The best 3D printer for a figurine designer?

Hello 3dprintboard, I've been lurking this board for quite some time and finally decided to bother you with this age-old question:
"Which 3D printer is the best for me?"
I design figurines; highly detailed plastic models that are approx. 15cm/6inch tall.

I have seen many people make these kind of products with 3D printers, I know about the options of vapor bathing ABS and of course spray filler and a lot of sanding for a smooth final surface. But this still requires the printer to create high detail with as much accuracy as possible.
I understand that the quality of the print is dependable on a lot of factors including experience of the end-user, but I am willing to keep testing other settings and even willing to mod/hack the printer myself.
So, for the first (and foremost) requirement:
#1 Highest possible detail & accuracy print (!at all costs!)

Since I want to have good quality models that can withstand falling, heat, and the strong grip of many people that will touch it it has to print ABS. But I also want to experiment with other materials, and some parts will probably work better in other materials:
#2 Print different materials including ABS

I mentioned that the figures will be 15cm/6inch so it would be great to print that in one go. But sometimes parts need to be split up anyway and glued together later on (to prevent large amounts of supports)
#3 Large building platform is preferred, but not required

I don't care how long a build takes. If it takes four complete days to print something that is fine by me. As long as the quality is the most perfect quality it can be! (Because having a non-perfect models means I need to spend all that extra time on post-processing the print.)
#4 Print time/speed is irrelevant. Quality >>>>> speed

Also, because there is a large community for some printers, but not for others, I prefer to have access to a large community that can potentially help me when the printer has issues. Also, I will be able to give something back to that community. Open source allows for greater communities since multiple printers use the same technology/software/parts.
#5 Open source software/hardware/filament is preferred, but not required

I don't have infinite money, so the max price is €3000 or $3000 (will be approx. same as €3000 with shipping and tax.)
If it is better to have different printer for different materials and they still fit in the price range that is fine too (I have infinite space) - though they have to excel in the material they print in detail & accuracy.
This price is including all the hacks/mods that will need to be done to get the most perfect quality prints. Also; I don't mind spending €1000 more for just a tiny increase in quality.

Now, I have already done some homework, so here are all the printers that I'm keeping watch on. If you can tell me anything about one of these printers or show me the quality they can produce; please do. If one of these printers shouldn't be on my watch-list please tell me why. If another printer should be added to the list please tell my why.
(I'm not interested in kickstarter/non-existing printers - I plan to have a printer in my house before the end of this year.)

Figurine printer watch-list:

• Type A Machines - 2014 series 1

Saw some good quality prints coming from these.

• Wanhao - Duplicator 4

This one is on the list as a Makerbot variant.

• PP3DP - Up Plus 2

Can't remember why this one was on the list.

• Ultimaker 2

Saw some good quality prints coming from these, but also really bad ones. I'm from the Netherlands, so these guys are close by - good for support and such.

• Fusion 3 Design - F306 Generation 1

This one seems to do superb quality prints AND has a large build volume... but I don't completely believe fairy tales. Need more proof.

• Flashforge - Creator Pro Dual Extrusion

Dual extrusion won't be used by me except for using the different heads for different materials. But not mixing materials in a single model... (probably)

• B9 Creator

Again; seems to produce superb qualities but need more proof.

• Zortrax - M200

A nice image of a print was provided by Trhuster

• LulzBot TAZ 4

Have seen good quality figurines come from these.




Please enlighten my with all your knowledge, I will watch this thread closely and give more information if required.
Also, I will keep searching myself and update as soon as I have more answers.
Thanks in advance!

Click on the thingiverse link in my panel, I have a $1000 machine and it is primarily used for printing and painting figurines and busts, prints in all materials, essentially a replicator 2 clone is a good way to start, honestly I suggest getting something like that, learn and then invest in a $3000 machine because I guarantee you after 6 months with the $1k machine, you will REALLY know what you want , prices will be lower, better technologies out and then you go and buy that $3k machine.

