How to 3D print miniatures on a FDM printer
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- čas přidán 14. 10. 2018
- UPDATE Feb. 2021: I have updated profiles for Cura 4.8 available at www.fatdragongames.com in the 'Resources' menu here: www.fatdragongames.com/fdgfile...
GET OUR EASY PRINT 3D PRINTABLE MINIS HERE:
www.fatdragongames.com
This episode tells you how to 3D print D&D miniatures on a $200 Ender 3 3D printer, including a full explanation of all key slicer settings and why they were chosen. Our upcoming part 2 of this video will cover finishing techniques to clean minis up for painting.
EDIT: The glass transition point of standard PLA is approximately 65˚, while the PLA+/Pro I mention in the video is higher (I didn't specify 'Pro' vs. 'Standard' in the video. Sorry!)
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Join our Dragonlock Facebook group for help with 3D printing Dragonlock models, see Dragonlock D&D tabletop terrain builds others have made, and much more!
/ 528423924186756
Sign up for the Fat Dragon Games Newsletter here for previews of our D&D terrain and miniatures:
fatdragongames.us3.list-manag...
Great article on making D&D miniatures:
www.hayksaakian.com/how-to-ma...
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The Creality Ender 3 printer used for these miniatures can be purchased here:
Amazon affiliate links (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases):
Ender 3 printer:
amzn.to/2mKsZJZ
amzn.to/2xSoIcr
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Ender 3 Assembly Instructions:
www.creality3d.cn/download/pr...
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Cura Profiles:
www.fatdragongames.com/fdgfile...
Bed leveling test model:
www.dropbox.com/sh/vr9lkpjt6z...
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Replacement/upgrade parts from Amazon:
Bowden Tube fittings (not essential to begin with, but these are much better than the ones supplied with the printer and you will want to replace them eventually):
amzn.to/2JXDcvX
Extra nozzles:
amzn.to/2OjyPPa
Micro SD to SD extender:
amzn.to/2JYd4kg
Filament (eSun PLA Pro Gray):
amzn.to/2LRvx3S
Upgraded aluminum extruder for Ender 3:
amzn.to/2LJWGZW - Hry
This was honestly (and quite literally) a college level class on 3D printing. Seriously, I was even remembering some Physics classes I had to attend when you were explaining glass transition temperature. Amazing, very in-depth, well-explained content!
this is better than any college class for sure.
As part of my IT job I am forced to take many software courses for certification and new products. The professionalism and ease of teaching in this video is better than most anything I've seen in my industry. Thanks for doing such a great job. Finally, after watching dozens of smart asses explaining nothing in a video, some actual quality and comprehension of the subject.
5 years later your voice echos to teach another generation of 3d printing enjoyers. A most jovile dragon, indeed.
having a 3d printer makes playing warhammer as a hobby actually financialy possible lol
I confirm ... my main use for my own 3D printer is to make vehicule ...
@@SermoniusWH are they allowed in tournament play? I was thinking about getting into 40k
@@chrism7067 I would say "as long as you don't get caught, you can bring them".
Because, you know, GW and price and greedyness ...
@@SermoniusWH cool. Yeah their prices are ridiculous. its one of the couple reasons i havent built an army
@@chrism7067 they are legal in some tourniments, more or less if it looks like the model it counts
Man.....subscribed. Learned more here in 5 minutes about theory than the past 3 months of researching.
Glad it helped :)
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors It sure did, I'm not even printing miniatures...but then the information and diagrams that were coming across made so much more sense than the other videos trying to diagnose these issues. I'm new to 3D printer world...bought one two weeks ago...now I bought three more...and I'm pretty certain I'll be designing and machining my own for the next one. I went to dip my toes in and cannon balled off the roof instead. Thanks for the tips!
What I came to realize from printing off all these various printers is how much more importance there is in the slicer skill to create functional parts. I feel like I just skipped 4-5 years of troubles spending a couple hours on your channel. The Information Age.
Thanks for the profile and bed test links, also loved the parameters explaining!! Note for me in future:
- layer height 0.1
- first layer 0.2
- reduce temp to minimum
- reduce retraction to 5
- disable wall overlap
- disable z hop jump
- activate jerk control (my ender 3 stepper do strange sound without)
- printing speed 55 generic and wall ½ so 22.5 magic
My profile will sure improve after this video, keep up the good work!!
Hey Man. I live in South Africa and we have electricity issues every few hours. Can I ask you how long on average it takes you to print a mini with these settings?
