a question about 3D printers

[Jediken]

Hey everyone,
This is my first post to this group and I have a question about 3D printers.

So this is also my first foray into the world of 3D printing and I've been getting lost looking at the various printers in my price range. I think I found one that will suit my needs of wanting to build a Boba Cosplay (The book of Boba Fett armor) but thought I should get the thoughts of those who have gone before me before pulling the trigger on it.

Upgraded S8 Plus 3D Printer, SUNLU 3D Printer 310X310X400mm​

Thoughts and Suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[JGattonII]

Hi Jediken. While I have been 3D printing for a few years now, and have owned 3 different printers during that time (and still do actually), I do not have experience with the S8 Plus printer and so can't give you much insight into this particular model. The one piece of advice I can give you about printers at this price point in general, however, is to strongly consider the strength of any system's current user/fanbase as a very important feature. For example, my first printer was a FlashForge Creator Pro (FFCP). Although it didn't have a lot of issues, there were a few - and working through them was tough due to the lack of information/support available. Fast forward several years to the emergence of COVID. After hearing about the lack of medical PPE, I joined a local "Masks for Docs" group and began printing/distributing face shields. Between the FFCP's small print bed and the growing demand for PPE, I decided to get a 2nd printer and the closest one I could get my hands on was a Creality Ender 3 Pro. If you're not familiar w/ that printer, they were notoriously plagued with issues out of the box, but there was (and perhaps still is?) a large following of users who were all experiencing the same problems but were also working towards a common solution. In short, the combined value of all their input made it a lot easier to solve any/all problems that arose...
With all of that said, my third printer was a Prusa i3 MK3S and it has been an absolute dream. While it required a considerable amount of initial investment - the print quality, reliability and ease of use has been worth every single penny.

 

[BudaFett]

01Hawk loves 3D printer talk!

 

[Jediken]

01Hawk loves 3D printer talk!

I'd love it if there was more of it...lol.. so many options available, and when your working within a budget.. and it's your first foray into this type of craftsmanship.. a little more guidance would be extremely helpful.

 

[stryker181]

I run two 3D printers right now. Anycubic Chiron (Filament Deposit Material) and an Photon Mono X (Resin). For large parts I use the Chiron. I can print out Rafalfetts back armor and Jetpack body model at 110% (I'm a bigger guy) all in one piece, no cut and paste together. The Jetpack body took 30 days to print. I printed it with solid walls and 30% infill it took 7KG (15 pounds) of filament to complete. I had to slow down the printing at the end as that much material moving back and forth was getting me worried. Some of that is support but it is one heavy jetpack when complete. I was in the military for 28 years so a heavy pack on my back is nothing new. I have printed it twice on this printer so far without issue. The print bed is a bit bigger at 400x400x450 so keep that in mind.

Not to derail your thread but other things to consider as you step into 3D printing.

Material: I wouldn't recommend PLA as post processing (sanding) is near impossible. PLA melts at a low temperature. Some use ABS but it warps badly and smells so you need to work in a ventilated area. PETG sits in-between the two for strength and workability and little to no smell when printing. It will melt but at a higher temperature so sanding is much easier. The issue with PETG is stringing but there are ways to get that under control.

The Chiron is a bit finicky at times and from the factory really noisy. There are some good write ups on modifications to make it both easier to use and quieter (change stepper drivers). As to a following there are other 3D printers with a more significant fan base but the Chiron has served me well. Any 3D printer will require some modifications from factory. All have their weak points so I would accept that you will do a few modifications along the way.

Detailed work: I use a resin printer (Anycubic Photon Mono X) as you can't beat resin printers for details. They are more expensive and the resin isn't cheap (good resin) but personally I wouldn't look to build without it.

Modifying files: The other thing to keep in mind when 3D printing is that sometimes the STL files that you get will need to be modified. I would recommend getting familiar with the Meshmixer program. I have printed out the Rafalfetts armor files in their original format and then thickened them for a second run. I also recently added the damage required so that you don't have to heat and modify the armor post printing. Time for a third run.

This is a modified RafalFett shoulder bell where I thickened it, smoothed it by remeshing it (adding poly count) and added the damage to the part. I will Resin print this out to capture the damage but I could easily FDM print it as well but would take some post processing to get rid of the layer lines.

Armor plate

I also took his sidearm files and added the texture grip and removed the side emblems, barrel and trigger. Now I can paint each part individually and then glue them together.

If I ever get the OK from Rafalfett to post the latest copies of these files I will make them available for use.

Happy 3D printing.

 

[Jediken]

I run two 3D printers right now. Anycubic Chiron (Filament Deposit Material) and an Photon Mono X (Resin). For large parts I use the Chiron. I can print out Rafalfetts back armor and Jetpack body model at 110% (I'm a bigger guy) all in one piece, no cut and paste together. The Jetpack body took 30 days to print. I printed it with solid walls and 30% infill it took 7KG (15 pounds) of filament to complete. I had to slow down the printing at the end as that much material moving back and forth was getting me worried. Some of that is support but it is one heavy jetpack when complete. I was in the military for 28 years so a heavy pack on my back is nothing new. I have printed it twice on this printer so far without issue. The print bed is a bit bigger at 400x400x450 so keep that in mind.

Not to derail your thread but other things to consider as you step into 3D printing.

