Reply To: 3D Printable Trucks for Sci-Fi Tabletops

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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: