Pre-Newbie Info Request (FAQ?)

I'm thinking (again) of trying my hand at some 3D printing. Is there some kind of faq/blog with the current state of the art comparing the various machine options and capabilities?

Resolution vs Machine Cost
I'm guessing that good resolution costs more on initial outlay. Is there currently a home-build solution which would let me print wargames-style minis? Or would I need a 15k+ machine for this. I've seen Makergear prints with LOD suitable for scenery and buildings in tabletop gaming.


Should I basically just get a RepRap, build it, and see what I can do with it? I'm feeling the urge
Presumably I could upgrade it if and when new options become available.

Quality has more to do with how much care you put into building the machine than how much it costs, within reason. Pick one of the machines with a more robust frame -Mendel90 would be my choice - and you should be able to print as well as any FDM machine. 10 micron layer heights have been reported, though it won't be easy to get close to that.

However, FDM has some inherent limitations which make it impossible to match a quality cast miniature. Minimum horizontal feature size is officially 2 millimetres, I'm pretty sure you can do better than that but not by a huge amount. Sharp corners can't be printed in the horizontal plane, as the molten filament tends to follow the head and form a radius. Lacking a support option you won't be able to print overhangs beyond a certain point, adding a support option will require some ingenuity on your part. This is one area that the 15K commercial machines have a definite edge, but there are a few options for reprap. Breakaway support will require repairs to the surface, but no more than remoing flash on a cast mini would. PVA support requires a dual head extruder.


You can probably print usable miniatures, but you won't match real ones.

There are other 3D printer technologies which can print what you want, but there's no open source SLS or photolithograpy printers yet though various people have worked on them.

[reprapbook.appspot.com]
^ its a pretty good place to start, not sure when it was last updated though.

How mini are you talking?
The small figurines are a little too small and detailed a the moment. Some of the larger vehicles and terrain items should print fine. Check out the models done on Thingiverse, I believe there is a warhammer tank on there.

Its up to you. The whole experience is very rewarding as well as educational (for me atleast ).
However its all down to personal preference and what you want to get out of it.

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My Reprap blog

jds-reprap.blogspot.com

Thanks for the replies, I think hthis confirms what I was thinking - we are still a way off printing a 28mm scale human in full colour with detail so fine you can look at the eyes under a microscope and see the blood vessels

I might just take the plunge, without too much expectation of producing anything in particular, just to have the machine working and get myself on the road to... whatever it is I expect to find at the end. Problem is I've been at this stage, investigated, become befuddled, waited, come back and found things have moved on and had to start again.

My RepRap shares "the geek room" in my house with a lot of Games Workshop figurines which my partner paints. Looking at the quality you can get using ABS plastic he is getting more and more interested in printing his own figurines. Currently he reckons we could print scenery and vehicles - tanks for example.

Sally

... the best actual DIY-able accuracy is possible with modified beamers and UV-resin ... something around 0.03mm resolution and maybe 0.1mm features/details.

It should take a while, until this accuracy is achievable with FDM-printers - but it's not impossible ... you have only to develop a new type of head, not printing with molten filament, but with thin, solid plastic wires, touching the surface and point-melted/fused with a laser to the surface.

As home-brew/DIY-style I'll estimate a price of around 2k€ (more accurate mechanics+laser) for this sort of printer, but a time-frame of maybe 2-5 years, until this fabbing-technology will become common by hobbyists ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Bits of my brain are getting excited now. I probably need to read up on 3D printing / rapid prototyping in general. When I tune in to my inner dialog on the matter, it's like this:

"Why not build a tiny CNC mill... on a robot arm so it can get to undercuts... now how small can the mill bit be? How do you even make anything like that? Could print from reprap then take that blocky model into the miller. Actually, let's take an old inkjet apart and modify the ink cartridges to dispense resin and catalyst. How fast can it set? Won't it just run over the edge while it is setting? How small would the droplets be, that might limit minimum feature size... hey what about that pantograph thing that lets you copy a picture only smaller, could you make that in 3D and trace a model? Or... "

This is why I end up not listening to myself and not get started on projects. So maybe I should just RepRap and work from there.

... yes, the best start will be to buy a RepRap-kit, assemble and adjust it until you'll max the output accuracy (with reading in the many corresponding threads), then search a used CNC-mill as RepStrap and modify it to meet your ideas

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]