Recommendations on 3D Printers
- Thread starter DeltaV
- Start date
SgtSaint
Active Member
There is a very active thread on printer selection on the 405th site:
What's Your Printer?
Jumping right to armor is really not the best way to go when learning 3d printing. You really want to work up to something this big and specialized. A few settings differences can be the difference between a $10 part and a $40 part.... a part too weak to be used and printing your armor so heavy its exhausting to wear.
Work up to things that big where a 3% goof can mean added costs, joints that lock up and you can't bend your elbow etc. Little easy things first… Things with no supports to start. Move up to props like pistols. And keep moving upward over time.
Helmet probably should be last, not first. Yeah yeah, everyone wants a helmet to drool over. But it's the thing everyone stares at so you want to do it AFTER you've developed a process and techniques and skills.
Personally I always recommend starting at the feet and working up.
You're going to weather and distress the boots more than anything else... and they get looked at with the least critical eye.
Then shins which have to ride on the boots.
Then thighs since you have to avoid joint conflict so you can sit etc.
See how this goes? Up from the boots.
By the time you get to the chest and helmet; the parts at eye level that everyone stares at, looks at first, is right there in your face in every photo - you can make them look stellar.
And if you start at the boots you're looking at parts that are only a day or two per part not 6 days per part. So you can hone your scaling skills.
My regular 'new printed armorer' post:
Personally... Machine makers give you PLA filament with the printer because it's incredibly forgiving. Even with a wide temperature range of 180°-220° and you'll still get something you're happy with. PLA will get you started, and its fine for indoor use like statues to paint and train cars on your model railroad. Use it to get some quick successes under your belt to build confidence. But understand its beginner filament. They give it away with the printer for a reason: Because it's hard to mess up, not because it's an awesome choice in materials.
You're not going to use PLA to make your armor because the transition temp of it is too low. It will result in warped props and armor if you leave your stuff in a hot car back seat, trunk or on the tarmac of your flight to a convention in another state.
Order some PETG and learn to print with that, because that's what you really want to build your armor out of so it can stand up to real world, outdoor, Arizona or hot car temperatures.
Then dial in so you are printing at something less coarse than the default .2 layer height. .12 or .08 will increase your print time and test your "but I want it noooooooow" resistance. - but an extra day on the printer means 3 days less sanding. So let the robot do more of the work so you don't have to.
PETG is only a little more learning curve. It wants a more accurate selection of temperature and a more accurate dial in of nozzle gap and retraction. No more than 30% cooling fan. I run it with fans off. That's about it. It's worth the time to learn the technology.
Then take the time to dial in support settings. There's no point rushing to print your blahblahdoohicky the day after you get the printer if you can't separate it from the supports because they're fused to the print. Breaking the print or having a totally horrible surface where you take the supports off doesn't make anything "faster".
Learn, experiment, learn, experiment, crawl, walk... then run.
And join a couple groups specific to learning 3d printing and your machine specifically. Asking all the beginner questions in other groups will just rile up some folks. It's like asking Johnson outboard engine repair questions on a fishing forum just because they're sorta kinda related-ish.
Luban - For taking big models and breaking them up into smaller pieces to fit your printer WITH HOLES AND PEGS FOR ALIGNMENT AND STRENGTH.
LuBan: Easy Way to Make Large 3D Prints! - Inov3D
3d Printing for beginners (FDM)
3D Printing For Noobs (Beginners) | Facebook
Initial tuning your printer and dialing in the material
3d RESIN printing for beginners
Resin 3d Printing For Beginners | Facebook
Cura slicer users (FDM slicer)
Cura Users | Facebook
Lychee slicer users (Resin slicer)
Lychee Slicer Community | Facebook
Creality CR10s-4/5 users
Creality CR-10-S4 & S5 3D Printer | Facebook
Hictop Printer users
Hictop 3d Printer Owners | Facebook
Anycubic MonoX6k (resin printer)
Anycubic Photon Mono X 6k User Group | Facebook
Elegoo Saturn group (resin printer)
ELEGOO SATURN Series 3D Printer Owners | Facebook
You get the idea; there's a group for every printer out there.
3D Print and Paint
(These people have forgotten more about painting printed stuff than most of us will ever know)
3D Print and Paint Showcase | Facebook
And I'm confident you know how to use the search feature to find more groups specific to your printer.
YouTube - 3D Printing Nerd
https://www.youtube.com/c/3DPrintingNerd
YouTube - CHEP
https://www.youtube.com/user/beginnerelectronics
YouTube - ModBot
https://www.youtube.com/c/ModBotArmy
YouTube - Teaching Tech
https://www.youtube.com/c/TeachingTech
YouTube - Uncle Jesse
https://www.youtube.com/user/xboxfitnesstest
What's Your Printer?
Jumping right to armor is really not the best way to go when learning 3d printing. You really want to work up to something this big and specialized. A few settings differences can be the difference between a $10 part and a $40 part.... a part too weak to be used and printing your armor so heavy its exhausting to wear.
Work up to things that big where a 3% goof can mean added costs, joints that lock up and you can't bend your elbow etc. Little easy things first… Things with no supports to start. Move up to props like pistols. And keep moving upward over time.