Man, this is a gem! first. with ur bed leveling models i figured out that my stock ender 3 bed has a '
'hole' in the middle. second. that test skele model is a beast, i never thought my printer could do that! thx alot!
I'm glad it helped you :)
Thanks for this video. I appreciated your reasoning regarding *why* you chose settings that others might recommend against. Knowing the "why" lets people choose the trade-offs they're after instead of frantically changing settings hoping to hit a sweet spot they never change.
Honestly I learned more in this 20 minutes than I did in 4 years! Keep these up !! Thank you so much! Id love to see some nit and grit on the filabot too!
Just bought my Ender3 after watching this video and seeing your results and i couldnt be happier. I got it on Friday and followed your build guide and your manual bed leveling guide then this video and printed my heroforge mini and the results where great. Thank you so much for your time and knowledge putting these videos together they have been a great help.
Be sure to try our Fat Dragon Games miniatures, they are specifically designed for printing on a FDM printer and don't require slicer supports! www.fatdragongames.com
Finally, someone explains the three shells!
(Seriously -- great information. Thanks!)
IF only
That was my first thought while watching this video...instantly paused and scrolled down here, was not disappointed ;)
I understood this reference
I'll add to what others have said. This video is absolutely top notch. I exposed all these settings in Cura, and they are terrifying to try and learn about. This video was concise, but with enough depth of explanation that I can totally understand why the settings are set as they are, and I'm looking forward to improving the mechs I'm printing! Thanks!
I dont print mini's but thank you my friend for explaining so many things and making me understand the settings in my slicer. I love the way you explain in detail how each setting can effect your print. I have a lot better understanding, thank you. You've earned yourself another subscriber.
Thank you!
Yes it answered a few questions I still had about some settings. Well covered and informative.
I just had to say, I recently bought my first 3d printer, a cheap MP Select Mini V2 and using your settings I can't believe how good the prints look. I've printed several minis as well as some tavern terrain and it all finished beautifully. Thank you for the video!
I guess I will simply pile on! This video is outstanding. It explains sooooo much in terms that are technical but not over the top. It really does not matter what you are printing, the information applies to anything that is highly detailed. Very well done!
Used your videos to build my Enders 3 V2, level the bed, and print my first dnd minis! You are an absolute life saver! I love your videos and am super grateful to you for being so open and helpful with the 3d printing community!
Thank you :)
What a great video!
I have been printing for 6 years, and you just taught me the science behind several things that I was only inherently aware of.
Thank you.
OH MY GOD! IT WORKS SO WELL! USE THE AFFILIATE LINKS GUYS HE DESERVES IT
Thanks :)
This video was so much help. Saved me months of trying to figure out the settings myself, I am tuning your profile to work with my new Anet A8 and so far I am liking where my prints are going. You sir are a gentleman and a scholar!
I’m researching what is the most suitable 3D printer and must say it’s not an easy task, your insight into the science of infill is absolutely fantastic really appreciate this technology
Best 3d printing video I've seen yet. I was also trying to use the finest settings on my printer and this video explained why they were looking so bad. I was getting discouraged because I thought that if my printer was making crap at the best settings then it would never get better. Thanks!
Thanks for watching :)
Per 3dprintersonline, the Ender 5 will be out soon. Any info on this at all? Is 3dprintersonline a good company to deal with?
The Ender 5 appears to be a continuation of the Ender 4, which is a totally different printer than the Ender 3. The Ender 3 produces far better prints that the 4. No clue if 3DPO is good to deal with or not, I haven't ordered from them.
EDIT: The Ender 5 isn't a direct continuation of the Ender 4, it looks like they have changed all of the issues I have had with the 4, and it looks like it could be a very nice printer (I will be reviewing it once out).
www.creality3donline.com/creality-ender-5-3d-printer_p0123.html It's out; hope you get to be the first reviewer!
Dude....best explanation of how all this stuff works. Plain english...no weird accents and misinterpretations. Props!!
Thanks :)
That's bemusing, considering his is one of the thickest accents I've come across amongst 3D printing videos - even as a native English speaker I had to stop multitasking to make out the words. But yeah, nothing worse than having to listen to foreigners of similar knowledge and skill amirite :p
Anyway, great video! Turns out I have been underestimating the capabilities of my cheap printer.
pretty sure your accent's weird as fuck to most people...
pot, meet kettle.
Thanks so much. I've seen so many "tutorial", videos online where they tell you to, "tune your profile", - but they NEVER give you a clue how to do that. THIS is the video I've bee looking for!!
So incredibly helpful. Not just a list of settings but the thought and reasoning behind each setting.
