For the past few months, I’ve been getting to know my resin 3D printer. Using 3D printed parts in conjunction with model kits is an awesome “combined arms” approach to the hobby. This time, I decided to take it a step further. As I type, a model I designed using Tinkercad.com is on the printer. I want to detail out my print with spare kit parts.
This is the culmination of lots of tweaking, reading, and flat-out failures. First, I needed to master the settings on the printer itself. This is sensitive to all kinds of variables including ambient temperature, brand of resin, and slicer settings.
Next, I had to figure out how to slice and support the files I wanted to print. There’s different software out there that does this, and I’ve been working with the free options. I’ve grabbed some cool files from Thingiverse.com and Myminifactory.com for this purpose. LOTS of failures here. Properly supporting a file is part art and part incredible attention to detail.
Finally, I tried to get familiar with the software over at Tinkercad.com. I started by building items with simple shapes like bookshelves and wood stoves. I worked my way up to the robot walker that’s printing now. TinkerCad’s random file name generator called this file “Fantastic Robo-Jarv”, and thus it shall be forever more!
Once it’s successfully (fingers crossed) printed, I’ll get to the fun part of adding greebles, building a base for it and painting everything. I’ll keep posting updates of the progress and inevitable setbacks as this project continues. If you would like more in depth explanations for different parts of this project let me know.
Modeling and Storytelling 