3d printers are approaching the realm of consumer-level in the next few years (http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/hp-prints-three-dimension s-release-designjet-3d)
Wouldn't it be awesome if some forward-thinking company made a machine that could be put in gaming stores with a built-in library of miniatures that could be printed on-demand? And tech-savvy gamers could bring their own 3d files to print out their own (and even add to the library and earn commissions maybe..)
Paizo, jump on this!! :)
It's also interested to imagine a day where 3d-scans of various objects become the most downloaded thing on the internet and people are printing "pirated hardware"
Man thats an expensive printer but could be bad ass
Oh, I realize it won't be a reality in the next couple of years but I'd bet it'll be within a decade that we'll have high-quality 3d printers in the home. And for a retail venture that reality could come sooner I would think.
I can see some fantastic potential for this. Yeah, it's awfully expensive now, but so is just about any new technology before it hits the mass market. Remember Blu-Ray players? Wal-Mart has them for 1/10th their original price.
Think about it. There could be a program, which you could "design" your mini, just like a lot of other video games and hero builders out there do now, with an assortment of pre-rendered bodies, limbs, armor, weapons, etc. That in itself would be pretty easy to do, and as time goes on, more and more models could be added to the database to create more unique characters. Tech savvy gamers could even design their own unique pieces.
Starting out, larger gaming stores, or even web-stores could simply charge for the use of the printer itself. They may even allow for the use of the design program(the same way you can customize shirts on Zazzle, Cafe Press, etc). I would gladly pay a decent sum for a completely unique mini, wearing the gear and body shape I choose!
I actually did this. I went to http://www.shapeways.com/ and uploaded a model, which I had printed out at the appropriate scale.
Pros: Custom Mini!
Cons:
Kind of expensive - even in bulk (I got 12 at once), it came out to $3 per mini. Printing one at a time can be 50-100% more.
Detail level - my minis had short swords and a few other small details - only about half the short swords actually survived the printing process.
Material - it is brittle compared to regular plastic minis. I've been tossing them in with the plastic ones, but it makes me feel uncomfortable.
Color - only the monochrome can support the necessary detail level.
Tips: Copy/paste the same mini multiple times into the same file. There's a per-file cost that isn't multiplied if you do that.
Give it a few more years, though, and the technology might get good enough to do this.
Thanks for the info Fanguad! $5 is a fair price to me for a custom mini. Heck, I pay more than that for pewter ones that are barely close to what I want anyway. Sucks about the material being so brittle though. We'll give it a couple years and see what they come up with.
I don't want to overemphasize the brittleness. You can certainly use them in normal play without them breaking - I'm just worried about tossing them in a box with all my other plastic minis. I'm concerned about arms/weapons/tails breaking off. If you were more conservative in your design, you could be safer. In most cases, the detail level is probably a bigger concern.
I actually did this. I went to http://www.shapeways.com/ and uploaded a model, which I had printed out at the appropriate scale.
Pros: Custom Mini!
Cons:
Kind of expensive - even in bulk (I got 12 at once), it came out to $3 per mini. Printing one at a time can be 50-100% more.
Detail level - my minis had short swords and a few other small details - only about half the short swords actually survived the printing process.
Material - it is brittle compared to regular plastic minis. I've been tossing them in with the plastic ones, but it makes me feel uncomfortable.
Color - only the monochrome can support the necessary detail level.Tips: Copy/paste the same mini multiple times into the same file. There's a per-file cost that isn't multiplied if you do that.
Give it a few more years, though, and the technology might get good enough to do this.
Can you post any pics of the mini's?
3d printers are approaching the realm of consumer-level in the next few years (http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/hp-prints-three-dimension s-release-designjet-3d)
Wouldn't it be awesome if some forward-thinking company made a machine that could be put in gaming stores with a built-in library of miniatures that could be printed on-demand? And tech-savvy gamers could bring their own 3d files to print out their own (and even add to the library and earn commissions maybe..)
Paizo, jump on this!! :)
Never mind minis. The whole world of scenic elements, specific spell templates and 'set dressing' would become instantaneously available. Adventures could come 'fully equipped'.
Can you post any pics of the mini's?
I tried taking some with my phone's camera and they turned out horrible. I'll attempt it again with a real camera and try to share. I made some catfolk ninjas out of black material, so it'll probably be hard to see.
Can you post any pics of the mini's?
You can see examples that folks are selling here:
http://www.shapeways.com/themes/miniatures?ggminiaturesEDIT: Actually, here's a specific guy's shop that has a cool selection of D&D miniatures:
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/reno?sg21803%5Brows%5D=10
These look really cool
Killer! I had no idea people were already doing this! I'm actually giddy with excitement over this. And Laurefindel, heck yeah on taking it to the next level! How awesome will it be when adventures come with a file to print all the cool unique features mentioned in the text?
And to be able to inexpensively create handouts like keys, potion bottles, insignias, goblin ears, etc... man my mind is going a mile a minute
As promised, a link to my minis:
(I think I have it shared properly - let me know if the link is broken)
This Beholder is killer..
