Switch Theme:

What got you in to 3D printing?  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in nz
Fresh-Faced New User





I'm always curious from what angles people have approached a hobby. I came straight from the classic wargaming background using an FDM printer to make cheap terrain for my home games (and not having to pay the antipodean tax for GW or similar terrain), which then led me to join a 3D printing company. Until recently I only made terrain for home use but after buying a resin printer I have started really getting into printing D&D miniatures too.

Did you start like me? did you start with miniatures rather than terrain? Was it for making cosplay props? What was your vector?
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







I was mostly keen to do miniatures, but I was initially worried about the toxicity of resin printing. So I started with FDM as well. The water washable resins coming through now have led me into resin as well though.

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User



UK

Noticed that many like to 3D print their own miniatures. There is an interesting website, AgeOfEntropy.com which gives people the option of selling their own 3D miniatures through them. Their models can even be incorporated into the game system they have as well.

Anyone else heard of this?
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

I've long had a lot of fantasy monsters, but big dragons and lots of creative creatures add up in cost a lot. Meanwhile not every kickstarter works and often they come in at high prices as well once you add all the little bits you want up - and some only come with larger packs.

Plus I've seen a big shift from games toward boardgames with KS miniature ranges; which makes sense as board games are self contained and work well with a big one-print order that KS offers.
Thing is I don't really want lots of counters and boards and rules and, well, the board game part of the game.


So for me its a chance ot get lots of fantasy creatures and models that otherwise would begger me in costs. Of course the 3D printer and accessories and replacement aren't cheap either. So its a high startup cost which I hope will let me lower some long term costs.







Another thought is that I hope it will get me over my painting hump. I'm not a fan of paint and strip paint and strip to practice and I can't justify buying models just to "ruin" them in painting practice. I'm hoping the 3D printer will give me a chance to cast models and use them for painting practice (which will probably work great until the LCD or something else expensive on the printer expires and needs replacing )

A Blog in Miniature

3D Printing, hobbying and model fun! 
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User



UK

Well if anyone wants to sell their own 3d prints, the AgeOfEntropy.com seems a good place to start.

Does anyone know of any other sites like this and how much money can be made doing this?
   
Made in es
Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer






cloakus, I find it interesting that both your posts advertise a strategy game store that doesn't even have a store... what's the endgame here? Are you related with the page? If so, how would that page work with "selling your own 3d prints"?

EDIT: Ah, I found it... it's the "Associates program" what you're talking about, right? (https://www.ageofentropy.com/associates). Then what you're asking for is similar endeavours, then?

As to the original question, I got interested in the tech in itself before looking for actual applications, but currently I'm waay into printing miniatures for myself ^^

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/02/15 18:47:11


 
   
Made in si
Foxy Wildborne







The price of Necromunda: Dark Uprising was so offensively high that I decided to get a printer and a table's worth of PLA for the same money instead.

I don't consider myself a printing enthusiast. Because the printing scene in my city is dominated by hobby engineers who just have a printer for the sake of having a printer and make random gak with it, I like to point out that having a printer is not my hobby any more than having plastic glue and sprue cutters is my hobby. My hobby is wargaming, my props are scale miniatures and terrain, the printer is a tool to make those.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2021/02/15 19:07:35


The old meta is dead and the new meta struggles to be born. Now is the time of munchkins. 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





It was cnc machining that got me into it. We had to make some projects for class then I learned CAD, 3d printing was still pretty new at the time FDM was new we still had powder disposition printers. Then FFF became pretty mainstream I jumped in on that and it's was mainly a new frontier how precice could a printer hold tolerances. That was the fun part utilizing the same methodology as injection mold making but in an entirely different process. After that it came to speed how rapidly can a part be made but still in tolerances. Now I just dabble throw a design in the printer and spit it out. Still have some designs I'm working on. Waiting to see how this new method progresses I might make a machine if I can get my hands on the materials.
   
Made in nz
Fresh-Faced New User





 lord_blackfang wrote:
The price of Necromunda: Dark Uprising was so offensively high that I decided to get a printer and a table's worth of PLA for the same money instead.


Oof yeah, a lot of GW costs are just mental these days, Especially down here in NZ


Automatically Appended Next Post:
TheBoy wrote:
It was cnc machining that got me into it. We had to make some projects for class then I learned CAD, 3d printing was still pretty new at the time FDM was new we still had powder disposition printers. Then FFF became pretty mainstream I jumped in on that and it's was mainly a new frontier how precice could a printer hold tolerances. That was the fun part utilizing the same methodology as injection mold making but in an entirely different process. After that it came to speed how rapidly can a part be made but still in tolerances. Now I just dabble throw a design in the printer and spit it out. Still have some designs I'm working on. Waiting to see how this new method progresses I might make a machine if I can get my hands on the materials.