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Originally Posted by Geoff

Click on the thingiverse link in my panel, I have a $1000 machine and it is primarily used for printing and painting figurines and busts, prints in all materials, essentially a replicator 2 clone is a good way to start, honestly I suggest getting something like that, learn and then invest in a $3000 machine because I guarantee you after 6 months with the $1k machine, you will REALLY know what you want , prices will be lower, better technologies out and then you go and buy that $3k machine.

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Thank you for your reply. I have seen your models before on this board, good stuff, the Gremlin head made me relive a lot of nightmares ...
Is that a Prusa that you use for these models? Which material do you print in? Do you have to do any finishing on your models before painting? You don't use any vapor-bathing, filling, or additional putty modeling I think, or do you?

Are there any printers that you are aware of that produce higher quality prints then yours? Not saying that yours aren't good, but realistically there is always something better.
I would not mind spending a lot more money for even the tiniest increase in quality. Every bit of quality that the printer adds saves me post-processing work.

Or do you have any experience with the printers that I listed?

I would add Zortrax M200 on that list.

http://i58.tinypic.com/5pgas2.jpg

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Originally Posted by Trhuster

I would add Zortrax M200 on that list.

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Did you print this? If so, please elaborate on the material and printer choice.
Do you have any more detailed images? And or a painted part perhaps? (White almost always looks better/cleaner.)
Is this printed with supports? How big is this model?

Also, I like the fact that it's a Zerg hive, love Starcraft II.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

Did you print this? If so, please elaborate on the material and printer choice.
Do you have any more detailed images? And or a painted part perhaps? (White almost always looks better/cleaner.)
Is this printed with supports? How big is this model?

Also, I like the fact that it's a Zerg hive, love Starcraft II.

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Yes i printed that, i have a video. Sorry for Swedish but just mute and watch the print: http://youtu.be/NwESddUb020

For more info go to http://forum.zortrax.com

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Originally Posted by Trhuster

Yes i printed that, i have a video. Sorry for Swedish but just mute and watch the print: http://youtu.be/NwESddUb020

For more info go to http://forum.zortrax.com

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Thank you for the link.
I have checked a lot of different sources and I must say I don't see that many failing prints on the Zortrax (might be because of the closed software?).
But there do seem to be problems with the raft curling up on large prints. Do you experience this?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

Thank you for the link.
I have checked a lot of different sources and I must say I don't see that many failing prints on the Zortrax (might be because of the closed software?).
But there do seem to be problems with the raft curling up on large prints. Do you experience this?

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Large prints with ABS is hard to print, i use ABS-slurry and lexan enclousure when printing large objekts. And yes closed software is supereasy to work with but sometimes we can miss some features like change hotend temp. But overall a very good printer imo.

It doesn't sound like you're really going to be happy with one of these hot-extrusion (FDM) printers, since you're asking for high detail and accurate surfaces. If you melt the plastic to smooth the surface, you lose the detail. If you really want to use a FDM-type printer, I'd say hold out for one with dual extruders that can demonstrate an effective workflow that includes producing soluble supports. Otherwise, you're going to be spending a lot of time essentially hand-carving the undersides of your figurines. But before you buy one, see if you can have someone who owns one print one of your models for you, so you can look at it close up. All of these printers produce models with a striated surface, which may or may not be acceptable to you. If you're doing these figurines for clients, you might find that it's worthwhile to send them out for printing on a better machine than you can afford to buy right now.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

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Originally Posted by awerby

It doesn't sound like you're really going to be happy with one of these hot-extrusion (FDM) printers, since you're asking for high detail and accurate surfaces. If you melt the plastic to smooth the surface, you lose the detail. If you really want to use a FDM-type printer, I'd say hold out for one with dual extruders that can demonstrate an effective workflow that includes producing soluble supports. Otherwise, you're going to be spending a lot of time essentially hand-carving the undersides of your figurines. But before you buy one, see if you can have someone who owns one print one of your models for you, so you can look at it close up. All of these printers produce models with a striated surface, which may or may not be acceptable to you. If you're doing these figurines for clients, you might find that it's worthwhile to send them out for printing on a better machine than you can afford to buy right now.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

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Thank you for your reply. I truly understand your comment and am aware that the prints coming directly from these FDM printers will all need some sort of clean-up.
Currently; I make everything from modeling clay and I cast it in plastic if it needs to be sold. I just want to jump into the 3D printer world because I know that in the future these complete models will be 3D printed and I need to know everything about this technique now. Also; it is fun for me to explore this new world and I could easily make parts (or complete models perhaps) from printed models with just some cleanup/additional clay modeling.

