Adventures in 3D Printing. Panzers and Fantasy

[jknaus]

I'm still fairly new to this game but I am going to hazard a guess the first picture was under exposed a bit or more possably expired or poor resin. Some resins like the Sirya Tech Navy Grey you really need to mix well. I have seen on forums where some manufacturers have changed their formulas also with some poor results. If the resin has expired thjat can also affect the print. I have gotten a couple of bottles from Amazon where they were expired or contaminated and has things like that first picture happen. Its not lost though, just sand the waste off and it should be okay.. The next two might be the angle you are printing at. I am guessing you had this attached to the plate right side up. I'm thinking that because there is a bit of elephant foot on the very bottom. I would cant the model at 45 degrees and use supports.
This might help a bit??

3D Printing Flat Surfaces On A SLA 3D Printer - TheMechNinja

There is no fixed angle for printing flat surfaces perfectly, so we devised a formula i.e. arctan(layer height/pixel width).

themechninja.com

This also may help.

Formlabs Customer Support

Submit a support ticket or use our self-service application

support.formlabs.com

Formlabs Customer Support

Submit a support ticket or use our self-service application

support.formlabs.com

I hope these help somewhat.
James

 

[Mo_]

Thank you! Yes I was getting elephant foot on my prints that I put directly to the build plate. I wasn't to worried on those items as they were test/tool holders for my bench. I have been putting my prints that I don't want elephant foot on supports and experimenting at different directions on the XY axes at 45 degree angles. That really seemed to help! You can really burn through the resin just playing around! But im surprised at how long a bottle really last.

I tell ya, I'm really enjoying this resin printing. While frustrating at times its amazing what can be achieved. As things develop and improve with print quality(they are pretty amazing right now with the right machine) the sky is the limit. If you can design it...you can print it.

I wonder what the big companies that we buy resin and 3d print resins from think about this. I know eduard has really jump into this 3d printing stuff. I know not every Joe Blow has one...but there are many out there.

Some stuff that people can design is really amazing. Im just getting my feet wet in CAD. Just for the sake of dreaming. If I was really good at desiging and printing, I'd never have to spend another dollar on aftermarket ever again.

 

[jknaus]

Some companies are selling stl files. I really wanted to try Anyz's stuff but it was just too much with shipping here. During COVID they started selling their files. Their web site is here https://anyz.io/shop
If you look at shop categories for digital you can buy their stuff. I love the products and as I was just looking I found some new products also. So I guess I am getting some new files
James

 

[moon puppy]

What are you guys using for CAD?

 

[jknaus]

What are you guys using for CAD?

I am trying to learn FreeCad https://www.freecadweb.org/
There are some amazing tutorials on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@FreeCADAcademy
I have also played with Tinkercad and made a wheel for our cart at work, a lit for a glass storage jar that had its lid broken, and a toggle for a microswitch using it.
James

 

[moon puppy]

I took mechanical drawing way back in HS and recall Mr Gill telling us about perspective drawing and it's just points in space you link up. I try to get my mind around that when I've tinkered with cad in the past. Might dive in again and see what's up. Control horns for the WnW aircraft have been something i've wanted to create.

 

[jknaus]

I took mechanical drawing way back in HS and recall Mr Gill telling us about perspective drawing and it's just points in space you link up. I try to get my mind around that when I've tinkered with cad in the past. Might dive in again and see what's up. Control horns for the WnW aircraft have been something i've wanted to create.

Okay that would be very cool. I'm surprised noone has made the control horns as AM yet seeing as everyone seems to want them.
James

 

[Mo_]

What are you using to wash your prints with. After getting more and more involved in this, I've been eyeing a wash and cure station. Also are you using alcohol or something else? I'm using Fusion360.

 

[jknaus]

I am currently using the Any Cubic wash and Cure https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08YWYSN55/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got the Elegoo Wash and cure because I like them, but when they made the larger sized one they cheaped out a bit and it was not all that great. From what I have read they revised it to be better. The best thing about Elegoo is their customer service and willingness to listen to customers and learn. I use 99.9% pure alcohol. I tried the water washable resin but I didnt like it at all. Some people use 2 or 3 baths, a pre waah with dirty alcohol, followed by a wash with cleaner alcohol and sometimes a final wash. I can see 2 baths and will try that myself at some point. Problem is lack of room.
James

 

[jknaus]

Okay I have releveled my build plate and done my frst successful print of 2023. I am/was building a L4500A mit 3.7cm Flak 37 although I am seriously considering putting on a Flak 36. So I looked through my files and found ammo cans and ammo for the Flak 36 and 37. Printed out a bunch of open ammo cans, closed ammo cand and ammo on its tray and then empty trays. I needed to fill up the plate and so also put on some 1/32 wheels for a Mirage III that I got from Anyz during Christmas. I also added some toggle switches and knobs and wheels also by Anyz in 1/32 for an upcoming Cobra project. Very pleased how it all came out. Please excuse the crummy pictures as I'm still trying to figure out my phone seeing as my camera died.

