this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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3DPrinting
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I'm considering becoming new to the hobby in the next month or two.
What are your...uh...specs? Would they suit a beginner?
This is definitely a beginner setup if you’ve got the funds for it. I got lucky and received the printer, wash, and cure machines as Christmas gifts, so I only had to buy the ancillary stuff.
Some people make due with just the resin printer, since you can manually wash and cure prints. Depending on the ventilation in your space, you may not need the grow tent either. Having the whole shebang is really convenient, though.
It’s an Elegoo Mars 3 Pro resin printer, Elegoo Mercury bundle for the wash and cure machines. The tent was just a plant grow tent turned sideways that I measured to fit. There is a vent fan to pull the fumes and ducting that runs outside through a window vent adapter. On top of that, I use gloves, eye protection, and a 3m respirator, which I’d say are the things that should definitely not be compromised on. I’ve seen some gnarly posts about people that skipped out on safety gear.
Then it’s just a matter of setting it up and figuring out the initial settings. There’s smaller QoL things you can buy, like better tools than the ones that come with it or a flex plate. It’s a lot to set up initially, but once it gets going it’s worth it. I realized I didn’t have any needle blights for my DnD session this weekend so I printed a bunch out over night. A quick coat of primer and some dry brushing and they’ll be ready to play with.
Before you take the plunge, do some research and consider what you will be printing for most often.
This is an overgeneralization but there are two main types of printing methods-- vat polymerization and material extrusion.
The set up pictured in this post is VP. It uses light and mirrors to cure resin layer by layer. I think the main advantage to this method is fine detail and less post production polish. The main disadvantage is, unless you have a lot of money, you have a smaller printing space. Excellent method for artistic works such as miniatures.
The other way is basically pushing a plastic wire through a hot nozzle layer by layer. The main advantage is that it's faster, cheaper, and offers more printing space at entry level prices. The disadvantage is that the lines will be quite apparent and will require more post processing work for a clean look. Really good for rapid prototyping and functional prints.
Although it is a helpful skill to have, you don't need to know how to make 3d models. There's a ton of free models for just about anything you can think of.