So good. Thank you for actually explaining these settings. Well done!
I dont know what to say except perfect. Untill today i was trying to print little figurines for my daughter but with no success. I was using s3d. Because of your video i tried cura and now i am left with perfect print and happy daughter. Happy daughter=happy father. Thank you.
Awesome! :)
This is one the best videos I've seen with sound information on squeezing the most out of FDM printers for getting detailed prints. got my sub.
Yep. Same 👍 Don't even use/print minis... just a really good video that applies to various small print applications. Going to test his settings on micro lithophane prints for necklaces and keyfobs 👌
I just purchased my first printer - Neptune 2s - a few days ago. I think I learned more in this one video than everything else I’ve watched leading up to it. Thanks so much!! 🔥🔥🔥
I managed to get my army of darkness (50+ of the original skellies) looking good. The thick spear minis are fantastic. Thanks for all the work you put into this, including this video.
Thanks!
nice documentation on your acceleration and jerk settings.
With good calculated Esteps on my ender_3 and 97 a 95 flow i'm been able to go as low as 4mm and 30mm/s with retraction without any sign of stringing. i also believe as less retraction as possible i creates less stress on your tube and couplers.
Thank you so much for the updated Cura 4.8 settings, I am brand spanking new to the 3d printing arena and I wanna print miniatures, and your settings and wisdom has helped me so much and I am enjoying the process so much! Print all the things! My new motto lol. But everything you do is greatly appreciated and helpful!
Thank you 🙏 the advice is invaluable. I’m in the market for my first 3D printer and have been surfing for info on minis. There’s many conflicting profiles that just explain changing settings, but not explaining why. You have explained in detail why you have done what you’ve done. Good work ☺️😁🌟
Thank you so much for the detailed explanations! As an engineer, it really helped me put things into perspective with my prints. One thing you didn't mention, but I have the most trouble with, is supports. Any plans, or have you already, on explaining best practices in another video? Have have several designs with swords or staffs that seem to fail because of faulty supports. Any tips on this would be greatly appreciated! thanks, Ken
Dude, that was tremendously informative! I was pulling my hair out over the solid mini/ retraction issue.
The first 4 minutes alone gave me amazing information! Now I understand not only how to fix one of my biggest 3D-printing issues, but why it occurs in the first place!
Wow, this is the first video that i've seen about 3d printing that really digs deep into the science of it all.(You could count "cnc kitchen", but I can not keep listening to him)
Very well presented and easy to follow if you're into the science.
Great video, and thanks for the walkthrough on all the settings. Very helpful. I'm interested in comparing my results with your profile with the results that I've been getting from the Seipei profile that I've been using. Considering the difference in print time, I'm very interested indeed!
Fantastic video... thanks so much for putting your hard earned lessons out there for everyone!
Another excellent introduction for the novice (like me) on the fine art of tabletop mini and terrain printing. Another very well done, sir!
THANKS! This drastically improved all the fine detail level stuff I've been trying to print in general, not just miniatures.
Sir..this is something new for me..tq for the explaination.its a new knowledge for me.thank you again..bless you..
I'm slowly getting into 3D printing . Real slow (don't even own a printer yet) However this video is valuable to me as a beginner. Definitly alot of experimenting involved in order to get good results. Keep it up!
Thanks!
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors When is your supports video coming? Also as sieferswe said, this video is great and gives really detailed information. Thanks!
I have to say that your explanations around Tg, Tensile Strength, Heat Convection etc. were splanded!! Greetings from a materials scientist :) I am verry happy when I see people to know things rather than press just buttons!! Keep informing us :)
This is intensely helpful, especially going through your settings and explaining the details, it gives so much more context. I'm going to give this all a try on my printer and see how I go, so many of the things you talk about are things I'm having trouble with and it turns out may be causing my own issues just trying to get a better print. I'm so impressed with your results and I endeavor to have that someday! I feel a lot closer to that after watching this lol.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions, and we have a great troubleshooting group over on Facebook here: facebook.com/groups/528423924186756/ :)
Your videos are the best I've found on using the Ender 3. Thank you Thank you Thank you. I bought the printer primarily to make parts for my drone, but these videos have also inspired me to try my hand at making miniatures. Might I suggest you make a copy of this video and some others with a title that may be suitable for others just looking to use their printer? I think you'd get a gazillion views. BTW, just bought a model set. Thanks again for great vids.
Very informative, understanding the why you do something is great
Thank you!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have been struggling for over 2 weeks to print minis on my Select Mini Pro with no luck. This is my first printer so I am total novice. Taking your settings and explanations, I have been able to print decent minis!
