this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2025
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Found a place that 3d prints in steel (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 days ago by AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works to c/boardgames@sopuli.xyz
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Cross-posted from "Found a place that 3d prints in steel" by @WoolyNelson@lemmy.world in !clacksmith@lemmy.world

I had to polish the dice myself (more involved than just zona). ETA: The site is jlcpcb.com

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[–] ZDL@ttrpg.network 15 points 4 days ago (1 children)

3D printing in metals of various kinds is pretty common these days.

As the proud (and almost exclusive) user of metal dice¹, however, let me warn you that metal dice have a few problems.

  1. As others have noted, you can really scar the wood of tables. What they didn't note is that they can also, if they land just wrong, break glass. I have a nice coffee table that had a glass overlay about 5mm thick or so. (Note the past tense.) One of my d10s landed JUST WRONG, apparently on a hidden flaw that left a stress point, and that lovely glass overlay broke into three large shards. Replacing that was too expensive for my tastes. The solution was to buy a transparent PU (I think?) cover to the same dimensions—only 1.5mm thick was more than enough—and always unroll that over the replacement glass. But you have to be aware of just how damaging metal dice can be. (Other alternatives include using dice towers, rolling bowls, etc., but the PU cover has an added bonus of letting you put key documents, maps, etc. under it for quick reference without worrying about getting pizza grease on it.

  2. They're heavy. Indeed that's part of their appeal, but if you carry multiple sets it can get a bit unpleasant. Sometimes my purse feels like I'm carrying several sets of knuckle dusters or something.

  3. This is one I haven't heard comments on, but they get very cold in chill environments. Were I playing today (3°C at my desk at the moment) I'd use plastic dice.

¹ E.g.: https://i.imgur.com/X11DeQ2.jpg

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 13 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

3°C at my desk at the moment

Jeez. Is that a conscious choice to not heat your home? Also, those are really pretty dice :)

[–] ZDL@ttrpg.network 9 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Central heating (and insulation) is not common here. And cold weather rarely lasts longer than two weeks. We make do with small space heaters at need and I've got the space heater I'm using under my desk right now, keeping my legs nice and toasty. But the thick wooden desk is insulating quite well from the heat source, sadly.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Wouldn't the water pipes freeze?

[–] ZDL@ttrpg.network 4 points 3 days ago

The pipes tend to be insulated, the temperatures don't really get very low (coldest I've ever seen is -10° and that was for a couple of hours), and that's at night, and the cold "season" is very short. It takes time to freeze pipes, and here it just doesn't get cold enough to do that.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Mostly insulation, then. My space heater is also below my desk, but keeps the entire room toasty warm.

They're heavy. Indeed that's part of their appeal, but if you carry multiple sets it can get a bit unpleasant. Sometimes my purse feels like I'm carrying several sets of knuckle dusters or something.

How many sets are you carrying around all the time? 😂

[–] ZDL@ttrpg.network 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Usually only the one, but if I'm going to run a game I'll bring several sets because there's always someone (possibly more than one) who doesn't have one.

And yes, there's no insulation anywhere here. The walls are mostly concrete (with plaster, etc. over top, natch) and when cold weather hits actively start to radiate cold. (I know, I know, technically they're sucking heat out, but it FEELS radiative!). All the windows are single-glaze and they're not particularly well-sealed either, so drafts are common.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Oof. Which country is this? I'll make a note never to visit in winter XD

[–] ZDL@ttrpg.network 5 points 4 days ago

Central China. Wuhan to be specific. If you're going to visit, go to the south. It's pleasantly warm in winter. Or bundle up and go north. They heat their homes in the north. It's the poor suckers near the Yangtze that get screwed.

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 4 days ago (2 children)

That just looks like cnc milling tho

[–] Profilename1@sopuli.xyz 8 points 4 days ago

To be honest, if you had access to the equipment that would be a lot more practical way to make this. Get a piece of square bar stock of your chosen metal, cut it into cubes, and then engrave and polish. That said, most people don't have that kind of stuff just lying around. Maybe if you've got access to a makerspace or a shop thru work or some really, really good friends.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago

I guess that's praise for how far 3d printing has come nowadays!

[–] Mysticpickle@lemmy.cafe 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Looks pretty but kinda impractical. You're basically firing bullets into your table unless you've got some sort of heavily padded surface 😬

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

You're basically firing bullets into your table

So, perfect for a Matrix campaign, then?

[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago

It looks great! But it will fuck your table up, even through a cloth. Make sure to get a roll bowl before you use it!

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 6 points 4 days ago

That's really awesome. It's amazing what can be done with 3D printing now.

[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I need large tungston dice like this that shake my table when I roll them. I want the click clack of metal to become a clank. I want my hands to tremble from their weight

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I've had metal d20s that I had to stop using because they left divots on my dinner table 😅

[–] King_Bob_IV@startrek.website 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Look into dice trays, put some sacrificial wood between your table and the dice. All the nice sounds, none of the unintentional damage.

[–] ZDL@ttrpg.network 3 points 4 days ago

We used, as I said above, a PU (PVC? I don't know, I'm not a polymer expert) sheet the same size as the table to protect the glass under it. 1.5mm is all you need, it rolls up nicely to set aside, and you can put maps and stuff under it to keep it visible but protected.

And the metal dice won't shatter your tabletop like one evil d10 did mine. 😬