Hi everyone :)
I'm going to be writing a few blog posts over the next few weeks focussing on 3D printing for hobbying, and for this first one I wanted to avoid too much technical talk, and instead focus on some of the challenges and opportunities of 3D printing and the mentality you need for it. I know that sounds odd at this point, but I hope that it will make sense by the end! First a very quick plug - I am licensed to sell a variety of 3D prints, both painted and unpainted. I charge £1 per printing hour (with 10% off for patrons at $5+ per month) and this is significantly less that many places you can find online. You can check out what I can offer on my 3D printing page. I've had the printer for some months now, and am happy with the prints I am getting at this point. Here's a statue I printed and painted this week - it's a tarnished copper statue, with a shiny foot where people have touched it.
I have an FDM printer (Fused Deposition Modeling) - in basic terms that means it melts the plastic and extrudes it from the nozzle in a set pattern. It builds from the bottom up, adding layer after layer until you have the finished article. Without the right settings, there are a multitude of things which can go wrong. The layers may not stick to each other, the different layers may be very obvious, there could be too much or too little plastic. Lots to get your head around.
Things get more complicated when you add the fact that there isn't a single 'correct' suite of settings, and that the optimal settings can vary depending on things like the make of plastic, the temperature of the room and the type of thing you're printing. It can be a little overwhelming at times. I say that there are no 'correct' settings that you can plug in, but there are definitely people out there who can help. I looked at a number of different suggested settings while refining my prints, and there are many people on YouTube who can suggest settings. As I was working on prints I wanted to make sure that I understood the settings, however, and didn't just rely on what others said. In that way I could make fine adjustments when things weren't quite as I wanted. There was a design on Thingiverse (which has free 3D designs) which was really helpful with this.
This is designed to test the different capabilities of the 3D printer in a controlled environment, and is easier to diagnose the issues than simply printing a miniature and trying to figure out what went wrong. This was really helpful, but all it does is help identify the problem, you have to solve them yourself.
I've printed dozens of these in an effort to refine my settings, and every so often I would feel like I'd made good progress and try printing a miniature. It's fair to say that there are many things which can be magnified in printing a mini which you don't necessarily spot in those controlled conditions. I've got lots of prints like this one as well.
This isn't all of them by any means, but here is a collection of some of the bad prints.
So far, so frustrating! I did mention at the beginning that I'm happy with my prints now though, and there has been a lot of perseverance to get there. I realise that the post so far could sound quite negative, but that's not really the aim. I mentioned the mentality of 3D printing and that's where all this is leading me.
Although the process was frustrating at times, I also found it really interesting to learn, and got a real sense of satisfaction when the prints were improving. I don't think you need to be massively technical to engage in 3D printing (although I did build my printer as well), but it is definitely helpful to have a curiosity and be willing to persevere through the frustration. I know that for some people spending their free time battling with technology and software isn't high on their priority list. I completely understand that, and in that instance it might be that 3D printing isn't quite what you're looking for. If you're looking for a challenge, and a sense of satisfaction as you progress, then I would definitely recommend 3D printing. Here's a good print to end on a high note :)
If there are aspects of 3D printing you'd like me to write more about then let me know in the comments.
Goblin Squire :)
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