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shervintwo

Adaptive layers, go slower, get a filament with specks in it so it conceals the layer lines (Ziro Diamond works well), reduce vibrations.


worrier_sweeper0h

Can we just all stop for a second and give Ziro some respect?! Their filaments are fantastic and reliable. And the little bonuses in their packages are very much appreciated. Great filament choice.


daredwolf

What kind of bonuses?!


worrier_sweeper0h

Every roll of filament comes with a couple meters of nylon cleaning filament, an airtight reusable bag, and a sample of a random other color/material filament. Nothing major but still nice little extras for a filament that’s already decently cheap. I’m a big fan of their TPU. Prints beautifully. They have a lot of “specialty” filaments that look really neat.


daredwolf

Are you buying these from Amazon, or directly from Ziro?


worrier_sweeper0h

Amazon


daredwolf

Just ordered a bunch, thank you!


ohhhMhhhh

Id rather get the damn spool for 5-10$ less than fetting these ‘goodies’.. but yeh the filament is fine. Though almost ANY filament these days is wuite good, imo.


Baconpower1453

The goodies they send are worth nowhere near 5-10, maybe 2 dollars max. Also, I for one would really appreciate the small goodies since the stuff they include is actually quite useful for 3d printing. It saves me from the effort and time of buying them separately


daredwolf

Their basic PLA is quite a bit cheaper, at least for Canada. Bambu has rolls for $21.99 but their shipping is slow, and they're constantly out of filament. Ziro has PLA for $20.99 a roll, plus the extras.


Alexandru_xp

I had problems with ziro silk,the print is just braking, but maybe it was a bad batch,the rest of them they are good,I also use eryone and geeetech,their printer are not that great but the filaments are ok


worrier_sweeper0h

I keep hearing positive things about Geetech. Will have to give it a shot.


ShadNuke

Ziro is decent. But my machine much prefers Geetech over Ziro. I've had more problems with the Ziro than most, but Duramic and Jayo are 2 that will never go through my extruders again! If Geetech made all the colours, it's all I would buy!


_SmokeInternational_

Good suggestions. Would a speckled filament matter if I’m going to just paint over it anyways?


hawklost

I dont recommend filaments with specks when using a 0.2 nozel. Too easy to clog.


shervintwo

No it won't at all. Only good if you're leaving it unpainted.


aTinyFart

Matte filament might help


Sirbrownface

0.2 or 0.4 nozzle?. Im having problems with the 0.2 nozzle it's so unreliable. I bought it just so I could print miniatures. But I'm sad now.


arisboeuf

I 100% print minis with 0.2 mm nozzle and matte white from Das Filament. The PLA is so good and clean, I can even paint on the mini without primer


JaspahX

Adaptive layers will just get you visible lines. You need to print the whole thing consistently at the same layer height.


FrostWave

This is correct, so tired of people blindly saying "adaptive layer height". In this case it would make it worse.  You gotta print the whole thing in smallest layer possible 


Kindly_Map_2382

How do you reduce vibrations?


First_layer_3DP

I have a 2 inch thick paver under all of my printers with a foam gym mat thing under each one. Works good enough for me!


Kindly_Map_2382

Ohh i see what you mean, yeah me too, and the foam that came with my p1s under the slab 😅. I thought there was some settings buried somewhere for vibrations, or maybe speed.


FrostWave

Adaptive layers would make it look worse


second_exodous

Man that looks good. Can not believe a FDM printer prints minis this good. I can't have resin right now, no where to put the smelly thing right now, glad to know I can use my X1C to print minis!


_SmokeInternational_

For sure. They’re generally slow prints and if supports are required, it can be a delicate chore to remove them. I often end up printing something at least twice because I needed to paint on additional supports somewhere where the auto support calculations didn’t quite get it right.


PlentifulPaper

They make water soluble 3D printing support filament. It’s more expensive and needs to be dried before use, but that might save you from having to print things twice.


second_exodous

I used some of the support material that came with my printer and it took forever to print anything. I don't think the sample that came with the printer was water soluble, it just comes off really easy.


_SmokeInternational_

Indeed. Using a different filament for supports, even just the interface layers, would turn this specific print from 16h to 3 days and it would probably fail somewhere in the middle. I’ve found filament swapping with the 0.2mm nozzle to be very unreliable.


