discussion FDM PLA 3D printing - with a model making inclination

[Dave Ward]

I found a nice model of a tracked excavator - the cab & the tracks are OK, but the arm I just give up on

No matter which way I orientate it, the supports needed are horrendous - I could cut it into bits, but that would probably increase the problems. Sadly this one I'll have to leave alone!!!
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

A little bust printing on the Monoprice......................

Charles Darwin - all of 60mm tall! Printed leaning back, so that any supports are on the rear, leaving the face clear.
A partial answer behind my health problems - dehydration! - for some reason I haven't been taking in enough fluids - I must drink between 6-8 glasses of water a day - at least two litres. I had a GP phone appointment on Wednesday and that was her conclusion, and I have had a bottle of water at my side for the last two days - making sure I empty it twice a day. Early days, but I do feel a bit better..........................
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

I decided I'd better process some of my printing - all 1/35 for this session. All of the parts need a lot of clean up - the models are 'kerbside' meaning that they are meant to be looked in a normal setting ( ie there's no detail underneath! ). You can't use power tools to grind, as this just melts the low temperature PLA - you have to use rotary cutters

They're supposed to be HSS, but at the price ( 20 bits for £7.19 on ebay ), I doubt it! They work nicely on PLA, but will blunt quickly if used on metal....................

AMC 35


Type 94 Tankette


Citroen-Kegresse P28


Mustela putorius furo

( Ferret )
Assembled with Loctite CA and primed with the dregs of an AK Olive Drab primer bottle - bad idea, as it was getting gloopy & I kept on having nozzle blockages. The primer has gone into the bin!
I'm leaving the printers alone for the moment, I'm spending too much time tinkering, and not enough at actually making finished models.
I'm a bit better, but still suffering with leaden legs - off to have blood tests on Wednesday, but I'm feeling a bit brighter and with it............
Dave

 

[outrunner]

Some good work with the printer there Dave, pleased to hear you are feeling better.

Andy.

 

[Dave Ward]

At times my 3D printing can be bad for my health - specifically blood pressure.
I wanted to print a bust of the 'Night King', from Game of Thrones

I'd found a good model on Thingiverse

At first I inclined him backwards, to minimise supports on his front & back. This came unstuck from the build plate about 5 hours into the print. I then printed him upright - hoping that the plinth would keep him securely anchored. This one failed about 4 hours into the print!
As a last shot, I printed him on his back, accepting that there would be a fair amount of cleanup to remove the supports.
After 9 hours 45 minutes................Looking good - on inspection..............
No Idea what that blob is!
Oh - a support has come adrift, but doesn't look to have caused problems (!!)
Here he is, from the front - a handsome chap


Looks good - until you turn him round................
The support has failed on the back of his head - mildly annoying.
After 18 hours of printing, I'm not trying again - I may putty up the back of his head - but that would mean spoiling the satin white finish & needing a paint job. I'm calling this a partial success - as long as his back is to the wall, his injury can't be seen!
Dave

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Dave , did you know you can lower the object 'through' the build plate by a certain amount so it only builds half?
then you could flip it and print the other half.
It would call for a bit of precision but nothing beyond the scope of an engineer like yourself, I'm sure

 

[Dave Ward]

Dave , did you know you can lower the object 'through' the build plate by a certain amount so it only builds half?
then you could flip it and print the other half.
It would call for a bit of precision but nothing beyond the scope of an engineer like yourself, I'm sure

Neil,
I've done that with ships - you orientate the model through the build plate & split the object - select 'keep top half' then save this as an .stl then hit the 'undo' button & this time select 'keep bottom half' & save that ( remembering to change the name! ). This uses the same splitting plane & model position, so you should get a perfect fit! This is using PrusaSlicer, but I imagine all slicers have this facility. It's OK on something with a smooth surface, where you can smooth the joint line, but on a textured surface that may be more difficult
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

A high-relief model of a Roman Soldier ( high relief means he has a flat back! ) 95mm tall.

