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Hey guys,

Eventually it might be nice for me to own my own printer. But for now i’m happy to have someone else print my stuff. I just need to find the right person with the right equipment.

I need the result to be step free, or as step free as possible. I’ve noticed that with some prints there’s some very clear gradients/stepping, and for what i need this won’t work. The end goal is to use the prints as a basis to create molds and then cast statues.

So with those things in mind, who can advise me? I need advise not just on the materials and hardware to use, but also pricing, and how best to set up my models. I’m fairly sure i understand the process of how to segment my sculpts so they can be printed in chunks and fit back together afterward, but i’m concerned about things like finger thickness, or hair wisps and whether they’ll even print at all.

As an example of the work i’d like printed, here’s a (currently unposed) work in progress sculpt:

http://crazyferretstudios.com/portfolio/hidden/viewer/Saskia\_wip6.html

Thanks for taking the time to read!

P.S. I’m also open to sculpting things to order, if you need or want something designed just let me know and we can negotiate the details!

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So the model in the link wood be the one you wood have printed? Or is it just a example of what you wood want printed?

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*would :smiley: that’s an awesome typo!

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Smoothes surfaces can be created with anything but FFF / FDM machines. SLA printers like the form 1+ are the cheapest alternative, SLA printers cure resin with a laser meaning that there’s no stepping and high resolutions/ fine details are possible. SLA prints are usually quite expensive compared to FFF / FDM prints but still the cheapest amongst “non-FFF” printers. Take a look at the form 1+ on YouTube to understand how it works. When designing you should keep in mind, that bigger overhangs and unsupported parts require support structure, which increases the cost. It’d best to ask a form 1+ Hub for guidance on designing rules as they know the machine the best. Aside from the form 1+ (and other SLA printers of course) there are industry-level printers that are even more expensive, but the quality and choise of material is a big plus! Some industry machines can print in full color plastics, others can print all sorts of (pure) metals. There are too many varieties to explain all of them. Depending on your budget and the statues size you might still want to get back to FFF / FDM materials as those are by far the cheapest. Some materials create less stepping (like most Colorfabb material composites) and depending on the printer crazily small nozzles can be used to make the stepping as small as the chance of visible gaps increases drastically! Cheers, Marius Breuer

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This information is fantastic, thanks! I’ll look out for some SLA printing hubs and get in touch with them.

Cheers,

Lee.

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Hey man,

The model in the link is a current work in progress, i do want her printed, but she’s currently unposed and unclothed. My main worry is whether her fingers and hair will print okay, As any clothing she wears will definitely have enough volume.

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Hi,

We have a resin printer that prints in layers of 0.016mm at a time, so there will no “stepping” and will give you a very smooth finish. We work with a lot of artists and sculptors who 3d print a Master of their work, then go onto cast their sculptures in a variety of metals.

Have a look at our hub for some examples. We understand from our customers that our prices are cheaper than the SLA printers even though we have a commercial grade machine. https://www.3dhubs.com/leicester/hubs/irongiant3d

Kind regards,

Nadia

Irongiant3d

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It is a gorgeous model, congratulations!

As for smoothness, I wouldn’t say FDM printers cannot achieve it, you just have to help with a little postproccessing, and not necessarily acetone vapour. They’re a mcuh cheaper alternative, but of course SLA printers win in terms of quality right out of the machine.

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Hi Nadia,

Thanks for taking the time to write, your work looks incredible. I’ve spent the last week or so looking into solutions, and in terms of just the prints i think it’s now a toss-up between yourselves and Ownage. Do you do any molding/casting yourselves, or do you partner with any companies that do, who you could recommend for limited runs of statues?

Cheers.

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Hi

Thanks for your flattering comments about the work we do. No, we do not do any moulding or casting but we have customers who are sculptors who we can ask for a recommendation for you.

kind regards

nadia

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Hi,

We’ve spoken to a sculptor that is a customer of ours today and he says there are plenty of places that will mould and cast your work that he could recommend, mainly locally (midlands).

Kind regards,

Nadia

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Fantastic!

Would it be possible to take this conversation to email, so that we can include this person? My email is lee.devonald@gmail.com

Cheers!

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Morning,

ive emailed you.

Nadia

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Hi Nadia

We have printed some high detailed figurines recently and are based not too far in Welwyn Garden City if your interested in having a look at our Hub.

Best regards

Adam