28mm & 56mm tabletop miniature print quality

Hello everyone,

I am new to 3D printing, however I have done some research and hope some of you can answer my questions regarding the Form 2 print quality. I want to print 28mm and 56mm tabletop resin miniatures. These will be for personal use at first, with future possibilities of sale. The models will be detailed, some with fine or sharp edges. Is it possible to creates prints that are close, if not comparable in accuracy to injection mold miniatures? Which resin should I use for best results? Thank you in advance.

I think this will answer some questions :

Grey resin is the most indicated for that kind of work, although it will yield parts that are a bit brittle, much more so than an injection molded part.

yes.

better than injection molded, because the figures do not have to be drafted to a parting line.

Surface quality will depend on the resin and level of detail in the model… some resins can not be printed at 25 micron layer thickness… but many models look just as good at 50.

it will take some experimentation to develop a feel for how to orient the model to get the best results- and do expect to spend some time removing and retouching support points, and occasionally some layer lines.

you can also break your models into separate pieces that can be assembled after print for even more detailed or complex results.

@Johnhue - Those look of excellent quality. What type of primer did you use? Will they be too brittle if handled frequently by adults? I would like to use them for our weekly gaming table.

I think the rest of your post answers my other question that they would be comparable in quality to injection mold. Thank you!

@Sculptingman - I did not take into consideration the absence of a parting line! Less clean up for me I assume. So 50 micron should do for most models? Looks like I should do some experimenting like you suggested. Looks like I would need to use the Formlabs casting resin, which would significantly increase my costs. Much to consider. Thank you!

i have had good luck printing 28mm scale tabletop gaming models with Durable just because that elongation factor really helps keep the model from breaking while it is played with.

you don’t need casting resin, if you are not planing on investing and casting the prints in metal- even then, you should look into the burnout schedule required for casting resin- it takes a pretty controlled kiln and a very specific temperature ramping period.

you can print in grey resin, or in clear- to get the best detail… and then take a simple dixie cup mold on each different model you print to enable you to cast more figures with equal detail in, say, white odorless urethane resin, which is almost as durable as injection molded resins, but can be cast in your garage at room temperature.

for those who don’t know- a dixie cup mold is the most accurate way to cast small parts without visible flashing lines.

You mount the figure to the board and stick a PAPER dixie cup taller than the model , Upside down, over the model… seal the rim to the board with plastilene, and cut a hole in the bottom of the cup- now on top.

pour silicone rubber that has been vacuum degassed ( or pour in a pencil lead thin stream if you don’t have a vacuum ) making sure to stop the pour just a 1/4" shy of the bottom of the cup that is now on top.

once cured- tear off the paper cup and use an xacto blade to slice the mold into however may parts are needed to get the master figure out.

reassemble the mold parts and drop them into Another paper cup of the same size. The same size cup acts as the mold casing to hold the rubber parts in perfect alignment… more importantly- paper cups have a constant straight walled draft. this means that the silicone… which has shrunk just a tiny bit, can SLIDE further down into the cup, until the silicone pieces are pressed firmly together… resulting in No visible casting flashing in the resin parts you cast in this kind of mold.

they are quick and easy to make… and do a fantastic job for anything that will fit inside a paper cup.

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@Thomas_Anders - I may experiment with the Durable if I decide to just use the prints for miniatures.

@Sculptingman - I considered casting in metal later on. However, seems for my purposes your suggestions would serve my needs best. I could essentially use the print as a master sculpt and create silicon molds. I think I may do that to start off.

Thanks everyone for the help. This thread answered a lot of my questions!

I confirm that the print quality of the figures is remarkable, in the picture 1/32 (54mm) resin casting, there are all the details including the zipper…
http://www.videoaviation.com/wp-content/gallery/usaf-winter/usaf_w_01.jpg

@Jackkim, Formlabs printers don’t have nozzles…your post should be directed to other forums with FDM technology. We are SLA print geeks over here!

I saw an interesting demo at the ZBrush Summit…Rio Grande was demonstrating making RTV molds of 3D models, then melting pewter and casting metal directly in the RTV. Mind-blowing stuff.

That might be an easy way to get metal models. Pewter casts at a much lower temperature than silver or bronze.