2w ago

Recommendations for printing my own custom miniatures? Noob Q's

I'm looking for someone or some place that prints miniatures. I'd be supplying the file. I've never sent anything to 3d print and I must be awful at searching because I can't find a single site that has like a rough quote for minis. Of course I understand they would give me a different quote once I supply a file, but so far I have absolutely no clue on what to expect. $20? $150? Do you get a better deal if you print multiple items? Does it matter if they're different or all the same?

That, for starters. Next - what material should I be getting these prints on?

What resolution/parameters do I need to keep in mind for my files?

Does anyone have any recommendations for Australia?

Thanks

5 comments

You want someone with a resin printer over a fdm one. You will get waaaay better quality.
For a standard mini I would assume the material cost to be less than £1.
Expect it to be a chunk more than that as it's the cost of the printer/staff/shipping that will make up most of the amount.
This is probably a better question for the 3d printing communities.
- ...we have 3d printing communities...? Of course... I didn't even think about it... 🤦
Usual reminder that you don't need mini, and that if you really want some, a cheap alternative is to print images on poker-token (that you can buy for a ridiculously low price on Ali Express)
As usual when talking about 3D printing, look for a fablab near you. While individual printing will be more expensive, it includes the rent and maintenance of the machine, and gives you access to a wide variety of machine to match your specific needs. IMO, unless you plan to be a heavy 3D printer user, the fixed cost of even a cheap machine won't offset the extra cost of going to a fablab, having access to high quality machine, and a local community of enthusiasts
- Fablab ok will look it up, thanks
  I'm doing this for the sake of creativity, not to conform. There's plenty of minis to borrow from my group, and some are good enough to represent my character. But I'd still like to make my own, it's very enticing as an artist and I'm keen to dip my toes in a new medium. I appreciate the reminder though :)
There are lots of places that will print for you (eg https://www.shapeways.com/), but it's cheaper and easier than ever to print your own right now! You can get a cheapo chinese printer for a hundred bucks, or an excellent Bambu for $250 (https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/a1-mini) Then you feed your model into something called a Slicer which will let you adjust all those parameters to your heart's content (Flashprint is beginner friendly, Cura or Orcaslicer are more advanced options, all free) You'll also need a roll of filament ($13-$20 for one roll, enough to print hundreds of minis) and then you just hit start and see how it goes! If your print fails, nbd, it's like a fraction of a cent of plastic, just tweak and try again!
The material you want to use is called PLA, it's cheap and easy to work with. Note that all the above prices are in USD, it's likely more expensive to get shipped to Australia, but a lot of it comes straight from China so you never know. Feel free to message me with any questions or troubleshooting help