Having said that; do you know/use any printers that still create relatively high quality for a good price?
Are there any printers that I've listed that you can recommend from my list? Or any printers that you don't like?

Do you have a own design .stl file that we can look at and mabey even testprint for you?

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Originally Posted by Trhuster

Do you have a own design .stl file that we can look at and mabey even testprint for you?

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I currently cannot upload any of the files that I have, but I have found a model that has a lot of similarities in detail, overhanging parts, and thin parts.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:227534/#files

If you would be so kind to print this I would love to see it when its just finished printing with support on it; and of course with supports removed too.
Would also like to know which settings you used - or what trial & error had to be done to make a perfect model. Factor like time and material used is useful too.
Thanks in advance!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

I currently cannot upload any of the files that I have, but I have found a model that has a lot of similarities in detail, overhanging parts, and thin parts.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:227534/#files

If you would be so kind to print this I would love to see it when its just finished printing with support on it; and of course with supports removed too.
Would also like to know which settings you used - or what trial & error had to be done to make a perfect model. Factor like time and material used is useful too.
Thanks in advance!

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If this is what you want to print a FDM printer is not the right way too go imo. Also that file is broken.

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Originally Posted by Trhuster

If this is what you want to print a FDM printer is not the right way too go imo. Also that file is broken.

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Well, I know that a SLA printer would grant more detail; but the material simply isn't that durable as I would like. Also; I don't see any problems with the file when opened in Solidworks or Blender.

Regarding the quality of FDM printers;
This is another sample of a FDM printed figurine that I found on Thingiverse and I found it's quality rather doable for post-processing:
http://www.thingiverse.com/make:86973

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

Well, I know that a SLA printer would grant more detail; but the material simply isn't that durable as I would like. Also; I don't see any problems with the file when opened in Solidworks or Blender.

Regarding the quality of FDM printers;
This is another sample of a FDM printed figurine that I found on Thingiverse and I found it's quality rather doable for post-processing:
http://www.thingiverse.com/make:86973

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The second file is world apart compared to the first one. This is my second print i did on my Zortrax.

Attachment 2335

This how first file looks after slicing.

Attachment 2336

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Trhuster

This how first file looks after slicing.

Attachment 2336

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It looks like there are parts missing on the basket on her back.

Can you show the other print in better lighting? It's difficult to see the surface quality because it's over lit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

It looks like there are parts missing on the basket on her back.

Can you show the other print in better lighting? It's difficult to see the surface quality because it's over lit.

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No i don't have any better pic. But this print in this thread are simular: http://forum.zortrax.com/index.php?/...79-black-swan/

the second file would not need supports.

You'll probably find that you start modelling with the bottom up print process in mind.

And as geoff said the flashforge ('makerbot replicator dual' clone) - which is a dual head printer capable of using water soluble pva supports, or any other kind for that matter - would do you fine.

I think you could probably get one on ebay for around 500 euros.

Get it, get started - the more you print, the better your modelling for prints will get and the more experience you have the more knowlege you'll have for your next printer.

Yes there is a lot to learn, but it's more than worth it :-)

The sooner you start - the quicker you'll learn.

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

the second file would not need supports.

You'll probably find that you start modelling with the bottom up print process in mind.

And as geoff said the flashforge ('makerbot replicator dual' clone) - which is a dual head printer capable of using water soluble pva supports, or any other kind for that matter - would do you fine.

I think you could probably get one on ebay for around 500 euros.

Get it, get started - the more you print, the better your modelling for prints will get and the more experience you have the more knowlege you'll have for your next printer.

Yes there is a lot to learn, but it's more than worth it :-)

The sooner you start - the quicker you'll learn.

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Thank you for your reply. I wholeheartedly agree on getting started as soon as possible, but I also find some knowledge and fun in researching as much as possible up front.

