Five tips to 3D printing

Toy modeller Steve Talkowski shares his hints and tips for getting better 3D prints…

1 Plan your print Plan ahead and identify what your final output needs to be. If you’re doing a character that will be cast in resin, you’ll want to segment your pieces with an interlocking key system.

2 Use supports If you plan on printing out a figure as one solid piece, you’ll want to consider placing supports at overhang areas. Some slicing/ preference software will do this automatically. Optionally, you can make your own supports and taper them down at the tips where they will attach to the geometry.

3 Hollow the pieces It’s essential to hollow out your pieces to save on material cost. Personally, I love using ZBrush and the Create Shell command (via DynaMesh) to subtract a shape used as an opening while hollowing out.

4 Know your materials Learn the tolerances of the various materials used, especially when creating interlocking posts. It’s better to err on the larger side, because you can always sand or trim down the piece afterwards. If it’s too small, I’ll use something thin like magic tape to bulk a post back up for a tighter fit.

5 Poly counts and fi les You’ll have to keep your poly count relatively low when saving as an .stl or .obj file. Again, ZBrush is your friend, especially the Decimation Master plug-in. You can take a multi-million poly piece down to 10-20k and retain the detail prior to .stl export.