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Allow me to introduce myself. I’m a wargamer from NZ that plays a bunch of systems – preferably sci-fi skirmish. Late last year I started creating a variety of printable 28mm scale sci-fi civilian vehicles because I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted in the market. They’re all up on DriveThruRPG for a modest price. They’re all designed with Autodesk Fusion 360. They’re all printed on a fairly stock Ender 3 with Wanhao PLA. They all currently have interchangeable parts so they work together for variety and they look like this. Any other 3D designers on here?
First thought: Trucks? Only one truck. And a rover. And a crane.
Second thought: very nice windows paintjob. 🙂
Third thought: to small. Seriously, trucks are way bigger compared to a single person. At least 50% more than they are now. Plus the hydraulic stands on the crane need to extend much more to the side to support the crane. This way it looks like a toy. So I’d either raise/retract the stands or make them stand out. Like in this picture. But I really like the design of the rover. 🙂 Hope this helps.
Thanks! These models are all printed on a fairly stock Creality Ender 3 with a stock 0.4mm nozzle. The only real mods to my printer are X/Y belt tensioners and some ‘stepper smoother’ boards (although I’m not sure they’re worth the bother). What 3D printer are you running?
I print in a gray Wanhao PLA because I find that takes the best photos, and is easiest to paint for me. PLA is certainly easier to print with than ABS, judging from other people’s experiences – I’ve only ever used PLA because it simply works. For war gaming models PLA is fine too because you’re likely to prime and paint it.
I’m printing at a 0.08mm layer height and the Cura 3.6 profile I’m using is available here if you want to check it out: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dOCdqsRJLzIpjNuMG2WXIs8WKdcAubzM
Also I sort of cheat to be honest :). These vehicles are basically printable kits. They’re constructed from a number of parts you print and glue together. This allows me to print most detail in the ‘Z’ or face-up dimension. Typically for FDM printers this dimension has the finest control (it’s driven by a metal screw rod, rather than belts), so gives you the best detail. I’m also impatient, so design the vehicles so I can print smaller parts to get them to assembly quicker. I can’t stand 12hr monolithic prints for example 🙂
A lot of FDM lines might be due to extrusion issues. It’s easy to set up your printer to over-extrude slightly for example, which gives you heavy lines. Might be worth try tuning your extruder steps, or simply dialing back the ‘Flow Rate’ slightly on your printer or in your slicer. I find a difference of a few % can be surprising – like a 98 or 96% flow rate.
In terms of post-print clean-up all I’m really doing is removing a bit of light stringing (something I’ve never bothered trying to tune away), and light filing mainly for the best fit of certain parts before gluing. No bulk surface sanding is required. Here’s an example of a printed and assembled, but unpainted vehicle for example. You can see the layer lines on the rear of the tires:
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