Wonderful!
I have been using your Cura profile for all my minis. I have two Ender3's running most the time printing them. Thank You for the video and the excellent profile. It works better than any that I have tried, and at less printing time than some of the others. I made a few tweaks to it, to suit my needs and bang, perfect minis every time. I haven't printed any terrain pieces yet, but I will be using your profiles, when I do.
AMAZING VIDEO, you deserve more subscribers, great work
Thank you! :)
Tremendously informative... shared video on Discord. Well done!
Thank you SO MUCH!
I am a total newbie to 3D printing and am working with a pretty old and neglected printer my company has and your videos are just amazing. It helps so much understading the in depth reasons for some configs and gives me confidence to try and adjust the settings to my specifics.
Thank you so so much!!
Glad it helped! :)
I cant wait to try all these pro tips! Best one about the radiant heat solves an issue I've been having a real headache with concerning contraction of layers
Great video, I like you that you explain the background as well.
Thank you!
After looking at this video and adjusting my settings, I get nearly perfect prints on my prusa mk3. Though, I have a problem with supports. I use cura experimental tree supports and I really like them, but sometimes the supports have too little surface area which connects to the actual mesh, and it loosens during printing. Therefor I'm really looking forward to your video about supports!
Just getting into airbrushing and looking for info on printing small models, painting techniques and more, and I'm so happy I found your excellent video! Thank you, thank you, this will give me a great start!
Just wanted to drop in to say you have the best videos on CZcams in the 3D printer space.
Great timing! I finished putting my ender together and printing all the upgrade parts. I am fairly sure I have the bed leveled well. With the magnetic sheet and Aqua Net Extra Super Hold parts are adhering very well. (I was curious how long the hair spray would last and was getting 5-6 uses before reapplying it.) I was just starting to look at printing terrain and miniatures. The finish on the upgrade parts were a bit off and I had a feeling that understanding the settings on Cura would be key to getting better prints.
I look at what people are posting and some are really good, some close to mine, some worse. Would it be possible to have a video that show example of prints that are just off and how to fix them along the lines of what you did with the adaptive printed skeleton?
Great video. I also have an Ender 3, I will try your setting, but I use Simplify3D, hopefully I can reproduce your settings.
Did you have successfully reproduced the settings in S3D ?
probably the best overall 3D printing instructions I've seen to date. and yes I know I'm 5 years behind on responding. but this is very good. I have a 1st edition Forge Finder and it takes a lot education to make printing on that little box good. This helps
excellent explanation on the input/effects from your settings! Adjusted some of my settings to see results. I was able to see a increase in quality for smaller detail items.
Did you put a CURA profile link in description? Anyway the best technical video about printing minis. Most of vídeos on yt say 100%infil and 20%print speed its way better option, now i can desagree with solid arguments.
Yes, Cura profiles are linked in the video description. :)
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors Maybe I'm just blind but I really don't see it there. :-)
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors
I can't find the profile either?
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Bed leveling test model & Cura printer profiles: www.dropbox.com/sh/vr9lkpjt6z...
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Anyone find the link for the Cura Profiles? Thanks
These settings didn't really apply to my monoprice select mini, I had issues, but then again I should try applying the principles, not the exact settings.
That was a lot more theory than I expected and it lines up with all of my understanding of physics. Great video! Thanks for sharing.
really appreciate the videos, you really got me up to speed quickly and improved my prints. To show my appreciation I picked up a set of your models to help support. Thank you for all you do.
Thank you, I truly appreciate that! :)
Like literally up to speed, moving off that .5 layer height to 1 doubled my print speed
Jeez, that software seems to have WAY more options than what my Flashforge Finder uses.
Did you install a "pure" version of cura? Did it work? (I am really interested in buying flashforge finder, but not sure if it's good for printing mini figures)
Also, look up the printer stepper magic numbers. The Ender 3 I believe is 0.04. This means the ideal layer height is divisible by 0.04. For example, I use 0.12 for miniatures. It works great!
Bale11 was just about to comment saying the same
Dude you are such a beast! Just got an Ender 3 v2 and your content has been incredible in getting me set up
This is the most detailed and thoughtful video I have seen on this topic, thank you very much!
Very thorough. I appreciate you going through the settings, that doesn't happen often.
Great video! Very informative and helpful. Knowing the why is so much better than just following profiles and guessing why they work or don't. Looking forward to more videos!
Thanks :)
Hello, getting my ender 3 s1 pro soon, and I really wanna try this.
