Modelling > Tips, Tools & Techniques
3D Printing Tips and Techniques
Frank3k:
What really helps is to picture how a resin printer works.
- The build plate moves up from the resin and peels each cured layer from the FEP.
- The layers have to be supported during the print so support placement is important.
- The surfaces facing the build plate will have a lower quality than the ones facing the screen.
You could probably get away with printing it as a solid object if printed at a slow speed, but it may end up looking like Dagor that Ramba got with difficult to remove supports.
For this vehicle, It looks like it's 150 - 170mm long, so it will be best to print at an angle and support it well. I would separate the wheels and all the dangly bits and print those separately. The exhaust protection grids may be OK as is. I would the hull as a hollow object, mainly because of the weight; give it 2-3 mm thick walls and make sure that there are sizable vent holes to reduce or eliminate any suction forces on the FEP. The turret ring cover can be printed separately as well, and just add a big hole in the bottom and print plug for it on the same build plate.
Buzzbomb:
The shape I see has a very straight section where a horizontal split might work along the hull. This would then option in the interior, although the amount of interior you could actually see would probably not make it work the design effort against straight on scratch builds
taiidantomcat:
I got a PLA printer from Santa. I was hoping for a Resin printer so I could do detail parts for models. I began to I realize however, that this thing can basically make entire models (within reason of course) and my mind was blown. :o
for someone who is interested in things that would require full and total scratchbuilds from video games, this thing is a godsend. I might get a resin printer eventually but for now, I am having a ball.
I am still working on the slicing and other software, but I have set a personal benchmark of learning one new skill set per day, and an I am rapidly advancing. The other day I made first "from scratch" part, a very basic radial engine cowling (Cylinder with a ring on top, and a hole in the center)
the ability to scale things up, scale them down, scale to fit, or change shape and size in all 3 dimensions is an absolute game changer.
Hoping to post some more in progress pictures in other threads. :smiley:
apophenia:
--- Quote from: taiidantomcat on February 15, 2026, 04:49:31 AM ---... Hoping to post some more in progress pictures in other threads. :smiley:
--- End quote ---
Do tell! Or, rather, do show :D
Frank3k:
If your printer can print ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate) or HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene), they can be glued with common plastic solvent cements (like Tamiya Extra Thin) or Acetone. You can also smooth the print lines with Acetone, either carefully applied with a brush, or with Acetone vapor smoothing. I did this on my Cierva-Nemeth VSTOL
Printing with the plastics above requires a heated bed that can get close to 100C (most modern filament printers can do this) and an enclosure. Unlike PLA - which likes to be cooled as soon as it's printed - ABS and similar need a constant, relatively high environmental temperature during printing, so an enclosure is needed, preferably vented to the outside.
If your printer is limited to PLA, the only safe options for smoothing are a combination of sanding and primer. This works well for objects with few or no raised surface details.
One other use of filament 3D printing is to make a skeleton or framework for attaching styrene sheets; they can be glued down to PLA with CA or epoxy.
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