3d Printing!?

[Dave]

I’m looking at making the jump into 3d printing, mainly because I’m fed up with googling “28mm terrain”, finding something I like then discovering that it’s an STL only!

I know Simon has a printer, and I’ve been doing some research, but has anyone else looked into it? What would you go for if you were to do it?

From what I can gather SLA is the better choice over FDM for Wargaming stuff, plus a decent sized print bed is needed if I’m primarily looking at printing terrain, but other than that I’m flummoxed!

I’m thinking an ELEGOO Saturn might be a good place to start.

Cheers

[DaVinci's Cat]

I’m thinking an ELEGOO Saturn might be a good place to start.

Spot on - do it! Elegoo are really easy to get to grips with, the Chitubox Slicer is also pretty easy to use (just check it's Mac compatible). If I was getting another printer, or even starting again in the MSLA field, I'd go with the Saturn. Build base is big enough for scenery and a ton of figures certainly compared to the Mars. The Mars is OK, but occasionally needs to either run several iterations or I have to cut files in half to make it fit. Annoying but not a show stopper. My terror tree was printed on the Mars, so a large print bed is not always totally required.

The only thing that stopped me from going Saturn straight off the bat was the lack of a dedicated wash and cure station. The Mercury Plus pairs nicely with the Mars, and I expect it would probably do OK with the Saturn prints, but you may have to be wary when doing some of the larger prints. AnyCubic does some larger wash and cure stations that have had good reviews.

You may have already seen these, but Uncle Jessy has got a load of good reviews, hints & tips etc: https://www.youtube.com/c/UncleJessy

Keep an eye out for Amazon Flash Sales - I picked up the Mars for under ÂŁ200 along with a discounted Mercury Plus.

I'd strongly suggest getting one (or maybe 2) of these: https://3dprintz.co.uk/collections/resin-flexible-build-plate-system/products/196-x-126-flexible-build-plate-system-resin Super useful for easily getting your print off of the build plate. Don't even think about printing without one, it's not worth the effort!

[Dave]

Cheers mate, didn’t know about wash and cure stations (so much for my research!).

Apparently ELEGOO were/are/have supposed to be releasing a Saturn compatible wash and cure station but I can’t find one online.

What’s the of benefit of the flexible build plate thing?

[DaVinci's Cat]

Apparently ELEGOO were/are/have supposed to be releasing a Saturn compatible wash and cure station but I can’t find one online

The Mercury X https://www.elegoo.com/collections/3d-printing/products/elegoo-mercury-x-bundle-washing-and-curing-machine but looks like it's on pre-order or has already sold out and they are waiting for the next batch.

...didn’t know about wash and cure stations (so much for my research!).

The resin you've being using for your casting cures exothermically, the resin for printers needs UV to cure. Immediately after printing, you need to wash off any excess resin (letting it 'drip dry' won't cut the mustard!) even if using water soluble resin, then it is worth trimming off any supports while things are still relatively soft and then cure (for us, typically under UV lights as we never get enough sun) the object to firm it up.
It can be a little messy so I'd also recommend something like a silicon mat to work on, plenty of nitrile gloves (cos the stuff is proper toxic) and eye protection when cleaning up afterwards. Nothing you shouldn't be used to with casting silicon moulds and resin parts.

Have you any idea what type of resin you intend using? I've gone with Elegoo's water-washable range. It smells much less than the ABS of standard resins. I still clean most of the gear afterwards with IPA.

What’s the of benefit of the flexible build plate thing?

When printing on a solid plate (as is the standard for pretty much all printers) the only way to get your print to come off is to forcibly coax it off with spatula/knife but this can lead to putting scratches or even gouges in your build plate, which can in turn lead to future issues with getting prints to adhere to said build plate. A flexible plate allow you to work off of the main rigid plate and effectively peel off the prints by bending it. So so much easier. Even my FDM printer has got a flexible build plate so I can't understand why anyone would not use one. Also a little easier to clean up afterwards as well. I think Uncle Jessy did a review of the WhamBam flexible build plate and he was pretty impressed. The only thing you have to be a little careful off is when you level the build plate on your initial set up as it effectively adds depth to the plate and may affect the initial calibration, but once set up, it's being pretty much 100% reliable. I think I've only had a couple of failed prints across everything I've done.

When you decide to take the plunge, more than happy to help set things up if required.

[Dave]

Great, many thanks for the response.

Have you any idea what type of resin you intend using? I've gone with Elegoo's water-washable range. It smells much less than the ABS of standard resins. I still clean most of the gear afterwards with IPA.

I was thinking the water washable stuff too, the Mercury X says that it isn’t suitable for water washable resin though. I think I can maybe go without the Mercury X, use water washable resin and build my own UV box.....too ambitious?

A flexible plate allow you to work off of the main rigid plate and effectively peel off the prints by bending it. So so much easier.

Got it, a must have by the sound of it.

When you decide to take the plunge, more than happy to help set things up if required.

Excellent, I may hold you to that!

[DaVinci's Cat]

the Mercury X says that it isn’t suitable for water washable resin though. I think I can maybe go without the Mercury X, use water washable resin and build my own UV box.....too ambitious?

Had to have a closer look given that statement. My takeaway was that the wash station wasn't brilliant for water-washable resins compared to other resins but probably would still do a good job. I'd be tempted to get the worst off with the wash system and then finish off in a water-bath with a gentle brush if you feel that there is still residue on the print. It looks very similar to the Mercury Plus which works fine. Maybe I have to change the water more often that you would with IPA and occasionally the prints feel as if they have some residue on them, but post curing, it's all good. Clearly I've had no issues with painting stuff afterwards either so it can't be too bad.

The curing station will work fine, in fact I really like the fact that there are UV lights under the turntable so you shouldn't need to flip things over half way through. Building your own UV box is doable, but for the costs and time involved, I'd just go for the Mercury X package (shame they don't seem to sell the stations separately) as you may end up using different resins at some point.

I've seen people use everything from salad spinners to ultra sonic baths to clean resin off of prints, so can't really see why the Mercury X wouldn't do a reasonable job.

[Dave]

Mike, which make and model do you have?

[Mike]

Mike, which make and model do you have?

Flashforge adventurer 3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flashforge-Adv ... B07JVB5LH1

They have released a lite version but no thanks not as good.