Material: I wouldn't recommend PLA as post processing (sanding) is near impossible. PLA melts at a low temperature. Some use ABS but it warps badly and smells so you need to work in a ventilated area. PETG sits in-between the two for strength and workability and little to no smell when printing. It will melt but at a higher temperature so sanding is much easier. The issue with PETG is stringing but there are ways to get that under control.

The Chiron is a bit finicky at times and from the factory really noisy. There are some good write ups on modifications to make it both easier to use and quieter (change stepper drivers). As to a following there are other 3D printers with a more significant fan base but the Chiron has served me well. Any 3D printer will require some modifications from factory. All have their weak points so I would accept that you will do a few modifications along the way.

Detailed work: I use a resin printer (Anycubic Photon Mono X) as you can't beat resin printers for details. They are more expensive and the resin isn't cheap (good resin) but personally I wouldn't look to build without it.

Modifying files: The other thing to keep in mind when 3D printing is that sometimes the STL files that you get will need to be modified. I would recommend getting familiar with the Meshmixer program. I have printed out the Rafalfetts armor files in their original format and then thickened them for a second run. I also recently added the damage required so that you don't have to heat and modify the armor post printing. Time for a third run.

This is a modified RafalFett shoulder bell where I thickened it, smoothed it by remeshing it (adding poly count) and added the damage to the part. I will Resin print this out to capture the damage but I could easily FDM print it as well but would take some post processing to get rid of the layer lines.
View attachment 220502
Armor plate
View attachment 220505

I also took his sidearm files and added the texture grip and removed the side emblems, barrel and trigger. Now I can paint each part individually and then glue them together.

View attachment 220503
If I ever get the OK from Rafalfett to post the latest copies of these files I will make them available for use.

Happy 3D printing.

Thanks Stryker, that was pretty informative, I appreciate it.

 

[01Hawk]

01Hawk loves 3D printer talk!

LOL. 3D printer talk drives me insane. So many experts and so many " you have to do this" or " this printer sucks"..

I am no expert - I just kind of wing it .

I have 3 Artillery Sidewinder X1 printers, a Creality CR10S, a Sovol SV03 , an ELegoo Saturn and Mars .

I love the Artillery ones and have thousands of hours run on them , the Creality is a pain but I think that is my fault as so many people love the, the SV03 will be perfect once I fix all the issues it was delivered ( brand new) to me with as it is 350x350x400. Saturn is an awesome resin printer as is my Mars.

Petg is the way to go for armor/weapons. It wont melt/deform if it is left in the heat . People get away with PLA/PLA+ but I wouldnt want to risk putting a ton of refinish work into something and have it deform.

In theory resin would be the best way to go but a printer big enough to do helmets/armor is typically outside the budget of the average person and will be heavy.

I use the resin from the resin printer to coat my pla parts to smooth them out after hitting them with a UV light. I just started with PETG and that may sand just fine without that.

You will get all kinds of advice and people shoving their prefered setup down your throat. Pick one that gets fairly good reviews, sign up for their FB pages and read a ton before buying. They will break, they will act up and piss you off but once you get the hang of it it will go a bit smoother.

You can check out my Instagram ( Flamer.Fett) for what the quality of the printers I use are

 

[stryker181]

LOL. 3D printer talk drives me insane. So many experts and so many " you have to do this" or " this printer sucks"..

I am no expert - I just kind of wing it .

I have 3 Artillery Sidewinder X1 printers, a Creality CR10S, a Sovol SV03 , an ELegoo Saturn and Mars .

I love the Artillery ones and have thousands of hours run on them , the Creality is a pain but I think that is my fault as so many people love the, the SV03 will be perfect once I fix all the issues it was delivered ( brand new) to me with as it is 350x350x400. Saturn is an awesome resin printer as is my Mars.

Petg is the way to go for armor/weapons. It wont melt/deform if it is left in the heat . People get away with PLA/PLA+ but I wouldnt want to risk putting a ton of refinish work into something and have it deform.

In theory resin would be the best way to go but a printer big enough to do helmets/armor is typically outside the budget of the average person and will be heavy.

I use the resin from the resin printer to coat my pla parts to smooth them out after hitting them with a UV light. I just started with PETG and that may sand just fine without that.

You will get all kinds of advice and people shoving their prefered setup down your throat. Pick one that gets fairly good reviews, sign up for their FB pages and read a ton before buying. They will break, they will act up and piss you off but once you get the hang of it it will go a bit smoother.

You can check out my Instagram ( Flamer.Fett) for what the quality of the printers I use are

I'm with you I think that when it comes to 3D printing we are all winging it. Likely why I have multiple prints of each item, spools of random filament and bottles of various resin sitting in my basement and a wife upstairs shaking her head and wondering when it will all be over.

 

[BudaFett]

Love you 01Hawk

 

[Jediken]

decided to go with the Creality CR10s pro from here https://www.newark.com/creality-3d/...300-x-400mm-1/dp/81AC2321?ICID=I-RP-STM7REC-0. ordered a a couple of 4 packs of petg and a spool holder to start with. once it gets here I set it up I'll start looking at the files to printing.. wish me luck..heh

 

[stryker181]

Can't go wrong with a Creality machine. There is a big following and lots of support for them.