| Who asked this joker | 14 Apr 2016 12:03 p.m. PST |
I saw these on WGV. Orcs
link Lizards
link Apparently the ones pictured were printed from a Printrbot Play. The machine will run you about $400 USD plus plastic. The description claims just 5 cents worth of plastic was used for each miniature. They do look good to me. So I wonder? Has the future of home printed miniatures finally arrived? |
| Prince Rupert of the Rhine | 14 Apr 2016 12:30 p.m. PST |
Not until the miniatures get a lot nicer looking than that. Also how many miniatures does a 3d printer make at a time? I can't see me enjoying using my hobby time to print out 200 miniatures. |
| haywire | 14 Apr 2016 12:41 p.m. PST |
If you set up the file correctly, you can print as many as can fit in the space. That is basically what shapeways does. Tries to fit in as many objects in a print as possible. |
Tgerritsen  | 14 Apr 2016 12:41 p.m. PST |
The number of figures a printer can print varies per printer. Most printers can do more than one at a time. I have two, of which one would do about 20 of these figures at a time and the other about 15. To print all of them at highest level of quality would take me about 4 hours for all of the figures, and about 30 minutes for just 1. I participated in this kickstarter and have those figures, but I haven't had time to print them yet. I'll give them a whirl this weekend and post some pictures next week. Also, there are different types of 3d printers, and they vary widely in quality. One of my printers does 20 micron layers and the other 100, so I get really nice results, but I own two prosumer printers. A cheap printer will likely give you 200 or more micron layers and you'll see that striation that a lot of people complain about. My printers also are traditional deposition printers (layers of melted PLA or ABS) while there are also powder resin and photopolymer liquid resin printers- each has their own strengths and drawbacks. Currently there is a learning curve to printing 3D, so it's not like a laser printer where you just plug it in and start cranking out pages. |
| gamershs | 14 Apr 2016 2:53 p.m. PST |
3D printers is one area I am interested in. I don't think I could become a sculpture but there are one off things like pre dreadnought torpedo boats or transition warships (1870 thru 1890) that no one will ever make for sale. Would like to add these ships to my fleets. Would like to take classes in 3D printing but don't know where to find the classes. I know that there are different forms of 3D printers and would like to find the one that would be best for my needs. |
| evilgong | 14 Apr 2016 4:14 p.m. PST |
The future is gnawing at the door. Sniffing and scratching at the locks. Like others I ask about the time it takes to make the things I see created by 3D printers. Probably because we know it takes some time, but I wonder if this is mostly an artifact of our usual way of consuming. We usually buy a load of figs for an army all at once, either to save postage or hassle of making multiple orders. But if you have a 3D printer on your desk you don't actually need to hold all the physical figs at the start of a project. It probably takes me longer to paint figs than the machine to make them, so I don't need all the bare lead / plastic in more than a batch I find convenient to paint in production-line. (about 20 does me) The machine can print away while I paint. What would be great would be an affordable machine that scans a sculpt to create a 3D file to produce more of them. I reckon I'd be better and faster at sculpting an original than trying to build one using 3D design software. Interesting times. David F Brown |
| kallman | 14 Apr 2016 4:23 p.m. PST |
We are getting close but it is not there yet. I say give it about another five years if that and then we will see a seminal change. |
| Who asked this joker | 14 Apr 2016 4:55 p.m. PST |
If you can do what TGerritsen says above (20 figures at a time!) then you only need to preload the first 20. You can start the next 20 and paint the first while the second batch is printing. Sort of like what EvilGong says, it is our consumer habits that are kind of our mental barrier. |
| ced1106 | 14 Apr 2016 5:35 p.m. PST |
No. Industries go through three phases:
* Enthusiast: Expensive and hobby- or research-level.
* Business: Prices going down and business applications used.
* Consumer: Cheap and taken for granted. You know you're in the first phase when someone thinks we're in the third phase. Laser printers are a more obvious example of transitioning from the business to consumer stage. |
| Winston Smith | 14 Apr 2016 6:45 p.m. PST |
Sounds like a club purchase.  |
| Who asked this joker | 14 Apr 2016 6:57 p.m. PST |
Sounds like a club purchase Bingo! |
| 14th NJ Vol | 16 Apr 2016 5:48 a.m. PST |
I guess my definition of the future of 3D printing is 20 to 30 figures at a time already painted. All I'd have to do to them is apply my favorite wash, hit with matte finish, glue to base, flock, game. When the tech level gets there I'm in. |
| Marc at work | 18 Apr 2016 9:05 a.m. PST |
So some time next week then 14th NJ guy :-) probably not, in reality, but the future is coming REAL soon. |
| SGThorne | 30 Apr 2016 8:16 p.m. PST |
I work at a STEM school. The 18 year olds made their own 3d printer from scratch (they went and scrounged parts from an e-cycle center). They downloaded the software: they make beautiful 54mm figures. They saw my 4Ground buildings and designed their own with the cad program and their own laser burners. They also made dice cups, and dice trays. They also make their own rules for a skirmish game (designed on a Quinten Tarantino world). The future is now…. they just don;t post on TMP. They don't see the need. |
