Affordable/Cost benefit 3D printing services
polycounter lvl 17
Hey trianglecounters...
I've been researching some companies for 3d printing services online.
And I have been trying to get some experience with figure modeling/miniatures.
The problem I'm having is cost/quality.
Why? Because most of them take so long to ship it to you or when you want a good material (resin, metal) it costs tons per cm3.
I need to know if you guys have some experience to share with your 3D printing.
The last experience I got was with Shapeways on their detail plastic material: tons of bending/dithering, too low weight and its extremely hard to do post production on it. But it says its one of their best materials. So I wonder, should I sand it or their Ultra detail frosted could be better? I wonder if there's any cheaper cost printing service with resin and extremely good detail around.
Here's my example:
At the moment I'm trying to do tons of coats of primer to see if the noise/bending gets filled out.
Hopefully I can manage it that way. Although I'm afraid that some of the details are going to dissapear.
I wonder if anyone knows what kind of printing service Kingdom Death uses? I know they 3d print their masters... (or not?)
I've been researching some companies for 3d printing services online.
And I have been trying to get some experience with figure modeling/miniatures.
The problem I'm having is cost/quality.
Why? Because most of them take so long to ship it to you or when you want a good material (resin, metal) it costs tons per cm3.
I need to know if you guys have some experience to share with your 3D printing.
The last experience I got was with Shapeways on their detail plastic material: tons of bending/dithering, too low weight and its extremely hard to do post production on it. But it says its one of their best materials. So I wonder, should I sand it or their Ultra detail frosted could be better? I wonder if there's any cheaper cost printing service with resin and extremely good detail around.
Here's my example:
At the moment I'm trying to do tons of coats of primer to see if the noise/bending gets filled out.
Hopefully I can manage it that way. Although I'm afraid that some of the details are going to dissapear.
I wonder if anyone knows what kind of printing service Kingdom Death uses? I know they 3d print their masters... (or not?)
Replies
Regarding post processing : Priming is not enough - you need to sand or even wetsand after each coat of primer. That way the surface will even out, and some of the primer will nicely slide into the ridges, slowly filling them up. Then repeat
About Shapeways in particular : I'd highly recommend you to order their material sampler kit to get a real feel for the materials. Once you learn what can be done with each you'll be able to adjust your models accordingly. I haven't tried their newest, most detailed material yet.
For great quality, Ownage is awesome. But they are quite busy with orders therefore it can take time, and it's quite expensive too.
Good luck ! It takes a lot of trial and error.
A 2013 print from them :
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=1092289
Do they print it and polish theirselves? Or is it a special magic printer they have?
That last print was amazing, not sure if I can find the size of it on the thread.
- http://www.3darttopart.com/
- http://www.moddler.com
- http://www.zoomrp.com
Have anyone done any bussiness with these? Any feedback at all?
It depends on how deep the pits are on the noisy areas. You can rinse the model off if you are not liking where it is going.
I'd suggest asking for pictures of primed models from all these companies, and then send them a small 3D file to make a test print from at a reasonable price. Some might even be willing to ship you a small sampler/discarded print for you to get an idea of what their output looks like.
for a primer to remove any printlines I suggest mister surfacer if you can get it, a few light dustings of the 1200 aerosol will work wonders: mister surfacer review
Couldnt find Ownage address, anyone knows where are they from or how to get a more personal contact with someone?
I have recently purchased a Formlabs 3d printer and I am posting an open invite on the forum to anyone interested in having their models printed. I would be willing to print them at the cost of the resin, shipping charges plus 10% for my time. No additional parts or models would be printed without owners consent, just one and done.
I'm not running a business and I'm not looking spam the forum, I just wanted to get the word out and maybe give a bit back to the community.
The quality of the prints and surface finish is very good. Please contact me with any questions.
http://www.3dhubs.com/
Seems like a neat idea. Local directory and printing service website. Might be more cost effective for some of you. I'll most likely open my printer up once I order more material after the holidays.
Some stuff that I've printed recently-
Totoro model that was up on Thingiverse. Fixed some of the inaccuracies, hollowed it out and then tessellated it. Wanted to make an ornament or something like that for my son.
I modeled and printed the missiles and the hatch on the chassis.
I've got a Rostock MAX, which is kind of unique for A) having a very large vertical cylindrical build volume and
Right now it's in the middle of a huge print for another Polycounter, but that should be done very shortly here.