Do you work in a particular engineering field that you produce materials for? And what materials are you working with? ABS, Metal printers etc.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/17 01:30:39


 
   
Made in us
Hacking Interventor





I was led to my original Elegoo Mars via a combination of my father's own hobby interest in 3D printing, my desire for customized minis to fit the themes I'm aiming at, and a desire not to even slightly incentivize GW's current ludicrous price ranges and business model.

"All you 40k people out there have managed to more or less do something that I did some time ago, and some of my friends did before me, and some of their friends did before them: When you saw the water getting gakky, you decided to, well, get out of the pool, rather than say 'I guess this is water now.'"

-Tex Talks Battletech on GW 
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba






Basically, I've wanted one for a while, and when Anycubic did a decent sale around october I figured 'eh screw it, it's quarantine, I'm bored as heck, let's give it a try.'

So far, I've printed about 700$ of stuff if I'd tried purchasing from GW or from Battlefront if you look at the WW2 15mm stuff, so, good investment.

I've just now hit the first major part failure, which is (hopefully) just the FEP. It got a hole in it and resin got on the screen, but it seems to be still working just fine after i've carefully cleaned it with a razorblade.

"Got you, Yugi! Your Rubric Marines can't fall back because I have declared the tertiary kaptaris ka'tah stance two, after the secondary dacatarai ka'tah last turn!"

"So you think, Kaiba! I declared my Thousand Sons the cult of Duplicity, which means all my psykers have access to the Sorcerous Facade power! Furthermore I will spend 8 Cabal Points to invoke Cabbalistic Focus, causing the rubrics to appear behind your custodes! The Vengeance for the Wronged and Sorcerous Fullisade stratagems along with the Malefic Maelstrom infernal pact evoked earlier in the command phase allows me to double their firepower, letting me wound on 2s and 3s!"

"you think it is you who has gotten me, yugi, but it is I who have gotten you! I declare the ever-vigilant stratagem to attack your rubrics with my custodes' ranged weapons, which with the new codex are now DAMAGE 2!!"

"...which leads you straight into my trap, Kaiba, you see I now declare the stratagem Implacable Automata, reducing all damage from your attacks by 1 and triggering my All is Dust special rule!"  
   
Made in nz
Fresh-Faced New User





the_scotsman wrote:
Basically, I've wanted one for a while, and when Anycubic did a decent sale around october I figured 'eh screw it, it's quarantine, I'm bored as heck, let's give it a try.'

So far, I've printed about 700$ of stuff if I'd tried purchasing from GW or from Battlefront if you look at the WW2 15mm stuff, so, good investment.

I've just now hit the first major part failure, which is (hopefully) just the FEP. It got a hole in it and resin got on the screen, but it seems to be still working just fine after i've carefully cleaned it with a razorblade.


As far as 15mm vehicles go who did you get the files from, I've been meaning to branch out and expand my Finn's and German's and being able to print decent vehicles will be a god-send (as it takes forever for Battlefront orders to arrive in NZ)
   
Made in gb
Leader of the Sept







Thingiverse has some pretty good vehicle archives for WW2 and cold war era stuff. The one below is for 1:200 scale, or about 10mm, but they are reasonably well detailed and might scale up ok.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3555771

Please excuse any spelling errors. I use a tablet frequently and software keyboards are a pain!

Terranwing - w3;d1;l1
51st Dunedinw2;d0;l0
Cadre Coronal Afterglow w1;d0;l0 
   
Made in us
Courageous Questing Knight





Texas

For me it was for Fantasy terrain and miniatures for games I design. I started with an A8 clone (FDM) kit probably about 4 1/2 years ago. I learned so much putting that thing together, tweaking it and such. When it was time to get a better printer the resins were a bit pricey, so I went with an Ender 3 Pro - night and day the difference in quality!

As resin printers got a bit more affordable, I jumped to an original Elegoo Mars for miniatures. It is SO much easier printing resin with almost zero failures compared to FDM. Also, quicker, better quality, etc. I still love my Ender and will be cranking it up again this week after over a year hiatus to print a super huge victorian house bird feeder. It is in four parts and when assembled will be nearly 16" long.

My Mars has gotten continual abuse for over 1 1/2 years and still going strong. Looking to jump to a Saturn in the next month or so, if availability improves. Probably give my Mars to my son or sell it if he does not want it.

My Novella Collection is available on Amazon - Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi - https://www.amazon.com/Three-Roads-Dreamt-Michael-Leonard/dp/1505716993/

 
   
Made in gb
[MOD]
Villanous Scum







 Flinty wrote:
Thingiverse has some pretty good vehicle archives for WW2 and cold war era stuff. The one below is for 1:200 scale, or about 10mm, but they are reasonably well detailed and might scale up ok.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3555771


Would second this recommendation, I have been printing off loads of his Modern stuff (in 1/285th though) and it is fantastic. Did a couple of test prints at various scales to see what we liked best and this included 15mm, would highly recommend scaling everything manually though rather than just doing a percentage as some stuff just doesnt look good when scaled down!