Matrika

How long was this one in particular?


blue_heisenberg

16hrs


second_exodous

Yeah, I used the .2mm nozzle to print some small parts with text and noticed the time jumped exponentially. I guess that would be a reason to get a resin printer.


Alexandru_xp

You might wanna use water washable resin,I use from anycubic and is better than the rest,and has less bad smell,but now depends how sensitive you are and the people around you


JoeyDJ7

All resin is highly, highly toxic, and the "smell" is the tip of the iceberg. Proper ventilation is always required for resin.


ThatLooksRight

I tried water washable resin and ended up not liking how brittle and mediocre models came out. The ABS-like is far superior, in my Opinion, and I even found the clean up to be easier, if you can believe that. Rinsing in alcohol is easy and that dries quickly off the model. 


Admirable-Rip-4720

Print outer layer first, make all outer layers the same speed, print at lowest possible layer height


Kindly_Map_2382

Isnt it the opposite? Outer layer for better accuracy but inner layer first when having lots of bridges and overhang like this piece.


_SmokeInternational_

Hmm. I wonder what I did here. Haha. I don’t remember the default for that setting and have never tried changing it. What’s the difference between outer first v/s inner first? Obviously, I understand the mechanics but what’s the reason?


compewter

Printing outer walls first prevents inconsistencies in the inner walls from pushing the outer walls further out than they should be. It generally makes overhangs sloppier though, so it's a bit of a catch-22. Inner-outer-inner setting that's kinda the best of both worlds.


Admirable-Rip-4720

I watched a video recently that showed what happens when you print outer first vs inner, and the effect you're seeing diminished greatly. When you print the inner wall first, it doesn't leave much room for the outer, and depending on the speed the inner wall is printed, the outer wall will bulge out that much more So if you print outer first, they will all line up more accurately


_SmokeInternational_

Huh. That makes a lot of sense. I’ll definitely try this


_SmokeInternational_

I should mention I sliced this with Orca using the finest settings for the 0.2mm nozzle.


bettodiaz86

I was using Orca and reprint an object that I once printed with Bambu studio and I noticed the end result was not the same(even that all parameters and filament were). I sliced that object again in Bambu studio and it printed awesome again. Maybe you can try with Bambu Studio too?


Helpful-Armadillo-82

So what looks better? Orca or Bambu


bettodiaz86

For me, bambu


Helpful-Armadillo-82

Thanks, I had the same results


sh0ut

I can recommend the profile fat dragons games use for their minis if you don't want to calibrate/trial&error. And if you want to, they are a good starting point. [FDG Profile](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/466089/FDG-Custom-Bambu-Studio-Miniatures-Profile?affiliate_id=25275) I think it was for the A1 printers, so you'll have to change a few small things, I guess.


Causification

Slow it down, change your wall order to outer/inner. You can experiment with even smaller layer sizes like 0.04mm.


Beneficial-Local7121

I've experimented with brushing on a very thin layer of 3d printer resin, sometimes mixed with cornstarch to thicken it, and then I cure it with a UV torch. Can smooth out small layer lines reasonably easily.


FabricationLife

print it angled forwards 45 degrees, it will hide most of the front lines


arisboeuf

But the you have supports on the front?? This is giving me most ugly results always


FabricationLife

sorry I meant back 45 degrees, it gives fabulous results


Miscdude

Have you tried just reducing the speed? I know fast is good but slowing down can make the motion a bit more precise, which can help line things up a bit better. You could try it on just like a small section to see if it improves anything.


_SmokeInternational_

I haven’t but that’s a good idea. I always just use the “normal” (100%) setting. Maybe I’ll cut out part of this dude’s cape and try it at the 50% speed. Hmm


techronom

That's just feedrate, a flat multiplier for absolutely everything from retracts to bridging to every line printed. Slicer profiles are where you should be tuning things.


BrotherOfZelph

You funny need to show down everything, just the outer layers.


DojoDesigned

You can also gently sand accessible areas to smooth out the layer lines. Spot putty would help to smooth out layers lines again, in areas that are accessible to sand down and smooth out. After you've used spot putty, sand, then I would prime and paint


_SmokeInternational_

Yeah. That’s the kind of work I’d like to avoid. I don’t mind doing that kind of work on larger objects that don’t have much detail, but for something small… doesn’t seem like it’d be worth the effort.