As he has a flat back, there was no problem getting him to stay on the build plate. I assume this is a model of an actual carving, but not attributed
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Another one of those days! Still one-handed, I decided to do a bit of printing. I'd previously tried to print some tracks for the1/35 M22 Locust - they did print, but proved impossible to clean up. I changed the slicer settings to see if I could improve on my earlier efforts. Stated OK, the Sunlu was purring away, the layers were going down nicely. I left it for an hour or so & when I came back - it had stopped extruding - the printer was going through the motions, but not laying anything down. A clogged nozzle! I find I can't do anything about it, you need two hands! I did try, but not possible :worried:
Oh well, it's not going anywhere - I'm turning to the Monoprice instead - never had any problems with that
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Hand is a bitter better - only a slight ache - but still stiff, fingers crossed ( if I could )
The Monoprice has been chuntering away - I printed the turret & tracks for the Tetrarch Mk.IV

The barrel is way overscale & needs replacing, this is scaled up from 1/56 & what may look OK in that scale doesn't in 1/35!

I'm printing the tracks for the M22 Locust. I've really gone into the settings, and thoroughly pushing the printer to it's limits - here's the first result

I have to say I'm happy with that ( the backside is rough, but I can live with that ). The holes in the idler wheel need clearing out & a few whiskers need trimming off, but streets ahead of my first effort. This print took a few minutes under 4 hours - I'd also slowed rhe print speed down. This is about as good as the Monoprice can do, the parts cooling fan isn't very efficient & that reduces definition. Obviously it isn't as refined as a resin print, but under a coat of primer, basecoat & weathering any differences would be minimal ( at least that's what I think! ). My hand isn't up to airbrushing at the moment - just as well it's 27C here - not spraying weather!
Dave

 

[stillp]

That track assembly does look good Dave. Shame you're one-handed.
Pete

 

[Dave Ward]

That track assembly does look good

It's all one piece - printed flat in its' back...............
Dave

 

[stillp]

Yes, I realised that. Maybe assembly was the wrong word. Sorry to hear about your rough backside too! :smiling5:
Pete

 

[Dave Ward]

rough backside too

Newspaper ain't wot it used to be!
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Been printing some bases

The prints can be scaled upordown to suit any scale figure - it can be difficult to really visualise what a print will look like. Sometimes it can be a bit odd

Sandbag redoubt, good positioning of the bags, but they look more like cushions than sandbags! I was doubtful about this one, so it was printed at 0.2mm layer height - which is why they can be seen ( like contour lines )
Printing time varies from 2 up to 5 hours - depending on the speed & layer height. The top two were printed at 0.08mm layer hight & slower speed = longer times
Dave

 

[langy71]

very nice Dave, I like the first sandbags the best, they've got that natural 'flop' that they get when stacking them..those bases are cracking...(you might have come up with a cheeky sideline here mate).

 

[Dave Ward]

cheeky sideline here mate).

Ethically, that's not good. - The free models are sourced from the internet & are used on a basis of personal non-profit use. I don't think you'd be done for it, but it's the principle that really counts. If you painted them & added a little scatter/rubble, then that might be a different matter!, but it's hardly cost effective - printing a base in 3-4 hours & spending an hour or so painting it. With FDM printing it takes X hours to print one, then 2X hours for two, 3X hours for three etc. With resin printing it would take X hours, but in that time, you can print as many parts as you could fit on the build plate - although you still have that painting job!
Dave

 

[langy71]

Ethically, that's not good. - The free models are sourced from the internet & are used on a basis of personal non-profit use. I don't think you'd be done for it, but it's the principle that really counts. If you painted them & added a little scatter/rubble, then that might be a different matter!, but it's hardly cost effective - printing a base in 3-4 hours & spending an hour or so painting it. With FDM printing it takes X hours to print one, then 2X hours for two, 3X hours for three etc. With resin printing it would take X hours, but in that time, you can print as many parts as you could fit on the build plate - although you still have that painting job!
Dave

Not a problem Dave, just a random thought ...

 

[Dave Ward]

Another base - a little more ambitious this time

Took about 6 hours to print - Initally I thought about a German 20mm flak gun, but the sandbag protection looks a ittle over the top for a small gun. So, it might be just too small for a Flakvierling, but I have a Flak 37, or a 25mm Jaboschreck that may work..................
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

As I feared, he above base is just too small for the Flakvierling, so I printed it again.

scaled up to fit the mount, about 5%......................

The previous print won't go to waste - any one of the three others will fit!

The Dragon Jaboschreck is a really weird kit - I bought it off Ebay as a model '+ extras' . The model itself ( small ) has a lot of PE, but also in the box was a Voyager detail set, which has similar PE bits, but about twice as much! - 90% of which comes into 'You're having a laff' category!
Unfortunately none of the above have crews, so I'll be lurking on ebay for suitable canddates
Dave