Is there a reason that you'd suggest the Flashforge over other dual headed printers? Like the ultimaker 1 or makerbot for example?

That's a large list of printers, and few of us will have had experience with more than one or two of them. But all the FDM-type printers have similar issues; they need support on any overhangs over 45 degrees from the vertical, and the surface quality is not great. The only one of them on your list that I've used is the Type A, which is made nearby where I am. It worked pretty well, but didn't have soluble support and the surfaces were no better than most FDM printers.

I have a B9 Creator DLP (projector/resin system), which does get great detail, but it's mostly good for jewelry-scale models. The resin used can be burned out to cast parts in metal. A 6-inch figurine would be possible, but would probably need to be done in parts, depending on the pose. It's an "open-source" printer, something of a Do It Yourself project, and support is done by means of a forum rather than directly. It works great when it works, but if you have problems, which many seem to have encountered, you're left pretty much on your own to fix them. If you get one, get the aftermarket glass and aluminum vat to go with it, since the acrylic one it comes with doesn't last long at all. Even with the good vat, you have to learn to recoat it yourself, using liquid silicone rubber and an oven. Right now, my printer is awaiting a replacement of a servo motor, which failed after only a few printing cycles. I'm on my own to purchase and install the new motor, although I did get some help on the forum, including the new settings to go with it.

I've also got a Form1 (now upgraded to the Form1+). This is another printer that uses photo-reactive resin instead of hot extruded plastic, but this one uses a laser to catalyze it instead of projected light. It produces smoother prints than any FDM-style machine and gets good detail but also has a rather small volume. 6" figurines would be somewhat difficult to fit in the build envelope, and would also be best printed in pieces. Supports don't need to be as massive as the ones used with FDM printers, and they're relatively easy to remove. I've had good luck with it, but also a lot of partial prints that failed midway because of some unknown cause. But the company does offer good support, and has replaced my machine twice - the second time I paid for an upgrade to the new Form1+, which is supposed to have a stronger laser. So far, it's working well for me, but I haven't made many prints on the new system. Here's a link for your collection: www.formlabs.com

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

it's a lot cheaper, is essentially a makerbot that's been upgraded.

If you can afford an ultimaker, then yep get one. Fantastic machines. Thought they were only single nozzle though.
Won't necessarily make better models and will cost the same as 4 ff/makerbot clones.

Basically I was thinking - good machine, great price :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

Thank you for your reply. I have seen your models before on this board, good stuff, the Gremlin head made me relive a lot of nightmares ...
Is that a Prusa that you use for these models? Which material do you print in? Do you have to do any finishing on your models before painting? You don't use any vapor-bathing, filling, or additional putty modeling I think, or do you?

Are there any printers that you are aware of that produce higher quality prints then yours? Not saying that yours aren't good, but realistically there is always something better.
I would not mind spending a lot more money for even the tiniest increase in quality. Every bit of quality that the printer adds saves me post-processing work.

Or do you have any experience with the printers that I listed?

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Mine were printed on a Crapforge, which is basically a Duplicator 4.

I won't beat around the bush, don't listen to Andrew. Go and buy one today and start having fun.

The thing is once you go past .1mm print resolution, you pretty much need a microscope to see the difference.

Ulimakers claim reliable printing down to 0.05mm

But you'd need to see the same thing printed at different resolutions on the same printer to try and tell the difference between .1 and .05
did you say you were in holland, near ultimaker ? (Hmm, probably another thread)
In that case pop in and ask to see some print examples. Pretty sure they'd show you :-)

Holding an actual printed article in your hand is worth 3000 internet threads.

Thanks for the replies guys.

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

The thing is once you go past .1mm print resolution, you pretty much need a microscope to see the difference.

Ulimakers claim reliable printing down to 0.05mm

But you'd need to see the same thing printed at different resolutions on the same printer to try and tell the difference between .1 and .05
did you say you were in holland, near ultimaker ? (Hmm, probably another thread)
In that case pop in and ask to see some print examples. Pretty sure they'd show you :-)

Holding an actual printed article in your hand is worth 3000 internet threads.