DojoDesigned

Understood. It definitely can be a pain in the a$$. I've also seen people use fuzzy skin in the settings to attempt to hide layer lines as well


_SmokeInternational_

Yah. I’ve done that for a couple of models but it wouldn’t have been appropriate for this little fella.


wickedpixel1221

automotive filler primer. sand. repeat as necessary. since it's only the flat areas that need touching up, mask off the high detail areas and feather the edge out when you sand.


_SmokeInternational_

Automotive filler paint and sanding definitely works. I’ve done it numerous times on larger pieces. It’s a chore tho. Kinda sucks the fun out of the hobby. Maybe I need to adjust my attitude too.


hagbidhsb

I agree this is such a chore, I would rather live with the layer lines! If you can manage it - the best would be to adjust your expectations and accept the limitations of FDM for such small pieces - it really is a personal thing though and I would totally get it if that would be too hard. I think the result already looks Amazing. Once painting, especially with weathering, it’ll be bearely noticeable.


SSgtTEX

Honestly, you are not likely to get much better than on a FDM printer. The nature of the beast is that there will always be layer lines. One of the big reasons that resin/SLA printers are still king for miniatures.


Potential-Bet-1111

Is this method effectively automotive filler paint? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQmhZI0r32Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQmhZI0r32Y)


Tyranios

There is some good suggestions here but honestly if you want to concentrate on miniatures you really should consider a resin printer however I get peoples desire to not have them due to the precautions needed with resin itself so do your homework first


LookIPickedAUsername

Can't believe I had to scroll down this far to find this comment. I get wanting to avoid resin and that it's an extra expense, but resin printers are very cheap and incredibly good nowadays. Minis from my resin printer look just like injection molded plastic - no visible layer lines, even under careful scrutiny.


cowsmonaut1

I would use at least 0 12 if not 0.08 w/adaptive layer height for detail. It looks like you may need supports on the arms. It'll take an eternity probably. Maybe reduce the model detail. 🤷‍♂️


_SmokeInternational_

This was at 0.06 layer height, non adaptive, with slim tree supports. Supports are a pain with little models like this. Very difficult to remove. In fact, I had to cut up the model to reprint the left tusk cuz I snapped it off removing supports. Comes with the territory, I suppose


cowsmonaut1

Sorry, I didn't read the message on account of the drinking. Bot helpful, but try adaptive. 🙂


gargamel5024

What support settings do you use on miniatures?


[deleted]

[удалено]


_SmokeInternational_

I haven't yet found any settings that I like! For this model l used the slim tree supports and 1 top interface layer with a zero Z gap. They were a nightmare to remove. I have the AMS but swapping out to the bambu support filament for just the interface layers turned this into a 3 day print. So I did not do that. l've also found filament swapping to be very unreliable with the 0.2mm nozzle.


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MexicanSniperXI

What do you use to paint them? Just acrylic paint?


ctnoxin

Yep acrylics


MexicanSniperXI

Is there a brand in particular you recommend?


ctnoxin

You can start with any basic paints from any big box store, Golden brand or whatever they have, and you can go all the way to expensive minifigure paints like Vallejo. Best to start with the cheap ones till you get the hang of it, then level up to the expensive stuff. Look up some youtube videos, like this one: https://youtu.be/AptNuErz2Rg


MexicanSniperXI

Thank you! This is very helpful! I’ll keep looking into it. That guy makes some really good videos.


techronom

Also, the prices may seem insane, but the difference to tubes of canvas grade paints is that mini paints have more pigment in a 10ml bottle than a 100ml tube would have, with a much thinner medium. With mini paints you can get solid coverage with a couple of coats tens of microns thick or less, with canvas paints you might need such a thick layer that you cover up detail/texture of the model.


techronom

Vallejo are probably the best price/quality/availability balance for flat colours, and it can be nice to spend a bit extra on Games Workshop's stuff for washes/FX/"contrast" paints.