Thanks for answering everyone's question even 5 years later, I learn a lot from that too !
Keep on the good work and thx !
This is brilliant. Thank you. Thank you for explaining succinctly the many pitfalls to printing minis.
Amazing resource for the community, thanks! I'm about to start printing minis and this video is a huge wealth of information.
The amount of information you share is truly amazing. Keep up the good work.
Thank you :)
Thanks for an excellent video with clear layman's explanation of the various settings and their effect on the print. You've earned a new subscriber today!
Thank you! :)
Did my first 3d print of a mini in my local library yesterday, got it today. Managed to do most of the no-nos you mentioned in this video, looks pretty bad. Re-sliced with your settings so looking forward to trying round 2. Great explanation on how everything works, cheers!
I use to work as a field service engineer for a large industrial robot maker, hearing all those terms brought back a lot of memories of that time, as well as some from my college classes in Statics and Dynamics.
I used your Profile on my Ender 3 Pro on some Foam Texture rollers and they are the Best prints I have ever pulled off my printer. Thanks for sharing this.
I just wanted to thank you for this video! I've tried a couple of minis on my Ender 3 and have ended up with messes. This video and the profile you provided worked great on the first try! Thanks!
Thank you for the in-depth explanation for all of your settings. I'm new to printing and I've been pretty much flying blind when it comes to slicer settings. I'm eager to learn more and this was easy to follow and understand.
Thank you! A new video is coming Friday with updated settings :)
Still relevant, your videos are a great base for anyone wanting to print minis. Thanks for the knowledge boost fella, great job!
Thank you for not just saying 100% infill make your print slower and layer hight as microscopic as possible. Saved me 3 hours of printing time. Looking forward to these prints
Amazing video. Physics and 3d design all in one . Love it
I'm getting an Ender 3 pro this week and I plan on printing miniatures and models I sculpt and model on my computer, so I found this video very helpful.
Super helpful! A couple of minis that were failing on me printed w/o incident. Thanks for the detailed walkthough of the settings.
This is the most informative 3d printing video ive ever watched. Sincerely, thank you.
Thank you! Be sure to use my latest Cura profiles for my newer settings (Cura has changed a lot since this video was made.) :)
Will do, thanks again.
Thank you, going through and explaining the settings was really helpful in understanding those settings in general. Got the Ender 3 S1 for my daughter for Christmas, and we are brand new to 3d printing. So this video was very valuable! So excited we can make minis with it!
Be sure to use my most current profiles from my website, a lot has changed with Cura (new Arachne engine) since this video was made. Use my Cura profile on the website and change retraction distance to 1mm. :)
Ok! Appreciate the heads up and your hard work.
Thank you so much? These cura settings are awesome.. everything I pull off this printer is looking so smooth. Thanks again
These settings are amazing. I was able to print in 30 minutes what another method had said would take 3 hours, and the quality was great. Thanks for the tips!
Make sure you try my latest miniature profiles available on the Fat Dragon Games website under the 'Resources' menu, they are my best settings yet.
Wow, I followed your advice and the result was revolutionary. Thank you.
Thanks so much for your video! I've never printed any minis, but I thought I'd give your settings a try on my CR-10S... WOW! The improvement in the prints is outstanding! I just printed my first 28 mm mini and I have also printed a damn perfect Marvin.... You rock!
Awesome!
Really excellent video with some of the best technical explanations I've see so far - Subscribed!
Thank you! :)
After trying to find good settings for printing small items on my FDM, I tried your suggestions from this video. I can confidently say you sir know what the heck you are talking about. My prints are coming out beautifully on my Neptune 3 Plus. Can't thank you enough!
Try my newest profiles (on my website under the Resources menu), they work even better! :)
Great, that was a huge help for me diving into 3D-printing.
Wow. What can I say but thanks Tom for this great video. I haven't tried printing minis yet but I'll try now with those logics that you have shared. Thanks again.
Thank you :)
Such an informative video with great explanations - thank you so much for explaining all of these settings, this would have taken me so much time and pain to figure out myself!
I would have paid for a well presented and informative video like this. Subscribed.
You are the king. Thank you... Lots of vital info about printing tiny and intricate designs.
I have subscribed to your channel today because I can see the results in the finished product and your teaching is very clear. I am wanting to get into 3D printing with an interest in 10-15mm armor models. I have see quite a few downloads that are very interesting. I am also interested in the FDM printers as I do resin casting and it is quite a messy method. in itself. Thank you for sharing this clear and concise tutorial
Thanks for this. You gave excellent explanations at every step and as a beginner this video was incredibly helpful!