Now I have lots of empty casings for around the Flak and some ready rounds as well as enough open and closed cases to look busy. I love how the picture of the toggle switches came out. You can see them really well. It will be fun making a cockpit and populating it with switches.
Now all I need to do is find where the front axle of my truck buggered off to yesterday. Funny how something that big can drop straight down and disappear. Sigh.
James

 

[moon puppy]

Can you guys tell us about the printing process? Does the computer have to be online to send the job or can it send and the printer cache the print job and print the subject unattended?

 

[Mo_]

For my phrozen printer the files are stored on a USB stick..just convert the file into what the printer reads on your main computer, transfer file to USB stick. Then plug USB stick into printer, select your file and go. The USB has to remain plugged into the printer.

Those look great. This 3d printing really is next level in our hobby. After I'm done with my exhaust I'm going to try 50cal ammo belts.

 

[jknaus]

Basically same with me. I can plug in a USB cable to my Saturn S or use a usb stick and on my Saturn 2 same thing. For the Neptune 3 and 3Pro I can plug in a usb cable or use a Micro SD card. Some people have modified their Neptunes for wireless printing and more. The only problem with printing direct from the computer is you need it on the whole time and any glitches and your print is gone. By useing the card or stick you set it printing and forget. I have had a 30 hour print on my Neptune before. Currently I am printing a modular tower hydroponic garden so I can try and cut down on grocery costs and the planter is a 18 hour print.
On my Resin printers I also bought extra build plates so that I can take one off at the end of the print, put a new one on and continue printing as I clean and process the first one.
James

 

[jknaus]

Okay I have printed some track, Pz III/IV track type 1 early for my Stug III 0. Also some early equipment. Here is a pic on the build plate just after cleaning but before curing. Hope it is of some interest.

After cleaning I should be able to use .5mm rod to pin the tracks. Oh and the 4 cylinders are supposed to be British oil cans. I need to check and see if they are correct or not. Printing right now on my Saturn 2 are some Vietnamese boats and then a Post 2000 Mule will be next.
On the Neptune Pro I have been printing a couple of different types of Hydroponic gardens. Hoping to make a Herb Garden and also a modular garden that can come in in winter and go out in summer.
James

 

[jknaus]

I forgot this print from last weekend. Its 2 P&W 2800 C engines. I'm pretty sure they will work for my A-26B Invader. Just need a wash, prime and paint. Then some extra detail. I forgot I got these files. Comments welcome.
James

 

[jeaton01]

I like that engine!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Engines look like they are going to be pretty nice and detailed. Show us the parts after they have been trimmed as I would like to see how they look before and after being built.

 

[Brokeneagle]

Okay I have printed some track, Pz III/IV track type 1 early for my Stug III 0. Also some early equipment. Here is a pic on the build plate just after cleaning but before curing. Hope it is of some interest.
View attachment 156439
After cleaning I should be able to use .5mm rod to pin the tracks. Oh and the 4 cylinders are supposed to be British oil cans. I need to check and see if they are correct or not. Printing right now on my Saturn 2 are some Vietnamese boats and then a Post 2000 Mule will be next.
On the Neptune Pro I have been printing a couple of different types of Hydroponic gardens. Hoping to make a Herb Garden and also a modular garden that can come in in winter and go out in summer.
James

How does the cost stack up against say , Miniart pzr 3 track?

 

[moon puppy]

Wow James! Just Wow!

 

[jknaus]

How does the cost stack up against say , Miniart pzr 3 track?

Well I pay a subscription of $14.00 Cdn each month for the designs that Kai makes. I believe anyone joining now will find a slightly higher cost. He also sells the designs on Cult3D after the fact. Then in terms of resin I think this plate of parts came to $5.00 or so. Plus I can print as many more as I need for as many kits with just the cost of time and material. So all in all not bad. Of course you need to buy a printewr and all the associated extras and you can and will get failures until you tune your printer in so the initial outlay is expensive. I was thrilled before with what I was printing, but with the Saturn 2 I am just awestruck on what I can do. To me though printing is another hobby so the price is mitigated with the fun and exasperation I experience and I am learning so much new stuff. You can always buy the files and then get a third party to print for you which will increase the cost. I think it is worth it personally, but not every one will. I am currently looking for T-34 track and everywhere I look its sold out. I think a lot of that is the war in Ukraine. For these tracks which are measured from the real thing and modeled to be exact replicas it took about an hour to set up the build plate 4 hours to print. As long as I have my file it will only be printing time now. This is better than the weeks for an order to come from Europe or the US or Australia as I can print any time I need to. The R-2800 files were free and they were recently updated and corrected also for free. I can also print tons of figures and it is possible to increase and decrease the size of the files if I change scale. I think overall though it is going to be a personal decision by each and every modeler on to whether it is cost effective or not. As for a FDM printer, it is great for less detailed items such as display bases etc. The learning curve is way higher and it is more work. My wife got me my first FDM printer for Christmas last year and then a list of things she wanted. I bought a new one later last year and then I got enough Christmas amazon cards I got this new printer this Christmas. I have been making bases for figures and am now making some hydroponic gardening stuff. I made some toys for the Grandkids and co workers kids/grand kids, and also useful items such as a wheel for work and some toggles for a micro toggle switch. Again it is all up to the individual whether this is worth it or not.
I hope that answers the question, but feel free to ask more or for clarification as I am just waking up and only half way through a cup of hot chocolate
James