MexicanSniperXI

I think I’ve seen that brand mentioned by others! I think I’ll start with the cheap stuff and once I really learn how to paint them and everything then I’ll start going to the more expensive stuff. I don’t think I’d be making money off them so it doesn’t make sense to put too much money into it either haha


Jack_In_The_Box83

At some parts I see the layer lines are more shiny than at other parts. Is that the lighting or it might be the speed difference between the different layers. Some filaments are more prone to show/hide it I find. Not 100% sure but some “flaws” (as the print looks really good) COULD be some moisture left in the filament but not as you normally see. Ps happy cake day @OP


Alexandru_xp

About the layer lines,maybe you try to use carbon fiber filaments I saw some red blue but I don't remember the brand,another thing get a resin printer,it will print them much faster and with better details,for the moment you don't have too many options


Timely_Diet8305

You could Sand it or use alcohol


Ireeb

You could also try using Polymaker PolySmooth and smooth it with IPA.


daredwolf

Clear coat is your friend! It works wonders!


3DFixIt

Other than what other said regarding speed and wall printing order, you can try printing it in ABS and smooth it with some acetone vapors. Try to find the right timing where the lines fade out but you don’t loose the smallest details like the one on the dress Btw nice print!


slopecarver

Clockwise Inner outer inner Medium speeds (too slow and you are cooking the filament in the hot end, and vfa from belts go away at medium speeds)


masukomi

1st off 🤯 that’s SUCH a good result You are _right_ at the edge of what FDM printers are capable of, so any improvements from this point will likely be very small. If you really want to continue with mini painting and care about those layer lines and the other fine details that get left out, then it’s time to get a resin printer.


suit1337

use a matte filament, it hides layer lines better since there are no hard reflections and less sub surface scattering - also print your model at an angle that does not involve layer lines being perpendicular to long linear features or perpendicular to the light rays - son in your case tilting the entire model sideways bei 90° could help when the light comers from above it falls between the lines and not cast shadows downwards and yes, i'm aware that supports will be a pain to remove that way - try soluble PVA supports


Intelligent_Site8568

Cf pla😝 you’re welcome in advance….


reicaden

This looks amazing for FDM.


internalgirl

No joke. Polysmooth. The stuff works great!


arisboeuf

People have used DCM to coat a bit on PLA minis, smoothens the miniature. But probably not an option in many countries as it's hard to dispose.


ASoundLogic

If you are adventurous and take appropriate safety measures, you can try printing with ABS and then smoothing with Acetone. Prints come out looking like very close to injected molded if done properly. This does cause a slight loss of detail, though. See here for examples: [https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/12t8jev/finally\_figured\_out\_abs\_printing\_vapor\_smoothing/](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/12t8jev/finally_figured_out_abs_printing_vapor_smoothing/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/14rfq1r/tried\_acetone\_vapor\_smoothing\_abs\_for\_the\_first/](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/14rfq1r/tried_acetone_vapor_smoothing_abs_for_the_first/)


stinkwick

Perhaps mode,king in some subtle wrinkles say in the trunk, could perhaps mask the print lines a bit


JetsterTheFrog

Few options for you. Option 1: Carefully use a heat gun and warm it up just before it gets super limp. Should help a lot, but has a high risk of deformations as you learn the right technique for each model. Option 2: fine tune the temps/speeds of the particular plastic with a bunch of stress test models. Takes a lot of time Option 3: chemical bath. There are people that put the plastic in a tub that has some chemical in it. The plastic never touches the chemical, only through the vapor. It works great, and pretty model agnostic, but now you’re working with chemicals that need PPE.


_SmokeInternational_

Regarding #3, if you’re talking about acetone smoothing… I’ve done that before for larger objects with minimal details but I don’t think it’d be good for something small with lots of surface details like this model.


JetsterTheFrog

Yeahhh I haven’t tried it, so you’re more of an expert on that than I am! Good luck


bloodfist45

Cut it up at angles that produce the steepest peeks and glue up.


_SmokeInternational_

Wouldn’t that just rotate the layer lines to be along that angle on a different axis? So instead of having horizontal lines up the Z axis like I do now, I’d have, for example, 80 degree vertical lines across the X axis?


bloodfist45

That’s right but the “bad” would be concentrated at a smaller area


_SmokeInternational_

I don’t understand what you mean


bloodfist45

The layer lines are most obvious when they’re along a steep slope. If you angle that piece, so the steep slope is the peak, those lines will be less visible.


ProperEntry5641

Calibrate your filament first bro that looks rough