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3D PRINTING!

Just saw this demonstrated on TV and my first thought was "Holy gak! No more mould-lines and even more detailed minis!"
Seriously, check some of the videos on YouTube, it's mind-boggling!

When do you think GW will start using this?

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Delicious.

Blizzard has been doing this for years:http://www.figureprints.com/Default.aspx

Thread from about a year and a half ago, I'm sure the technology has improved: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/193212.page#193212

When will GW do this you ask?

Umm....Never.

Deadshane1 wrote:Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

There are four lights!

I do this all the time at work. For miniatures it's too expensive for anything other than making masters. And masters made this way will not be detailed enough and the wrong materia/not suitable for making vulcanized molds.

Limited use for rapid prototyping in miniatures at this time. As processes improve so might applicabilty.

Le Grognard wrote:Blizzard has been doing this for years:http://www.figureprints.com/Default.aspx

Blizzard has nothing to do with Figure Prints LLC beyond allowing them to do what they do.

"Copyright © 2007-2009 FigurePrints® LLC

World of Warcraft®, and all accounts, characters and, without limitation, all other copyrighted content
related to World of Warcraft®, is the property of Blizzard Entertainment®, Inc. All rights reserved"

malfred wrote:

Deadshane1 wrote:Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

There are four lights!

Malfred, from here on you are no longer a mod, you have no name, I will refer to you only as...."Human".

GW already does this.

How do you think they prototype the new plastics?

malfred wrote:

Deadshane1 wrote:Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

There are four lights!

What about the three sea shells?

The owls are not what they seem.

Here's a neat example someone did on another forum I frequent.

3D priniting is a resounding meh. Having seen it in action and the models it makes, I can tell you it is utterly unsuitable for making 40k scale models.

It would be ok for making tanks and such, but very expensive.

Gwar! wrote:3D priniting is a resounding meh. Having seen it in action and the models it makes, I can tell you it is utterly unsuitable for making 40k scale models.

As JHDD mentioned, it's how GW make their plastics now.

Edit: Actually, it's not. I was mis-remembering the article from a while back. They 'sculpt' 3d models on the computer, but they're not using them for rapid prototyping... they use the 3d model to create the mould with a CNC rig instead.



It's also how these guys, amongst others, are producing miniatures or components. Hasslefree also have some bits and pieces (weapons packs, from memory) that were made through 3d printing.

Yes, its how the PROTOTYPE their new plastics. For the detailed work on the master models they still stick to old fashioned sculpting, or at the most 3D print the bulk of it then add the details in by hand.

And no offence but those minis are hardly up to GW quality minis (Yes I know it's illegal to ever say good things about GW, but the fact is their Plastic Minis are the best quality that is mass produced)

I worked at a company for part of whose business was rapid-prototyping, and the 3D printing technology that we had (and from what the supervisors and techs said, the technology in general) was only impressive for the future possibility of doing what its name says, being able to print in 3D, or making rapid-prototyping more widespread and less expensive. We could also make models with multiple colors.

But as for detail, it was worse than much older technology from the other systems... some materials in FDM, but especially SLA, absolutely kicked its butt...

So anyway, some here may be more experts at what these particular articles are talking about, but having worked with it up close and had my computer models produced via 3D printing and other technologies, it was my least favorite and gave the least amount of detail, and wasn't anywhere near what I'd want for a model. It was promising because it could be very cheap one day, and could do colors... but that was it...

I guess it depends on what you are printing, really. Purity seals? Maybe not. That strider that unclean put up in the thread for dp9? WHOA YEAH.

I believe that there are individuals on this thread who are unaware of the detail level which 3D printing can achieve. It is very high.

I know an individual who possesses a small 3D print of a velociraptor head. The detail level is excellent, and it is better than two years old. That level of detail could be used to manufacture any of GW's models.

Iorek wrote:The owls are not what they seem.

I say, Iorek, what exactly are you talking about?

I know a thing or two in this field and 3D prototyping is fun.

There are numerous types of prototyping machines available out there. All of them cool. All of them horribly, painfully expensive. You can expect to shell out between $5000 and $50000 (or more) for a machine.

The price isn't necessarily indicative of the quality of a machine, as it largely depends on what you want the machine to do. Printing media range from wax to various plastics to various types of metals. The strength of these materials greatly varies as well.

Some machines print far faster than others, sometimes influencing the amount of detail possible in a miniatures and the thickness the printing layers. Still others have trouble with accuracy, some media must be cured or cooked before achieving full strength, and some of the media can get as expensive as the machine itself (eventually).

It's a really great idea for the hardcore hobbyists, but not necessarily the most cost-effective solution unless you have a business and you're making original concepts.

captain.gordino wrote:

Iorek wrote:The owls are not what they seem.

I say, Iorek, what exactly are you talking about?

That's an ironic question coming from someone whose avatar is from a program that ripped off the source material that Iorek's referencing...

Just so people know, as has already been stated in this thread, GW does use this kind of thing for their prototyping. The have been using it for 3+ years now. Although detail quality is improving all the time, it still make economic sense for them to continue with injection molding.

I'm sure once this technology is cheap and easily accessible, GW will put these machines in their stores instead of having all those blisters on racks ; )

Cheers
Dave

I cant wait as it will finally mean the end of mould lines.

legoburner wrote:I cant wait as it will finally mean the end of mould lines.

Nah are you kidding? GW will keep the mould lines on to keep the old gamers happy

Gwar! wrote:3D priniting is a resounding meh. Having seen it in action and the models it makes, I can tell you it is utterly unsuitable for making 40k scale models.

REally? hmm, the models in my hands say otherwise..

it sounds expensive, and what about the people who paint before glueing to get details into those small areas like armpits and stuff??

davetaylor wrote:I'm sure once this technology is cheap and easily accessible, GW will put these machines in their stores instead of having all those blisters on racks ; )

I can see future me deciding to go on a buying spree and using up all the slots on the plastic making machines for hours (days?) at whatever local store I might have then.

davetaylor wrote:I'm sure once this technology is cheap and easily accessible, GW will put these machines in their stores instead of having all those blisters on racks ; )

And pass the savings onto their customers, just like they've done every other time.

captain.gordino wrote:

Iorek wrote:The owls are not what they seem.

I say, Iorek, what exactly are you talking about?

I say there Captain, I thought it was rather obvious. Lorek is speaking of the owls. And their seeming. I DO hope that clears the picture for you. You're welcome.