3d Printing and the Future of Piracy

Hateyou

Hateyou

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It’s a fun hobby. I enjoy the creative aspect of it. I was able to prototype some stuff for work with my personal printer. I also have my name on a patent from another work print.

We did enough cool stuff from our home printers it convinced the VPs to let us go nuts buying and implementing them at all our plants. We prototype and patent all kinds of shit now. One single project at one plant paid for the entire network of printers in like a month. It was hard to convince them to let us do it but after that project the VP asked “Do you need something better or more of these?” Pretty cool.
 
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Big Phoenix

Big Phoenix

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I just bought one of these;

qidi3d.com

QIDI Plus4 3D Printer

Masterful printing with full-auto calibration, upgraded toolhead, vast build space, and consistent 65℃ chamber heating.
qidi3d.com qidi3d.com
 
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Big Phoenix

Big Phoenix

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First major print, took 3 hours and 45 minutes with pla-cf;

1728623323948.png
 
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Soygen

Soygen

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Just built a Voron 2.4 R2 350mm. Was really fun putting it all together and learning how everything works. Gone a bit nuts in the hobby the past couple years. This is my 7th printer, if i include the resin printers. I really enjoy being able to design and print stuff that helps around the house, with other hobbies, etc. At this point, I should probably try to figure out a way to make money with all these damn things.

My collection:

Creality CR10s - first printer I got like 10 years ago.
Elegoo Mars S - Resin
Bambu P1P
Anycubic Photon Mono M5S - Big resin printer
Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra - the last resin printer I'll probably buy. Just too much postprocessing/mess/toxic shit.
Qidi Q1 Pro - kind of wish I held off on this one for the Qidi Plus 4 which is bigger and has all the stuff that made the Q1 attractive. That said, this is a great little printer for hard to print materials.
Then the Voron I just built, which will likely be my go to printer, once everything is tuned up and i get a chamber heater.
 
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Kais

Kais

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I haven't printed in months and just moved and haven't gotten my hobby room put together yet, but I love my Voron. It reliably prints fantastic every time since I dialed it in. It's the 2.4 R1 300. I periodically check my screws and belt tension more for peace of mind otherwise it's been incredible. You're going to love it. Show us a pic!

I don't do enough printing lately to justify another printer, however the multi-material system that integrate with the Bambu printers is crazy good - especially at that price point.
 
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Soygen

Soygen

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Kais said:
I haven't printed in months and just moved and haven't gotten my hobby room put together yet, but I love my Voron. It reliably prints fantastic every time since I dialed it in. It's the 2.4 R1 300. I periodically check my screws and belt tension more for peace of mind otherwise it's been incredible. You're going to love it. Show us a pic!

I don't do enough printing lately to justify another printer, however the multi-material system that integrate with the Bambu printers is crazy good - especially at that price point.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have the AMS on my Bambu and it really is nice for lots of reasons(multi color, multi material for easy support removal, etc). I am starting to source parts for the Box Turtle filament changer for my Voron, which is starting to look really good at this point.

github.com

GitHub - ArmoredTurtle/BoxTurtle: Modular compact automated filament changer for klipper 3d printers

Modular compact automated filament changer for klipper 3d printers - ArmoredTurtle/BoxTurtle
github.com github.com
 
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Drajakur

Drajakur

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Hi folks,

I know there are a billion different sites expressing a billion different opinions on this, but I'm looking for some recommendations from you trusted people about getting started with 3D printing. A lot of the information I've seen is inconsistent or out-dated and the technology seems to move quickly. Here is my specific use case:

  • Primary use: 1/35 and 1/48-scale accessories for tanks, planes and dioramas. Think things like boxes and animals and gas canisters and crates and tank tracks and shit like that.
  • Secondary use: terrain for dioramas and Warhammer 40K. Tabletop stuff for my family games.
  • Consideration: I'm really looking at 3D printing as a means to an end, and am not particularly interested in learning deeply about a new hobby. This seems to be a dangerous path but, whatever. In other words, simple and relatively straightforward over massively deep and powerful.
  • Price: not a major consideration but don't want to spend 1K unless I need to. Not interested in cheapest, not automatically interested in expensive.

Appreciate any insights. Apologies if this is a bit of a lame question, but every time I start hunting around on Google my eyes glaze over.
 
