them, so last week I decided to jump down the rabbit hole...

I purchased an AnyCubic Chiron, which should arrive tomorrow.

I've done a series of tutorials on;

Blender,
Fusion 360,
Mesh Mixer, and
Cura

...(all free software packages) and have got to a point where I'm comfortable doing very basic functions in each of those...although I probably won't use Blender much.

I bought a heap of 3D printable files for use with Battletech, both hills and buildings. For my small games of Classic Battletech, I'm using a 5' x 4' "Red Planet" neoprene hex map I made myself for Aeronatutica Imperialis, and the hexes are 53mm from flat edge to flat edge (perfect for 2" model bases), so I need to scale-up the files I bought from 1.25" hexes to 53mm hexes. I also need to cut some of the larger terrain models so the print times aren't too long (not going to bed at night with a heat machine like this running in the house)...for me the easiest program to perform both these functions is Meshmixer.

Once I get the printer set up and have a chance to make sure my scale-up is the right size, I'll begin printing heaps of Battletech terrain.

[Two Guns Blazing]

My Anycubic Chiron arrived yesterday and after setting it up and making a few tweaks in Cura, I printed out a test print of the small hex hill from a series of like-models I purchased online.

This was really just a test to see if I had scaled up the pieces to the correct size to fit my custom ~2" hexes (actually 53mm hexes flat edge to flat edge). I scaled the 1.25" scaled pieces up by a factor of 1.6 (or 160%) in the X and Y Axis, and then by 1.25 (or 125%) in the Z Axis. I made the Z Axis taller because I wanted each Level to be 1" tall, rather than the 20mm tall they come scaled in.

You can see the print with Mechs sitting on a vinyl draft of my "Red Planet" map, I was too lazy to drag the final neoprene printed mat out :)

A Mech hiding behind Level 2 and another taking cover behind Level 1...

[Two Guns Blazing]

I've been making some progress on my 3D printed terrain, slow progress. Luckily I bought an Anycubic Chiron with a 400mm x 400mm x 450mm build volume, otherwise I'd have to start chopping some of these larger pieces into halves or thirds (some of them already came halved), not something I really want to do any further. To fit the hex size I use, I've had to very significantly up-scale the models from their intended size, significantly increasing their footprint and print times. The biggest single piece there took 35 hours and 13 minutes to print...glad all the Hex Hills are done, now I can return to a normal sleeping pattern :)

I've got to make some appropriately sized hex bases for the tall rocky formations printed in black, and also print some more of those out...but I think I'll focus on getting a heap of trees done first though. The buildings will be last as I want to upgrade a couple of components to increase print quality for the non-organic terrain.

Really excited to see what all this looks like once I've got it all printed and painted...perhaps by then I'll have my Kickstarter Mechs in-hand too :)

[grimlock1]

Idle question.  I have a spool of black Hatchbox 1.75mm PLA, and the filament is very brittle. The prints seem fine but the filament will often snap if bent.  It's not uncommon to find the filament in the guide hose has broken into several pieces overnight.  It's never been a problem during a print.  I can't say how old it is because it came with the printer, which I got at a 2nd hand store. 

[THEMONSTER]

I think Badger Airbrush made a primer that works really good with 3d printed stuff. Its going to happen at some point. I really want to make some small micro fighters to all the way up to larger stuff. I think I will get one soon, just hoping the filament  and other things are easy accessible.

Would that Badger Stynylrez primer by chance?