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Yes, I'm from the Netherlands; home of both the Ultimaker and Builder. So I can (and will!) go to both their 'printevents' to get a small presentation, example, and get any questions answered.
I have seen a lot of the printers at ESEF/RapidPro 2014 but it's difficult to compare them because not all of them are side-by-side and a lot of models look/are cleaned up/treated.

I couldn't really find much information about the Builder except a short article in Makezine so I wouldn't know which other printer it's comparable to. It seems pretty unique with its dual-extrusion through one extruder and the large build size (66[cm]) on the larger model. And the mono extruder version is pretty much the cheapest assembled printer I can find (due to shipment & tax.)

the builder dual feed system looks interesting - but cheapest assembled printer ?
you're about 800 euros off ! lol
flashforge - 647 euros. Built, tried and tested.
my dutch is a bit rusty (used to be quite good - reading it anyway) - but you could certainly find one shipped from europe somewhere. Mine was shipped from the uk - so no p&p or tax :-)

Like I said - buy one now, and play with it while youy're looking for something a lot more expensive and probably not much better :-)

Have to look at that dual feed one nozzle system - would sure save time on calibrating with the dual nozzles.

(2 minutes later) LMAO - they want 178 euros JUST for the brass nozzle. Screw that I'll just calibrate :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by curious aardvark

the builder dual feed system looks interesting - but cheapest assembled printer ?
you're about 800 euros off ! lol
flashforge - 647 euros. Built, tried and tested.
my dutch is a bit rusty (used to be quite good - reading it anyway) - but you could certainly find one shipped from europe somewhere. Mine was shipped from the uk - so no p&p or tax :-)

Like I said - buy one now, and play with it while youy're looking for something a lot more expensive and probably not much better :-)

Have to look at that dual feed one nozzle system - would sure save time on calibrating with the dual nozzles.

(2 minutes later) LMAO - they want 178 euros JUST for the brass nozzle. Screw that I'll just calibrate :-)

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Hmm, I like your train of thought:
I personally only had looked at new printers, but a assembled and tested printer will probably have less trouble.
But what about the durability of the parts? Aren't these worn out at some point? Can I replace them easily?
Also; I cannot find which slicer this printer can use for slicing. Is it something like Cura or Slic3r? Does the software produce good results?

This route is probably a good one though; because I was thinking about being able to print the highest of quality parts too; but I don't need every parts in ultra quality, and if I do need it, I can always go to 3Dhubs and get someone close to me to print it at a high quality. (there are a lot of Ultimaker 2 in my city, and even some SLA machines in adjacent cities.)

Thank you for your good advice Curious aardvark!

There's a package coming my way...
Should be here within a week :D

Pretty much any printer (with the exceptions being pretty obvious) will print from any slicer.

And congrats on the purchase.

So it's here! I got the Flashforge Creator Dual Extruder and I have been tinkering a bit with (got scared shitless every time it made a new noise!) and here are my first two prints:

http://i.imgur.com/i4huRvj.jpg
Since these images are large I'll just put the album here instead of linking them all:
http://imgur.com/a/0k7UA

This was after I printed some 'pasta' because my bed was too far away from the nozzle. Also, I'm using a PVP based glue stick to make it stick to the plate; seems to work just fine.

These were both printed using Makerbot software (ReplicatorG kept saying my COM port was already in use...?) with the following settings (most were standard, I just adjusted the speed:
- Material: MakerBot PLA (blue)
- Rafts: Off
- Supports: Off
- Infill: 10%
- Number of Shells: 2 for cube, 3 for Marvin
- Layer Height: 0.10mm
- Extruder temp: 230 Celcius
- Build Plate temp: 110 Celcius
- Speed while Extruding: 40mm/s
- Speed while Traveling: 70mm/s

Both pieces took 30 minutes to print; (and I have been watching with amazement the whole time!)
I'm quite happy with this, but there is still a lot of room for improvement:
- The first 1-2cm of print isn't there (no material), this gets 'fixed' by the next layer of material, but makes the bottom a bit more sloppy
- The first few layers (approx. 2mm total) don't have a nice shell
- The shell has something 'wavy' going on in the X and Y direction (though not that much)
- The topside of the cube has 'dents' where there is no infill; I watched the process and I think by having just a larger top surface this can be fixed (or more infill off course)

