FDM PLA 3D printing - with a model making inclination

[Dave Ward]

I found a pack of diorama bases on Thingiverse by 'somnus' I printed this out at the highest resolution............

It's about 75mm diameter - unfortunately something went amiss with the base & it's pretty rough underneath. I think another round of Z-axis & build plate levelling will be needed. One thing that I am pleased about is the magnetic build plate - I've had very few problems with the prints not sticking & they can be easily removed. Not that this has any model, making connection, I've a mind to try something in what is called 'spiralise' mode. This is a print which consists of a single continuos layer in a spiral - the examples I've seen are generally vases etc.

For quite large prints, they don't take much time, as the volume extruded is small.................. It should be a test of the printer - a tall print should prove the stability of the printer frame.
Dave

[Neil Merryweather]

with regard to the base failure ,check the data-there may be a small piece sticking out which prevents it sitting perfectly on the plate.
I don't know your slicing software but one trick I use in Cura is to lower the piece through the build plate by a couple of layers before slicing- it only starts from the visible part. This is also useful if you want to test a piece but don't want to build the whole thing.
Bitter experience has also taught me to preview the build layers down to layer one to be sure it is actually complete

[Dave Ward]

with regard to the base failure ,check the data-there may be a small piece sticking out which prevents it sitting perfectly on the plate.
I don't know your slicing software but one trick I use in Cura is to lower the piece through the build plate by a couple of layers before slicing- it only starts from the visible part. This is also useful if you want to test a piece but don't want to build the whole thing.
Bitter experience has also taught me to preview the build layers down to layer one to be sure it is actually complete

The files for the diorama bases were .obj files - and had been created in imperial units & came in on one edge - I turned them through 90 degrees - possibly I didn't get them face to face - just another thing to watch out for!
Dave

[JR]

All very mystifying, but so interesting Dave .
Did you ever imagine you would be 3 D printing a few years ago ?

Think your knowledge of cad and engineering really shows, though not something I could ever see myself doing.

[Dave Ward]

All very mystifying, but so interesting Dave .
Did you ever imagine you would be 3 D printing a few years ago ?

Think your knowledge of cad and engineering really shows, though not something I could ever see myself doing.

I do a lot of things I never imagined I would do, these days! I can't keep up with the latest gimmicks & gadgets - I'm at east 10 years behind with the 3D printing!
In my design engineer days, I used a fair amount of rapid prototyping services - they were VERY expensive, now I'm doing the basics in my flat! It does help that I've seen various processes in action & worked on all sort of machinery. Main thing is I'm keeping my interest going................
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Totally useless - but I printed out the vase from Thingiverse by 'Tubby__' it's about 130mm tall, 90 dia.

Took just over an hour - 1 filament thick, printed in one continuous spiral. It's too thin to be of any real use - the grey filament prevents it from being decorative!
Dave

[stillp]

Well, you could always paint it Dave!
Pete

[Jim R]

That's good Dave.

All very mystifying, but so interesting Dave .

I certainly agree with that.

[Dave Ward]

I levelled the Z-axis, then levelled the build plate - taking the advice from Neil about the model data - I actually sliced the same base with a programme called Bambu ( a 3D printer maker ) - I'd read that this was quite good, so I gave it a whirl. I made extra sure that the base of the model was flat on the build datums.

Although thesettimgs for printer & filament were the same, this seemed to print much more smoothly - this is the triangular infill on the base, about an hour into the three hour print.
This is the result

More than happy with that, compared to the previous effort!

Looking at the bottom of the two prints ( new on the right ), I can see what has happened

Thebuild plate didn't need levelling that much, but the printer only obeys what's on the gcode file.- the file yesterday didn't have the datum on the build plate, possibly a mm above it. The printer extruded the filament, and it stuck to the plate, but in a coarse uneven pattern, this then skewed the whole print. The new print on the right shows the sort of contact you need.
What I've learnt from this is the printer can be set up perfectly, but if the gcode file generated from the model is faulty, then the print will not be up to scratch!
If you're wondering about the cost of the material - I'm paying just under £11 for a 1 kg reel of PLA - which is 330m of 1.75mm dia filament, which runs out at 3.3p per metre. The slicer program tells me that the print uses 9.36m. so total cost was 32p. Setup & printer time not considered
Dave

[Dave Ward]

I printed out another diorama/vignette base from the same source - it wasn't 'till I printed it out that I realised what it was!
Both bases primed in Olive Drab ( first bottle to hand ). New print on the right

................it's a tree stump, with roots........
Both of these could be scaled up/down to suit most scales - difficult thing would be finding a figure in the correct posture. There are a lot of other plain bases, with cobbles, paving etc. , but they didn't seem much of a test to print out.
I've been looking for suitable figures to go with these bases, but so far, not much luck. There are figures, but either they are suited to only resin printing, or are some weird dungeons & dragons/ fantasy/sci-fi things, which I don't fancy at all.
All the prints I've found have been from Thingiverse, and the conditions of use are - for private use only, and not for financial gain, which is fair enough. I have found a few models that you pay for, but - not yet!
Dave

[Dave Ward]

A true model making effort - again from Thingiverse by ' PC_Model_Yard ' a 1/700 model of 'Bouvet' a French 1898 pre-dreadnought c. 175mm long

Under flash light this looks pretty poor, but I'll wait until tomorrow & I'll prime it & give a verdict.
It also has 2 large turrets, two medium turrets, and 8 small turrets, all as separate prints - I don't think I have a hope of printing the gun barrels, but will probably just scratch the barrels onto the turrets. The fore and after bridge may not print very well, but I'll have to wait & see!
Dave

[Tim Marlow]

A true model making effort - again from Thingiverse by ' PC_Model_Yard ' a 1/700 model of 'Bouvet' a French 1898 pre-dreadnought c. 175mm long
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1194263[/ATTACH]
Under flash light this looks pretty poor, but I'll wait until tomorrow & I'll prime it & give a verdict.
It also has 2 large turrets, two medium turrets, and 8 small turrets, all as separate prints - I don't think I have a hope of printing the gun barrels, but will probably just scratch the barrels onto the turrets. The fore and after bridge may not print very well, but I'll have to wait & see!
Dave

Something a bit different Dave. Interesting to see what she looks like under primer…..in the raw like that she looks a bit like an undersea weed covered wreck……

[Dave Ward]

Something a bit different Dave. Interesting to see what she looks like under primer…..in the raw like that she looks a bit like an undersea weed covered wreck……

Or without my glasses!
Dave

[Jim R]

I am also interested in seeing the ship in primer. Straight from the printer the results do not photograph well, especially with flash.

[Dave Ward]

I'm thinking that this model is more suited to resin printing - there's no comment saying which method of printing ( FDM or UV Curing ) it's meant for. I reckon that deciding which method, is just down to experience, trial & error.
Dave