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Hi all,

I love the idea of getting a printer and printing off minis and other stuff. However before I take the leap how much time do I need to invest considering I’d be a total noob.

I’d be thinking of getting something like this

ELEGOO Resin 3D Printer, Mars 3 Pro MSLA 3D Printer with 6.66-Inch Ultra 4K Monochrome LCD, Print Size of 143.43*89.6*175mm³ and Replaceable Activated-Carbon https://amzn.eu/d/5BYq565

I have the feeling it’s not a case of just plugging it in to a computer and pressing CTRL+P

Well first you don't actually plug it into a computer - you plug a USB with the model on it into the printer


So learning the ins and outs is a hobby in itself. They are very far from plug-and-print level of technology. So you will have a learning curve to experience.

The main thing in terms of if there is room for it in your life is do you have a spare room or shed or somewhere where you can put the printer do it its thing. Resin when printed lets off dangerous gasses and whilst you can use a basic air filter to reduce the impact, you have to account for the fact that the printer is a hazard.

Now you can build a fully air sealed enclosure and then duct it outside if you are tight on space; you'd have to make sure its very well sealed so that the air wouldn't get out and opening it up would still release some gasses into the air.



Moving on from that don't forget you'll want to budget at least around $100ish for accessories to get started. Safety gear, IPA, resin curing setup (UV light - but you can also get a wash and cure machine if you want, not essential but can make it easier/simpler); pickle jars for containing IPA and washing models.
Also a silicon spatula (the plastic one that comes with most printers is near useless)


It's a fun thing to learn and once you get a handle on it and get a sense of how it works and what goes on and what causes fails and how to avoid them its fantastic when you get a print come off and you've got an awesome model.


The Mars 3 is a great printer and the 4K resolution at that screen size gives you really good prints.
It's also a nice format size to learn on as you don't have a huge amount of resin in the VAT when working.

 Overread wrote:
Well first you don't actually plug it into a computer - you plug a USB with the model on it into the printer


So learning the ins and outs is a hobby in itself. They are very far from plug-and-print level of technology. So you will have a learning curve to experience.

The main thing in terms of if there is room for it in your life is do you have a spare room or shed or somewhere where you can put the printer do it its thing. Resin when printed lets off dangerous gasses and whilst you can use a basic air filter to reduce the impact, you have to account for the fact that the printer is a hazard.

Now you can build a fully air sealed enclosure and then duct it outside if you are tight on space; you'd have to make sure its very well sealed so that the air wouldn't get out and opening it up would still release some gasses into the air.



Moving on from that don't forget you'll want to budget at least around $100ish for accessories to get started. Safety gear, IPA, resin curing setup (UV light - but you can also get a wash and cure machine if you want, not essential but can make it easier/simpler); pickle jars for containing IPA and washing models.
Also a silicon spatula (the plastic one that comes with most printers is near useless)


It's a fun thing to learn and once you get a handle on it and get a sense of how it works and what goes on and what causes fails and how to avoid them its fantastic when you get a print come off and you've got an awesome model.


The Mars 3 is a great printer and the 4K resolution at that screen size gives you really good prints.
It's also a nice format size to learn on as you don't have a huge amount of resin in the VAT when working.

Huh, and here I was thinking I could have it on my table next to all my stuff. Thank you for the knowledge.

Yep you certainly can't just keep it on your desk next to you. It's one of the annoyances with a lot of the youtube channels is that they often show people talking, working and doing their videos all whilst also showing off a printer in the background or several printers. Even if they aren't running, it gives the suggestion that its ok to be in the printer room without a face mask on and that you can live and work around them happily.

It's the same as advertising for water washable resins which shows them washing the model under a tap. They never openly say "yes you can just wash it in water and flush the remains down the drain"; but they very heavily suggest it in the ads that its ok. When in reality the water is contaminated and requires exposure to UV light and ideally full evaporation of the water before disposal of any remaining residue of cured resin (once fully cured with UV light resin is as safe as any other plastic to dispose of in your regular rubbish)

This might be of help for some safety info
https://printhunter.org/3d-printing-health-and-safety-tips/

Yes I didn’t realise it was toxic while printing but I planned to have it in a well ventilated shed so all good there. Sounds like something to put off for a couple of years, I barely get time to paint

mrFickle wrote:
Yes I didn’t realise it was toxic while printing but I planned to have it in a well ventilated shed so all good there. Sounds like something to put off for a couple of years, I barely get time to paint

To be fair with good quality presupports a lot of the time on 3D printing is the printer just doing its thing. Cleaning up fails doesn't take too long, its just a hassle and more of a frustration of "oh gods what went wrong this time". But once you get up and running its fairly low-input. It does its thing and you leave it going. Cleaning up and setting up a new print can be a few minutes at most. Perhaps 10mins to take a print off, wash it and leave it to dry and setup the next print to go.