The Marvin did a bit worse:
- First layer of left foot didn't print (no material); same problem as mentioned above
- During printing I could see that the overhanging parts (front and more notably the back) would curl upwards(!) this would get pushed back by the nozzle every time, but this created the flat ass that Marvin has (not good!)
- The ears are drooping; same as the top eyelid (which makes it look like he is squinting)
- The parts where you attach it to the keychain also drooped a lot and is very low quality

Top surface of Marvin is rather nice. So biggest problem is overhanging parts that droop / curl. Going to the Flashforge part of this forum to look for some advice on that.

I have noticed that sometimes when the printer is printing in a small spot for to long, the standard temp that works for everything else can actually be too hot. Almost like it is just re-melting the piece and pushing it around. That's why I like to have a little temp control, while printing. Repetier allows for this, Makerware doesn't. It just takes a little experimenting with temp. I will admit I haven't done much on printing figurings, but I have seen a difference of small print area to large print areas. Maybe, try printing two of those small prints, on the same print, to see if it helps.

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Originally Posted by Super Stonegiant

I have noticed that sometimes when the printer is printing in a small spot for to long, the standard temp that works for everything else can actually be too hot. Almost like it is just re-melting the piece and pushing it around. That's why I like to have a little temp control, while printing. Repetier allows for this, Makerware doesn't. It just takes a little experimenting with temp. I will admit I haven't done much on printing figurings, but I have seen a difference of small print area to large print areas. Maybe, try printing two of those small prints, on the same print, to see if it helps.

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Thank you for your reply, will try this as soon as I got some other stuff fixed! Makes sense that allowing the material to cool after each layer might prevent warping.

I am also looking for a 3D printer doing the same task of jobs as you do. Your final product seems a bit non-smooth. How would you overcome this issue? Polish it?

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Originally Posted by chekming1225

I am also looking for a 3D printer doing the same task of jobs as you do. Your final product seems a bit non-smooth. How would you overcome this issue? Polish it?

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First off; check out this entire topic; somebody here already makes a lot of figurines and paints them, you can see the result that a FDM printer can have there.

Then it depends on what kind of models you want to make; with FDM you will keep having these small lines; but with the right settings they can be not that noticeable / easily filled with some primer. - OR in the case of smooth 'ceramic'-like statues you can use ABS and use the acetone vapor chamber.
If you want models right out of the printer that resemble the PVC figurines then you should probably look into a SLA printer... but I'm not 100% sure since I don't have experience with it.

The reason I went with a FDM printer even though SLA delivers higher quality finish is because FDM printer are cheaper, and allow for more prototyping/testing (because of the lower cost) - and I love to keep testing different things. If I really need a high quality print I can always send it to Shapeways/3D hubs. My printer is for prototyping and other in-house usage. + it's also quite fun, and the lower cost allow you to keep having fun.

If you have any more question please ask; but know that I've only recently started this and there are many more experienced people out here.
Regarding the products I showed here; these are still tests, I'm not sure if I will ever show a finalized product here, but I'll probably show better test-products in the near future (still learning.)

I tested about 180 different FDM printers. I definitely got the best results printing figurines with the Zortrax M200 (best closed source solution) and with 3NTR A4 (best open source, dual extruders solution).

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Originally Posted by ShareMind

I tested about 180 different FDM printers. I definitely got the best results printing figurines with the Zortrax M200 (best closed source solution) and with 3NTR A4 (best open source, dual extruders solution).

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Do you have a review comparing all these printers with similar prints after gaining similar familiarity with each printer?

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

Do you have a review comparing all these printers with similar prints after gaining similar familiarity with each printer?

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No, I am sorry, I do not have a document about the comparison. The different printers have been tested during a quite long period (about 6 months), both in my workshop and in other places. To make a real benchmark, it would be needed to test all the printers to be considered in the
same period (hardware, software and firmware are upgraded within time). Also to have a really significative result it should be needed to test all the printers with the same models, filaments and in the same environmental conditions, and so on.
The "rough" thought expressed in my previous post is just a kind of "juice" of what I have seen using different printers models.

