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Does anyone have any experience with basic/simple 3d printing?
I'm needing some fairly basic custom pieces for a project I'm doing and I want to know how people are getting one-off pieces made.
What is good, simple, and cheap software for design?
Is it worth it to buy a printer yet?
My old uni has a design shop with a 3d printer where students and alumni can print and they charge by "hours." Is this standard? What is a fair price by the hour?
Are there any online solutions that are worthwhile?
Can I print in a clear (or nearly clear) media?
Thanks for any help!
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Well, assuming you're looking for figurines and such... I have yet to use them yet, but Hero Forge I have heard good things about. Soon as I get some income, you can bet I'll be getting almost all my non-mook minis through them.
Beyond that... Dot for interest. Cause if I can get a 3d printer and modeling program myself, I'd rather just pay for the materials, and print out figurines, objects, and terrain myself.
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I Kickstarted HeroForge... I should look into that. ^_^
Looks like they added a LOT of stuff since I last looked at them (which was like, a month or two after they started). I reeeaaallyyy want like two grand to make minis, lol.
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UPS stores have 3d printing available in some locations
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I'm aware of hero forge. Their stuff is beautiful and far beyond the level of complexity I need.
My project is actually not gaming related. Doing research this summer and I need what amounts to a worm "maze." Roughly a 4cm cube with 5-6mm thick walls and an open top, connected to an identical cube by a ~40cm cylindrical pipe with the same 5-6mm thickness.
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I'm aware of hero forge. Their stuff is beautiful and far beyond the level of complexity I need.
My project is actually not gaming related. Doing research this summer and I need what amounts to a worm "maze." Roughly a 4cm cube with 5-6mm thick walls and an open top, connected to an identical cube by a ~40cm cylindrical pipe with the same 5-6mm thickness.
I've used shapeways and sculpteo to print a variety of stuff.
Its not to expensive to print and they provide a list of free 3D programs
you can use.
And you can leave it up to sell to others.
You also get to choose the material your printing in.
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When I get a 3d printer, I'll let you know... >.>
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Play-Doh. At least, that's how we did it back in the day.
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Play-Doh. At least, that's how we did it back in the day.
Hmm... Sculpted & treated clay and vacuum press?
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<cast Animate Dead thread>
I'm currently in the middle of building a DIY 3D printer I got from amazon
So far it looks like a thing that might possible do stuff and I'm pretty sure I haven't screwed it up yet.
I've also gotten myself some thing from Thingverse to print (Item 1 = Cat food Ball.....yes Cats take priority over my own wishes)
Plus I've got some files from Fat Dragon Games when I went in on their 3D printing Kickstarter.
Anybody else gotten into these things yet?
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...and one tiny part has a missaligned screw thread, so tomorrow I go to various stores with a thing in my hand saying "Do you have one of these?"
also today I learned that 3D printed milk is a thing that exists
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If you don't want to make your own 3D printer, The Sharper Image has one. (Just do a search on google. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to link to their site so I didn't. But really, all you do is search for "3D printer Sharper Image")
It has a reasonable price. The above BigDTbone wanted it to print in clear, but I don't think it will.
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Well my 3d Printer is nearly finished after several weekends of tinkering. All I have left is some wireing to connect the power source.
Then I will spend time printing test Cubes to make calibrations
In the mean time I have been fiddling around with a program that came with my Surface Tablet called 3d Maker and the dungeon files from Fat Dragon Games. I can actually use 3d Maker to assemble the dungeon tiles into larger pieces and then make a 3d printable file from that. Size limit seems to be about 3x3 tiles so a 30x30 room. Cura then tells me it'll take 20 hours to print it.
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It didn't explode when I plugged it in
I consider this a good sign.
Tomorrow I will print Test Cubes
dot
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Cube Failed
Extruder not extruding properly and for some reason the whole thing is printing sideways instead of up.
Gonna need to review what is plugged in where
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Have discovered 57 page PDF user manual detailing the need to install multiple software. This may be the source of my problems
appears to be written by someone with english as a second (maybe thrid) language.
Decided F'k today, going to watch PVR of Game of thrones.
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Well it works
but not well. Somehow the proportions are messed up between the computer and the printer and things aren't coming out the right size.
So next up. Software debugging
I've printed something, once! Sort of!
It's actually 3D "drawn" once - a friend of mine brought his SUOER AWESOME 3D PENS and my wife and kids and I drew glasses, some animals, and three dice. My word, were my dice terrible, but I technically succeeded in a semi-legible d6! I gave it to my buddy, because he was awesome and let us use the pen, but I totally made it! Woo!
I got to see a 3D printer, once! It was awesome! I didn't print anything.
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I've seen those 3D pens before they are really neat.
Test Cube(?) 15 is my most successful test yet. 20mm x 20mm x 100mm
but it actually finished printing and didn't collapse or anything.
I have high hopes for test cube(?) 18
16 & 17 are best not spoken of
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Test Cube 22 is a success
Main problem was in the programing. Someone had put too many 0s on the Z axis stepper motor control. Changed that number from 4000 to 400 and tadaa Perfect Cube.
Now I am trying to get the machine to realize I've attached a sensor to the Z axis to detect it's distance from the Bed and level automatically.
Not working at all. When I tell the machine to go to home possitions the Zaxis just goes upward and to start printing I have to hand crank the thing down to starting distance
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Well with Test Cube 25 and Complex Testcube 3 my 3D printer is good to go.
The new cubes are really smooth and well done. Heck I'm going to paint up the Complex test cube and give it to a friend to use as a building for Batteltech.
Tomorrow I get to put the machine to work.
Item 1) Foodball for the cats
Item 2) Godzilla Cookie Cutter for the Nephew (he's a Huge Godzilla fan)
Item 3) Fat Dragon Dungeon set
Item 4) Fat Dragon lizard man Miniatures
About a month and a half of weekend assembly and about 3 weeks of struggling through Arduino programing but ultimatly $400 well spent.
I don't entierly know what I'm doing still but I at least know enough to be mildly helpful to the next poor soul who takes up this hobby
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...so there have been issues but after replaceing several of the "made in china" parts with ones made by a north american Co-op my 3D printer is running better than it has from the start.
I am currently halfway through printing the bottom half of the Cat Feeding ball and it is looking really nice so far
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Just gonna plug Fat Dragon's Dungeonlock 3d printable terrain. The ones I've printed out so far are really nice just wish my machine could do them faster (about 4 hours for a wall section right now)
Current project Godzilla cookie cutter for my Nephew's birthday
so.....that door is open now
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I'm currently saving up for a 3D printer, probably a Creality Ender 5 or something comparable. (I'll be using it to create custom parts for kitbashing/repainting Transformers figures.)