Edit - Also done some of this guys stuff and it is pretty great also - https://www.thingiverse.com/captain_ahab_62/designs

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/22 14:38:51


On parle toujours mal quand on n'a rien à dire. 
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba






 Flinty wrote:
Thingiverse has some pretty good vehicle archives for WW2 and cold war era stuff. The one below is for 1:200 scale, or about 10mm, but they are reasonably well detailed and might scale up ok.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3555771


^This same dude has the same thing in 1:100 scale, a megapack with tons and tons and tons and tons of vehicles for free with good quality and a bunch of highly specific variants based on schematics and photographs of historical tanks. I love the fact that my T-34s came with 4 different turret variants so I could go online like an absolute beardmaster and research which factory the tanks for the specific tank army I was modeling came from and which turret design I should use.

There's also a wonderful "stowage project' file for free on Thingi that includes tons of good old random junk you can use to make each tank look unique, absolutely teeny tiny individual submachine guns and sleeping rolls and tarps and sandbags and fuel cans.

I find that I can print approx. 12 medium-sized tanks for one 30$ half-liter of resin, which is pretty good compared to the standard 30$ for 5 you generally get from companies like plastic soldier company.

Infantry is still very much a wash, moneywise. It costs exactly the same to buy infantry models from Plastic soldier co as it does to print them, so I've been buying from plastic soldier co (And also using all those spare cheap as chips infantry to model my crew, vehicle riders, etc etc.

"Got you, Yugi! Your Rubric Marines can't fall back because I have declared the tertiary kaptaris ka'tah stance two, after the secondary dacatarai ka'tah last turn!"

"So you think, Kaiba! I declared my Thousand Sons the cult of Duplicity, which means all my psykers have access to the Sorcerous Facade power! Furthermore I will spend 8 Cabal Points to invoke Cabbalistic Focus, causing the rubrics to appear behind your custodes! The Vengeance for the Wronged and Sorcerous Fullisade stratagems along with the Malefic Maelstrom infernal pact evoked earlier in the command phase allows me to double their firepower, letting me wound on 2s and 3s!"

"you think it is you who has gotten me, yugi, but it is I who have gotten you! I declare the ever-vigilant stratagem to attack your rubrics with my custodes' ranged weapons, which with the new codex are now DAMAGE 2!!"

"...which leads you straight into my trap, Kaiba, you see I now declare the stratagem Implacable Automata, reducing all damage from your attacks by 1 and triggering my All is Dust special rule!"  
   
Made in nz
Fresh-Faced New User





Infantry is still very much a wash, moneywise. It costs exactly the same to buy infantry models from Plastic soldier co as it does to print them, so I've been buying from plastic soldier co (And also using all those spare cheap as chips infantry to model my crew, vehicle riders, etc etc.


Agreed, 15mm miniatures arn't really worth printing. Better to just grab a plastic kit
   
Made in us
The New Miss Macross!





Deep Frier of Mount Doom

A Spaniard.
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut





I wanted to print some of the designs I was seeing online for Battletech (largely based on the 3d Mechwarrior Online Mechs) and on Patreon for various fantasy figures. Watched a ton of U-toob reviews of the new (at the time) Photon and Elegoo Mars and the quality they are able to do for a very low cost printer and took the plunge.

I am extremely happy with what I have printed - about a zillion Battletech minis at a slightly larger scale than the usual, a bunch of Babylon 5 ships, and a variety of figures in differing scales.

I do badly want to upgrade to a Saturn though to get a larger build plate.
   
Made in es
Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer






 warboss wrote:
A Spaniard.


   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Moustache-twirling Princeps





Gone-to-ground in the craters of Coventry

We got the range of Discworld minis a few years ago, and I wanted to put some scenery in the display case with them.
Scenery can cost a lot, and a Kickstarter for Dragonlock village scenery came along at the right time.
An order to Prusa got me a Mk2 printer.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/03/04 09:13:44


6000 pts - Harlies: 1000 pts - 4000 pts - 1000 pts - 1000 pts DS:70+S+G++MB+IPw40k86/f+D++A++/cWD64R+T(T)DM+
IG/AM force nearly-finished pieces: http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-38888-41159_Armies%20-%20Imperial%20Guard.html
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw (probably)
Clubs around Coventry, UK https://discord.gg/6Gk7Xyh5Bf 
   
Made in us
The New Miss Macross!





Deep Frier of Mount Doom



It's a double edged sword. You're also in part technically responsible for the unprecedented growth of my unpainted pile of shame!
   
Made in es
Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer






 warboss wrote:
It's a double edged sword. You're also in part technically responsible for the unprecedented growth of my unpainted pile of shame!


And for that, again, you're welcome
   
 
Forum Index » 3D Printing and Digital Modeling
Go to: