(3D Print) Anyone bought a printer?

jacobmuller · 01-01-2021, 01:14 AM

I've been looking at printers - $200 for a good beginner, self-levelling, multi material, WiFi machine - temptation.
But the only thing I'd print would be hexagonal standees. POD listings came out at $25 for 1. No way I'm paying anyone that much for something I don't actually Need but if I wanted hex standees (there's a free stl out there) then it'd be cheaper to buy a printer.

Anyone given in to the temptation?

RogerBW · 01-01-2021, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacobmuller

I've been looking at printers - $200 for a good beginner, self-levelling, multi material, WiFi machine - temptation.
But the only thing I'd print would be hexagonal standees. POD listings came out at $25 for 1. No way I'm paying anyone that much for something I don't actually Need but if I wanted hex standees (there's a free stl out there) then it'd be cheaper to buy a printer.

Anyone given in to the temptation?

I've had a printer for a while but I use it more for boardgaming and wargaming than for RPGs; I don't use miniatures a lot in the first place, and upright bipeds are among the more challenging things to print with FDM. Boardgame component enhancements, and in-box storage systems, absolutely…

Also the things I don't design myself come from thingiverse, where they're free.

Turhan's Bey Company · 01-01-2021, 08:50 AM

I've been 3d printing for years. While I've done some minis, I find my FDM printer is best suited for printing terrain and various game aids like resource trackers (I also use it to do custom jigs for carpentry and a few other practical uses). Miniatures tend to come out OK, but not great. For that, I acquired a DLP printer with vastly better resolution than what a FDM printer can do, but that's a significant commitment in setting up a workspace and handling toxic waste afterwards.

jacobmuller · 01-01-2021, 12:52 PM

Thank you, comrades.
Sounds pretty much as I thought.
I don't fancy handling the waste from DLP and the expendable materials are prohibitively expensive.
Had fun investigating the possibility, made two badly designed STLs of hexagonal standees, and come to the conclusion that I need to resist the temptation unless I find a serious use for piles of widgets made from PLA/ PETG/ TPU. Maybe after the pandemic...

RogerBW · 01-01-2021, 03:35 PM

A thing to bear in mind is that injection moulding on a large scale is much cheaper – when SJGames did the DFRPG kickstarter I compared their add-on costs for the hex standee bases to what I'd be able to print them for, and even with shipping it was better value to buy them.

And while it's quicker to print a small thing than to wait for delivery, it's not "I need 20 orcs right now" quick.

What the 3D printer is best for IME is the thing of the exact right shape that you can't simply buy in.

Mark Skarr · 01-01-2021, 08:59 PM

At one point I had four 3d printers. I'm down to 1.5. I have an FDM that still works, and the USB Port on my DLP failed. The manufacturer doesn't sell through the company I got it from anymore, and don't recognize my support tickets. So, I'm going to have to figure out the issue myself.

But, yeah. We used the 3d Printers for RPGs when we met in meatspace. But, when we went to virtual, all of the skills I developed working on 3d models for printing carried over into 3d models for Tabletop Simulator.

But, yeah. 3d printing is a blast.

01-01-2021, 01:14 AM	#1
jacobmuller Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Not in your time zone:D	(3D Print) Anyone bought a printer? I've been looking at printers - $200 for a good beginner, self-levelling, multi material, WiFi machine - temptation. But the only thing I'd print would be hexagonal standees. POD listings came out at $25 for 1. No way I'm paying anyone that much for something I don't actually Need but if I wanted hex standees (there's a free stl out there) then it'd be cheaper to buy a printer. Anyone given in to the temptation? __________________ "Sanity is a bourgeois meme." Exegeek PS sorry I'm a Parthian shootist: shiftwork + out of country = not here when you are:/ It's all in the reflexes

01-01-2021, 08:50 AM	#3
Turhan's Bey Company Aluminated Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: East of the moon, west of the stars, close to buses and shopping	Re: (3D Print) Anyone bought a printer? I've been 3d printing for years. While I've done some minis, I find my FDM printer is best suited for printing terrain and various game aids like resource trackers (I also use it to do custom jigs for carpentry and a few other practical uses). Miniatures tend to come out OK, but not great. For that, I acquired a DLP printer with vastly better resolution than what a FDM printer can do, but that's a significant commitment in setting up a workspace and handling toxic waste afterwards. __________________ I've been making pointlessly shiny things, and I've got some gaming-related stuff as well as 3d printing designs. Buy my Warehouse 23 stuff, dammit!

01-01-2021, 12:52 PM	#4
jacobmuller Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Not in your time zone:D	Re: (3D Print) Anyone bought a printer? Thank you, comrades. Sounds pretty much as I thought. I don't fancy handling the waste from DLP and the expendable materials are prohibitively expensive. Had fun investigating the possibility, made two badly designed STLs of hexagonal standees, and come to the conclusion that I need to resist the temptation unless I find a serious use for piles of widgets made from PLA/ PETG/ TPU. Maybe after the pandemic... __________________ "Sanity is a bourgeois meme." Exegeek PS sorry I'm a Parthian shootist: shiftwork + out of country = not here when you are:/ It's all in the reflexes

01-01-2021, 03:35 PM	#5
RogerBW Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: near London, UK	Re: (3D Print) Anyone bought a printer? A thing to bear in mind is that injection moulding on a large scale is much cheaper – when SJGames did the DFRPG kickstarter I compared their add-on costs for the hex standee bases to what I'd be able to print them for, and even with shipping it was better value to buy them. And while it's quicker to print a small thing than to wait for delivery, it's not "I need 20 orcs right now" quick. What the 3D printer is best for IME is the thing of the exact right shape that you can't simply buy in. __________________ Podcast: Improvised Radio Theatre - With Dice Gaming stuff here: Tekeli-li! Blog; Webcomic Laager and Limehouse Buy things by me on Warehouse 23

01-01-2021, 08:59 PM	#6
Mark Skarr Forum Pervert (If you have to ask . . .) Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Somewhere high up.	Re: (3D Print) Anyone bought a printer? At one point I had four 3d printers. I'm down to 1.5. I have an FDM that still works, and the USB Port on my DLP failed. The manufacturer doesn't sell through the company I got it from anymore, and don't recognize my support tickets. So, I'm going to have to figure out the issue myself. But, yeah. We used the 3d Printers for RPGs when we met in meatspace. But, when we went to virtual, all of the skills I developed working on 3d models for printing carried over into 3d models for Tabletop Simulator. But, yeah. 3d printing is a blast.