So by way of introduction...

I'm new! Hi! I ran across this site when looking into doing some 3d printing. I am strapped for cash at the moment, but the first available funds are going into a Prusa Mendel... provided it can do what I want it to do, which is why I'm here: I do geek things, like Dungeons and Dragons, and I was wondering if it's possible to get enough detail to make 3d miniatures? Like the kind you can buy in a store? If so, that'd be pretty awesome. That's what I initially wanted to do with 3d printing. Now I realize there's a whole lot of other stuff I can use it for, but that is still my main goal. Can someone help me out here? Is it possible? If so, does anyone know where I can get some plans for them, or am I gonna have to fly by the seat of my pants here and try to make some? Thanks for your time!
-TheSmokingGNU

Welcome

In short; sorry, no, the detail I think you seek is not quite there yet. But who knows where we are in a year?

There are several threads on the subject. One new one is here: [forums.reprap.org]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2011 08:15AM by Nudel.

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

I'm going to go out on a limb, and contradict NUDEL (sorry) and say that YES, YOU CAN!

I've experimented with higher resolution (0.18mm) printing in the past on my stock Prusa, but kinda went cold on the idea, due to the exponential increase in slicing times, and unpredictable results, but I revisited my approach this past weekend, and the results are dramatic.

The slicing still takes a lot longer, but I found that running the printer at really high speed makes all the difference. Because the layer height is so small, the motion can be much higher without risk of stalling the extruder. This also prevents the nozzle from lifting the previous layer. Having the print bed perfectly level helps a lot. You can also use a raft. The method is not very forgiving, so temperature of the print bed, and extruder need to be tuned just right, and this varies from machine to machine, and spool to spool.

My latest attempt was 0.10mm, and the results were silky. You can barely make out any extrusion pattern in the surface.

So far, I have only tried with 100% fill, 0.10mm layer height, and 6 perimeters.

I will say this: Don't expect to hit the ground running. It's going to take a lot of experience building on your part to get the most out of the machine, but we (the rest of us) can help ;^)

We can absolutely make very high quality models jcabrer, but I assume what the topicstarter want is to print miniature figures with intricate details and huge overhangs, and we are not there, yet. Though I base this claim on this (and similar) posts: [forums.reprap.org]

Yes, low layer height improves the finish, but it doesn't remove the need for support, and getting retract perfect when printing fast is difficult.

Not saying miniature models can't be done beautifully, but it'll require special built models and/or a LOT of post-processing. The little experience I have with support tells me it's a chore to clean up on small models. I printed this model in one piece, a little while ago [www.thingiverse.com] While mine came out okay-ish, it was definitively not "like the kind you can buy in the store". I'm waiting for slic3r to get support structure and I'll try again.


On the quality note, I started using marlin firmware and slic3r with gcode arcs yesterday, and I can honestly say that's the biggest jump in quality I've had with my prusa so far. I can run perimeters at 150mm/s with very little impact to quality, and curves come out stunningly beautiful and the model is perfectly smooth even at layer height 0.3. (With sprinter I rarely went above 30mm/s for parts I wanted to look nice).

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic

Thanks for the advice. I don't really need a ton of detail, I just want to create custom minis for my gaming group. They can even be a little large, I just need the right base size and I'm good to go. It turns out most of the money is already gone this check, so my plans are on hiatus for a while (unless someone wants to give a random stranger a late christmas present and print me some parts). Anyway, thanks again!

Oh, just as an update. I read that post that was linked, and thanks, that's some good info. It doesn't have to be fancy, the soldier that was printed and linked would work just fine, I'd just print a base with it. I could file it down myself. So I guess this answers my question, in that all I have to do is copy what was done with that system, and do it again. Yay progress! So is there any way to build this thing cheaper than $700? Cause I am currently putting myself through school, and I don't make enough money to really do this in less than a year otherwise. Maybe longer.

In that case, the models you want are absolutely possible to print!

You can do it way under $700 if you scavenge old printers for motors, make your own electronics, and get a cheap plastic kit from a local RepRapper or hackerspace. Though there's some dispute to whether a super-low-budget printer can achieve high level of detail.

All the little parts to improve quality quickly adds up, so what about teaming up with a friend or two? If you split the cost of the first printer, you can make copies much cheaper. Perhaps it could even be made as a school project?

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-Nudel
Blog with RepRap Comic