Helmet probably should be last, not first. Yeah yeah, everyone wants a helmet to drool over. But it's the thing everyone stares at so you want to do it AFTER you've developed a process and techniques and skills.
Personally I always recommend starting at the feet and working up.
You're going to weather and distress the boots more than anything else... and they get looked at with the least critical eye.
Then shins which have to ride on the boots.
Then thighs since you have to avoid joint conflict so you can sit etc.
See how this goes? Up from the boots.
By the time you get to the chest and helmet; the parts at eye level that everyone stares at, looks at first, is right there in your face in every photo - you can make them look stellar.
And if you start at the boots you're looking at parts that are only a day or two per part not 6 days per part. So you can hone your scaling skills.
My regular 'new printed armorer' post:
Personally... Machine makers give you PLA filament with the printer because it's incredibly forgiving. Even with a wide temperature range of 180°-220° and you'll still get something you're happy with. PLA will get you started, and its fine for indoor use like statues to paint and train cars on your model railroad. Use it to get some quick successes under your belt to build confidence. But understand its beginner filament. They give it away with the printer for a reason: Because it's hard to mess up, not because it's an awesome choice in materials.
You're not going to use PLA to make your armor because the transition temp of it is too low. It will result in warped props and armor if you leave your stuff in a hot car back seat, trunk or on the tarmac of your flight to a convention in another state.
Order some PETG and learn to print with that, because that's what you really want to build your armor out of so it can stand up to real world, outdoor, Arizona or hot car temperatures.
Then dial in so you are printing at something less coarse than the default .2 layer height. .12 or .08 will increase your print time and test your "but I want it noooooooow" resistance. - but an extra day on the printer means 3 days less sanding. So let the robot do more of the work so you don't have to.
PETG is only a little more learning curve. It wants a more accurate selection of temperature and a more accurate dial in of nozzle gap and retraction. No more than 30% cooling fan. I run it with fans off. That's about it. It's worth the time to learn the technology.
Then take the time to dial in support settings. There's no point rushing to print your blahblahdoohicky the day after you get the printer if you can't separate it from the supports because they're fused to the print. Breaking the print or having a totally horrible surface where you take the supports off doesn't make anything "faster".
Learn, experiment, learn, experiment, crawl, walk... then run.
And join a couple groups specific to learning 3d printing and your machine specifically. Asking all the beginner questions in other groups will just rile up some folks. It's like asking Johnson outboard engine repair questions on a fishing forum just because they're sorta kinda related-ish.
Luban - For taking big models and breaking them up into smaller pieces to fit your printer WITH HOLES AND PEGS FOR ALIGNMENT AND STRENGTH.
LuBan: Easy Way to Make Large 3D Prints! - Inov3D
3d Printing for beginners (FDM)
3D Printing For Noobs (Beginners) | Facebook
Initial tuning your printer and dialing in the material
3d RESIN printing for beginners
Resin 3d Printing For Beginners | Facebook
Cura slicer users (FDM slicer)
Cura Users | Facebook
Lychee slicer users (Resin slicer)
Lychee Slicer Community | Facebook
Creality CR10s-4/5 users
Creality CR-10-S4 & S5 3D Printer | Facebook
Hictop Printer users
Hictop 3d Printer Owners | Facebook
Anycubic MonoX6k (resin printer)
Anycubic Photon Mono X 6k User Group | Facebook
Elegoo Saturn group (resin printer)
ELEGOO SATURN Series 3D Printer Owners | Facebook
You get the idea; there's a group for every printer out there.
3D Print and Paint
(These people have forgotten more about painting printed stuff than most of us will ever know)
3D Print and Paint Showcase | Facebook
And I'm confident you know how to use the search feature to find more groups specific to your printer.
YouTube - 3D Printing Nerd
https://www.youtube.com/c/3DPrintingNerd
YouTube - CHEP
https://www.youtube.com/user/beginnerelectronics
YouTube - ModBot
https://www.youtube.com/c/ModBotArmy
YouTube - Teaching Tech
https://www.youtube.com/c/TeachingTech
YouTube - Uncle Jesse
https://www.youtube.com/user/xboxfitnesstest
DeltaV
New Member
Thank you big time for the advice, I’ll take all this into account while starting out!
N8TEBB
Well-Known Member
- Member DIN
- S410
My own take: Ain't no law against making 2 helmets. While I totally see you point, I think starting with the helmet gives you a great chance to see if you actually want to go through with making a whole suit, and leaves you with a cool helmet if you don't end up doing that. BUT, you can always come back and redo the helmet at the end if you're not satisfied with the first one.
Great advice!!
- Member DIN
- S829
There are some other good threads here on the forums about getting into 3D printing and seeing what printers other folks have:
www.405th.com
www.405th.com
What's Your Printer?
This question always seems to come up a decent bit so I figured "why not just make a thread?" Post your printer(s) you use for props and costumes and if you like them! This is to help newer people figure out what printer they may want for starting their costuming adventure Printer Name Bed...
www.405th.com
"I wish I knew" Tips When Starting to 3d Print
Hello again everyone! The "What's Your Printer" thread has now nearly hit 100 replies (holy cow!) as a result of that we're looking to move to the next stage in creating the ultimate 3d printer for Halo & cosplay reference thread! In this thread we'd like to know what are some things that you...
www.405th.com