In other words, if I should print small figurines with a medium budget, and I should buy today, I would choose a Zortrax. A good alternative (in terms of quality and capability to print small details) is the Afinia, but for figurines the handling of support removal is very important, and from this point of view (and considering the overall mechanical and electronics features) I definitely prefer the M200.

Hey, how was the response on this? What was your decision?

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Originally Posted by Dargonfly

Hello 3dprintboard, I've been lurking this board for quite some time and finally decided to bother you with this age-old question:
"Which 3D printer is the best for me?"
I design figurines; highly detailed plastic models that are approx. 15cm/6inch tall.

I have seen many people make these kind of products with 3D printers, I know about the options of vapor bathing ABS and of course spray filler and a lot of sanding for a smooth final surface. But this still requires the printer to create high detail with as much accuracy as possible.
I understand that the quality of the print is dependable on a lot of factors including experience of the end-user, but I am willing to keep testing other settings and even willing to mod/hack the printer myself.
So, for the first (and foremost) requirement:
#1 Highest possible detail & accuracy print (!at all costs!)

Since I want to have good quality models that can withstand falling, heat, and the strong grip of many people that will touch it it has to print ABS. But I also want to experiment with other materials, and some parts will probably work better in other materials:
#2 Print different materials including ABS

I mentioned that the figures will be 15cm/6inch so it would be great to print that in one go. But sometimes parts need to be split up anyway and glued together later on (to prevent large amounts of supports)
#3 Large building platform is preferred, but not required

I don't care how long a build takes. If it takes four complete days to print something that is fine by me. As long as the quality is the most perfect quality it can be! (Because having a non-perfect models means I need to spend all that extra time on post-processing the print.)
#4 Print time/speed is irrelevant. Quality >>>>> speed

Also, because there is a large community for some printers, but not for others, I prefer to have access to a large community that can potentially help me when the printer has issues. Also, I will be able to give something back to that community. Open source allows for greater communities since multiple printers use the same technology/software/parts.
#5 Open source software/hardware/filament is preferred, but not required

I don't have infinite money, so the max price is €3000 or $3000 (will be approx. same as €3000 with shipping and tax.)
If it is better to have different printer for different materials and they still fit in the price range that is fine too (I have infinite space) - though they have to excel in the material they print in detail & accuracy.
This price is including all the hacks/mods that will need to be done to get the most perfect quality prints. Also; I don't mind spending €1000 more for just a tiny increase in quality.

Now, I have already done some homework, so here are all the printers that I'm keeping watch on. If you can tell me anything about one of these printers or show me the quality they can produce; please do. If one of these printers shouldn't be on my watch-list please tell me why. If another printer should be added to the list please tell my why.
(I'm not interested in kickstarter/non-existing printers - I plan to have a printer in my house before the end of this year.)

Figurine printer watch-list:

• Type A Machines - 2014 series 1

Saw some good quality prints coming from these.

• Wanhao - Duplicator 4

This one is on the list as a Makerbot variant.

• PP3DP - Up Plus 2

Can't remember why this one was on the list.

• Ultimaker 2

Saw some good quality prints coming from these, but also really bad ones. I'm from the Netherlands, so these guys are close by - good for support and such.

• Fusion 3 Design - F306 Generation 1

This one seems to do superb quality prints AND has a large build volume... but I don't completely believe fairy tales. Need more proof.

• Flashforge - Creator Pro Dual Extrusion

Dual extrusion won't be used by me except for using the different heads for different materials. But not mixing materials in a single model... (probably)

• B9 Creator

Again; seems to produce superb qualities but need more proof.

• Zortrax - M200

A nice image of a print was provided by Trhuster

• LulzBot TAZ 4

Have seen good quality figurines come from these.




Please enlighten my with all your knowledge, I will watch this thread closely and give more information if required.
Also, I will keep searching myself and update as soon as I have more answers.
Thanks in advance!

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