Kais

Kais

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Drajakur said:
Hi folks,

I know there are a billion different sites expressing a billion different opinions on this, but I'm looking for some recommendations from you trusted people about getting started with 3D printing. A lot of the information I've seen is inconsistent or out-dated and the technology seems to move quickly. Here is my specific use case:

  • Primary use: 1/35 and 1/48-scale accessories for tanks, planes and dioramas. Think things like boxes and animals and gas canisters and crates and tank tracks and shit like that.
  • Secondary use: terrain for dioramas and Warhammer 40K. Tabletop stuff for my family games.
  • Consideration: I'm really looking at 3D printing as a means to an end, and am not particularly interested in learning deeply about a new hobby. This seems to be a dangerous path but, whatever. In other words, simple and relatively straightforward over massively deep and powerful.
  • Price: not a major consideration but don't want to spend 1K unless I need to. Not interested in cheapest, not automatically interested in expensive.

Appreciate any insights. Apologies if this is a bit of a lame question, but every time I start hunting around on Google my eyes glaze over.
Click to expand...
You will want a Resin/SLA printer. If you're aim is for miniatures or really anything with small details Resin is the way. FDM printers with spools of plastic will be nigh impossible to get really good detail bits. Resin is a bit more expensive and more steps both with equipment and raw material. I haven't had the need or the time to get into resin however i have heard really good things about the Anycubic Photon resin printers and accessories. I'm sure there are plenty here who can chime in with a better recommendation. The main drawback to resin printers is limited in size and overall part strength. FDM is way better functional prints like drawers, hooks, cases, etc. FDM also has a larger variety of material types and colors. For ease of use, reliability, and print quality the Bambu printers are hard to beat right now.
 
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Soygen

Soygen

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Drajakur said:
Hi folks,

I know there are a billion different sites expressing a billion different opinions on this, but I'm looking for some recommendations from you trusted people about getting started with 3D printing. A lot of the information I've seen is inconsistent or out-dated and the technology seems to move quickly. Here is my specific use case:

  • Primary use: 1/35 and 1/48-scale accessories for tanks, planes and dioramas. Think things like boxes and animals and gas canisters and crates and tank tracks and shit like that.
  • Secondary use: terrain for dioramas and Warhammer 40K. Tabletop stuff for my family games.
  • Consideration: I'm really looking at 3D printing as a means to an end, and am not particularly interested in learning deeply about a new hobby. This seems to be a dangerous path but, whatever. In other words, simple and relatively straightforward over massively deep and powerful.
  • Price: not a major consideration but don't want to spend 1K unless I need to. Not interested in cheapest, not automatically interested in expensive.

Appreciate any insights. Apologies if this is a bit of a lame question, but every time I start hunting around on Google my eyes glaze over.
Click to expand...


I have a few resin printers and have done tons of miniatures. That said, I fucking hate resin printing. Messy, toxic, so much post processing and clean up. My heart will always be with FDM. As for my resin printers, I'll second Kais Kais on the Anycubic. I have a Photon Mono M5s, which I think the latest model is the M7 which is 350 bucks for the printer, but you'll probably be around 500 with the wash/cure setup. I also have Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra, which is a smaller printer, but probably the highest quality prints I've made are on that. You can pick that up for just 200, or the upgraded Mars 5 ultra for like 300.

Whatever you do, wear respirator and protect your skin at all costs from resin. Heard many horror stories about rashes and eventual major allergic reactions to resin after repeated exposure.
 
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BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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I think this stuff is so cool but I just can't find a use for it. When I was an engineer it was awesome for rapid prototypes for fit checks and such, but as a personal device the only use for it I see is people spending $3000 and many hours to make $7 worth of plastic toys.
 
Soygen

Soygen

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BrutulTM said:
I think this stuff is so cool but I just can't find a use for it. When I was an engineer it was awesome for rapid prototypes for fit checks and such, but as a personal device the only use for it I see is people spending $3000 and many hours to make $7 worth of plastic toys.
Click to expand...
For resin printing i might agree, but for FDM I've made tons of functional parts for different things around the house, as well as repair/replacement parts. Ton of organizational things for both my shop and for the family. Having a good grasp on CAD software like Fusion 360 really opens up the immense possibilities with 3D printing. A good example(though kind of a clusterfuck in this picture) are these modular, wall mounted storage bins. The entire thing, including the tags on the front of the drawers, are 3d printed.

1746647403983.png
 
Control

Control

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Bandwagon said:
That doesn't exactly disprove brutal's statement....
Click to expand...
I don't have one, but I've thought about buying one quite a few times. It just looks like too much of a pain in the ass at this point (based on my mostly uninformed perspective).
However! Amazon is great when you need a random chunk of plastic, but when you need a very specific chunk of plastic (that isn't readily available), well, that's when I consider buying one.
 
Bandwagon

Bandwagon

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I had a 3d printer 10 years ago or so. Its definitely a fun toy/STEM thingy, but i always roll my eyes when people say there's some sort of financial benefit (for most things).

If you want to make your own stuff, get one and enjoy it. If you think its cheaper than [whatever], its probably not.
 
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