3D printers

[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.