Well, howdy there internet MRR peeps
It's Troy again
Today we're going to talk about another investment in my hobbies.
You might recall that I recently plunged into the world of 3D Resin printing.
Well, I pulled a muscle in my back trying to get a countertop out of a friend's SUV. Back re-twinged yesterday, so I spent the day with the heating pad. However, the reason I wanted to get that countertop was to make a home for this bad boy:
That's an entry level $180 USD on Amazon 3 D Filament printer
We're almost 12 hours into a print job. That's a 1:56 scale "Normandy" house for a WWII infantry based game.
Here's some detail:
Got about 3+ hours to go just on the building. Then another 10 hours to do the roof in a separate print.
I can down the quality of the print some and print this faster. I wanted to try top quality first. Started this before I went to bed.
If you're thinking about 3D printing, ask yourself the primary purpose. If it's for MRR, structures? Or people?
For People or small details on a HO or smaller scale layout, I'd go with Resin.
For structures (bridges, buildings, larger vehicles) go with Filament like the new one above.
Filament printers (Like my Elegoo Neptune) is cheaper, and you're not dealing with toxic stuff.
Working with Resin, you need nitrile gloves (something better than just vinyl gloves), an alcohol based wash station, and safety goggles for prying the supports off the model. And ventilation. I'm going to have a vent fan added to the basement. It's not a bad smell, but it's not great. And Isopropyl Alcohol (or other cleaners for the resin) are stinky and may have flammable vapors
Software comes with, or is cheap. (One of my slicer programs has a $36/year license fee, the others are free)
There is a learning curve.
You will have failed prints.
Resin has more disposable parts to the printer that need to be swapped out. Mine are new enough that I haven't had to yet.
The other hidden expense is purchasing the files to print. Thingiverse.com is one source. Searching on
https://www.yeggi.com/ is another way to find some. However, many of the folks who digitally sculpt people figures and make the files available would like to be paid for their efforts/art.
I've not done a deep dive into human figures that would work on a MRR, yet. But I will.
These printers will start working on the layout this winter, once I get the new southern end of it figured out.