Full Version: 3D printing for beginners - From Moi/3D-Coat to a 3D printing service

Show messages:  1-13  14-33  34-39

Hi Marco,

> THA'S ALL FOR THE MOMENT! .....11 USD (plus tax) is not cheap at all for 1 model :)....anyway....

You would not believe how expensive printing materials are... and don't forget the people there
who need to be paid too. :-)

Regards
Stefan

---

Yes...I understand... but 11 USD (plus tax) for a single model of 4cm is really too much expensive!!!
They're crazy :)

I have to search another cheaper printing service.

Do you know others ?

Thanks.

---

No, i don't know others, sorry.

I, for example, wait for quite the opposite (high cost printing). I am
looking for a while now for 3D Printing Services which allows one to
print color models on the Stratasys J750 Multi Material Printer. It is
a super awesome printer which produces awesome color results.

Regards
Stefan

---

Thanks a lot Stefan for your help!!

Last thing for the moment...Did you read my previous post ? http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=8867.13

Do you have any sharing about why using the obj exported directly from Moi the final look is more faceted in ShapeWays rather then the model exported from 3D-Coat ?

@You : "I, for example, wait for quite the opposite (high cost printing)..."

Just out of curiosity...WHY :) ?

Thanks!

---

Hi Marco,

i usually export for 3D printing as triangles from MoI and not as NGons.
I assume that Shapeways Display Software displays it not smooth when
not triangles. I would simply do another check with triangles export from
MoI and see if it looks better.

The prints i do at work (in colored sandstone) with MoI look also never
facetted.

Why i look for high cost printing? Maybe i did not formulate my words
good enough... what i mean is i prefer high quality prints when
printing something for myself. And high quality prints are expensive
when using 3D Printing Services.

If i would do a lot of 3D Printing i would maybe look into purchasing
a resin printer which outputs good quality, like the FormLabs2 printer
etc.

Regards
Stefan

---

Shrunk images

Image Attachments:
full_man_sm.jpg  half_man_sm.jpg 

---

I have a Robo R2 3D Printer. I export from MoI in STL format. From there I open my STL file in Simplyfy3D.

Simplify3D is a slicer program that allows you to specify the print resolution, percentage of infill material, add supports, specify the print temperature, etc. The output of Simplify3D is a GCode file which is sent to my printer over WiFi. GCode is a universal CNC language that runs milling machines, lathes, routers, 3D Printers, etc. The printer has a camera so I can monitor the printing on my PC even though the printer is in another room.

The Robo R2 printer has only a single print head, so the color is defined by the color of plastic filament I load. There are a wide variety of filament types & colors available.

Of course if you use a printing service then they will have their own slicer program, so you only need to send them a STL file straight out of MoI.

Ed Ferguson

---

Hi Stefan.

@You "...i usually export for 3D printing as triangles from MoI and not as NGons.
I assume that Shapeways Display Software displays it not smooth when
not triangles. I would simply do another check with triangles export from
MoI and see if it looks better..."


Ok! Thanks!

@You : "...what i mean is i prefer high quality prints when printing something for myself...."

OK. I understand :)

Thanks.

---

LOL :)

Thanks BurrMan !!

---

Thanks a lot Ed for infos!

Much appreciated.

I'm seeing that "3D printing" is a whole universe...so many things to understand and learn :)

Ciao!

---

Hi Marco,

For cheaper 3D prints, did you already check the 3D Hubs link from my previous reply?

https://www.3dhubs.com

They're active in Italy too. You're located in Italy if I remember it correctly, or not?

Alternatively, you can try a nearby Fablab. Their service is similar to 3D Hubs.

https://www.fablabs.io

If you choose the PLA material, the price should be about as low as possible for a 3D print.

Regards,

Metin

———————

visualization • pixel art • illustration • 3D design — https://metinseven.com

---

Cool 3D print, Burr!

---

The "resolution" of your print is going to be more limited by the physical printer, than the poly count of the model...

Obviously, 5,000 polys can show the poly facets in your printed output, but a 5,000,000 poly model exportes from 3dcoat with an 80% reduction at export, would show almost no change and look perfectly smooth.

The printers resolutuon and its "steps" will show lomg before that. A printer with extremely high resolution capabilities, will be EXPENSIVE!

---

Most of the 3d printers work natively in MM. So i always upload my models in MM.

For those that are new to printing, and are "construction oriented", we like concrete and mortar!

For 3d print objects, baking powder and CA glue = instant concrete/patch!!!!

CA glue will also make a shiney, bullet proof finish on those "basic material" models...

Here is soaked a dye into the print for a few days, then gave it the coating...


Pretty rock solid....

Image Attachments:
head_sm.jpg 

---

BurrMan says: "The "resolution" of your print is going to be more limited by the physical printer, than the poly count of the model..."

He is absolutely correct. Your printer resolution overrides any minor surface flaws in your model - you won't see them. The 3D printer doesn't know about polys, it simply draws (prints) in 2D planar curves, moves the Z axis up a bit, and draws (prints) the next set of curves on top.

I don't know what resolution Shapeways has, but on my home printer I typically print at 0.1 inch layer height which is the vertical resolution. The horizontal resolution is much better. I simply export STL from MoI with the slider set for maximum resolution. My printer's nozzle is 0.4mm diameter, and that is what sets the horizontal resolution limit in practice.

The limitations of the printer do influence the way you design the model. In my case I print mostly mechanical items that fit together as opposed to organic "artsy" items. I've somewhat learned how to adjust my designs for tolerance when they must fit together.

Ed Ferguson

---

Yes Metin, you remember well!
I'm in Italy :)

I will try other tests with 3dhubs to see how things dhouls be done on that platform.

Thanks a lot for help and for PLA suggestion!

---

Message 8867.30 was deleted

---

Thank you very much BurrMan and Ed for your so detailed explanation :)

Very valuable suggestions!

Marco (mkdm)

---

An another challenger :)
https://pro.sculpteo.com/en/

---

Hi Marco,

I know I'm coming late to this 3D printing party. I have had three 3D printers and have also used multiple online services. For the most part, voxelization is not required when coming from MoI as long as you object is a single solid. You can add wall thicknesses in MoI or OnShape after the fact. Export as polys DOES NOT have to be as fine as you show, as the typical printing resolution isn't all that fine -- even though they say it is there is a "blurring" effect when you 3D print.

3D Coat is good if you have poly models created in non-solid modelers, where you can voxelize and be sure you have a solid. As someone earlier said, Shapeways (a great company for this sort of thing) has a 1M poly limit per object. The 3D printed cannon I shared before had lots of issues and I used Autodesk Netfab to help fine tune the wall and part thicknesses as well as detail resolution.

I would suggest starting on something simple, like you've shown. Just cut down on the number of polys coming out of MoI and you should be fine. Shapeways will alert you if a model in non-manifold and many times it will try and fix it for you.

Again, MoI is *great* for 3D printing and is one of the main reasons I started using it. Surface modelers are just too hard to control. Solids are the way to go. HTH.

---

Show messages:  1-13  14-33  34-39