As promised, a link to my minis:
(I think I have it shared properly - let me know if the link is broken)
Very cool! Is the surface texture kind of crackled when you get them or is that something in the way you finished them? Do they take paint well? And finally, what kind of turnaround time was there when you ordered?
As promised, a link to my minis:
(I think I have it shared properly - let me know if the link is broken)
Cool, thanks.
Very cool! Is the surface texture kind of crackled when you get them or is that something in the way you finished them? Do they take paint well? And finally, what kind of turnaround time was there when you ordered?As promised, a link to my minis:
(I think I have it shared properly - let me know if the link is broken)
That's exactly how I got them - the texture is fairly rough (for how horrible that flash looks, it does a good job of showing the texture). That's the black, strong and flexible material from shapeways. It feels like paint would stick, but I haven't tried myself. I think it took about 7-10 days from when I ordered to when it arrived at my doorstep.
Ok cool thanks Fanguad! Did you model yours in something like Maya?
What kind of "printer" did your minis?
A custom job like the "MakerBot" deal, a commercial unit like the HP, or something "bigger" ??
Just kinda curious what kind of quality to expect from the various units.
The MakerBot has a video where they made some salt-and-pepper shakers, which didn't appear to have a poor texture, but, then again, that could just be "movie-magic" not showing them doing some sanding or other finishing.
I love the concept of being able to make my own minis, and with an "assemble-it-yourself" unit like the MakerBot being around $1K, it puts it in the realm of possibility for more people - but if the minis come out looking like the above, I don't see how you can get any kind detail out of them - just the basic form of a figure.
The production of the 3-d printer isn't as important as the material used for the product, and the tool used to shape it.
Laser or mechanical, wood or plastic or metal, that kind of thing.
From the Shapeways pictures it looks like they used some sort of drill bit on the plastic. Without any finish work, which would leave those little dimples all over the surface as the machine attempts to map smooth lines from a series of points. But I don't know for certain.
I must say, this is extremely interesting.. P.O.D. mini's anyone? lol
Same here.
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I must say, this is extremely interesting.. P.O.D. mini's anyone? lolSame here. ** spoiler omitted **
The production of the 3-d printer isn't as important as the material used for the product, and the tool used to shape it.
I haven't dug deeply into the way the HP model that was linked does it's printing, but a cursory peek at the galleries and videos shows that they're pretty much the same.
These things extrude heated ABS, they don't do any kind of shaping. There's a "nozzle" (for lack of a better term) that lays down the plastic according to the program/dataset, and it layers more on top to produce the final form.
As such, it appears that there needs to be a fair amount of finish work done on the final product, and something like a mini sadly may not be a decent application for the technology as it is today.
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I actually looked into buying one of those printers a couple of years ago for this very purpose. The plan was to take it to GenCon and charge about $5-$10 per custom fig, or up to $20 for a larger custom fig (roughly only need 150 orders to pay off the machine- that is a great payoff). I have not looked lately at the quality.
Then, the biggest deterrent was a lack of high detail and graininess of the figs.
I may look into this again if the printers are better.
I actually looked into buying one of those printers a couple of years ago for this very purpose. The plan was to take it to GenCon and charge about $5-$10 per custom fig, or up to $20 for a larger custom fig (roughly only need 150 orders to pay off the machine- that is a great payoff). I have not looked lately at the quality.
Then, the biggest deterrent was a lack of high detail and graininess of the figs.
I may look into this again if the printers are better.
They also need to get faster - the DIY job takes about 20-30 minutes to lay down a small object.
That's exactly how I got them - the texture is fairly rough (for how horrible that flash looks, it does a good job of showing the texture). That's the black, strong and flexible material from shapeways. It feels like paint would stick, but I haven't tried myself. I think it took about 7-10 days from when I ordered to when it arrived at my doorstep.
I'm curious what the quality difference would be if you used the "Black Detail" material instead.
Any plans to do so?
I'm just excited that people have thought about this before.. means that it's that much closer to being a reality down the road. I get geek goose bumps (geek bumps?) thinking about it.
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They also need to get faster - the DIY job takes about 20-30 minutes to lay down a small object.I actually looked into buying one of those printers a couple of years ago for this very purpose. The plan was to take it to GenCon and charge about $5-$10 per custom fig, or up to $20 for a larger custom fig (roughly only need 150 orders to pay off the machine- that is a great payoff). I have not looked lately at the quality.
Then, the biggest deterrent was a lack of high detail and graininess of the figs.
I may look into this again if the printers are better.
In most circumstances that amount of time isn't a big deal. I doubt there would be so much demand that I could keep a printer running and producing a mini every 5-10 minutes. At a convention, yes I can see the demand, but then, designing the mini will take at least that much time.
I think we'll see it sooner rather than later. Once they can get detail down it will happen. No doubt at all.
*makes note to go check out the newest 3D printers to see how progress has come*