Top 10 things to Consider when 3D Printing on Commission

Skies of Sordane Airship

Over the last several years of 3D printing as a hobby I have had my fair share of people approach me with an idea, an easy project, or something random they found on the internet they wanted printed for them. In general my typical response has been, “absolutely no problem” and taken the mantle of the challenge as a new way to challenge myself in 3D printing. However some of these “easy projects” were of course the most difficult tasks I’ve ever encountered in the hobby. General rule of thumb, just because there is an object file or STL in existence and someone has found it does not necessarily mean that model is actually printable, but I am getting ahead of myself… let’s start at the beginning of one of these “easy projects”. 

An idea of the complexity and size of the Skyship

In July 2022 I was commissioned to print the LARGEST 3D and most time consuming project I have ever attempted. This project was the Sentienel Light Cruiser by the Skies of Sordane kickstarter in March 2020 which raised over $280K CA or $208K USD on kickstarter. The reason why I say how much it has raised is that there are very few 3D printing stl crowdfunding projects to have ever gone over the 200K mark let alone this early in the 3D hobby printing revolution.

I remember vividly this project releasing and the waves it has made in the community. I even have a ship or two in my own STL collection that have been given to me as cross-promotions over the years even though I never backed the main project. So being asked to print the largest of the medium class ships from the core bundle of this kickstarter, I immediately felt it was safe enough to agree to the project with such a wide community backing it, instantaneous name recognition, and enough time has passed since it’s initial launch that surely there is strong documentation of the project and troubleshooting. 

So using this project as an example I thought I’d share the lessons I’ve learned with you.

Skyship with the elemental ring attached

Since completing the project, I have completely changed my view and approach on commission 3D printing through trial and error. Here are my top 10 lessons/rules and takeaways from the project if you are considering 3D printing for commission.

#1 Know your Value

One of the largest things I struggle with personally is making sure I receive payment for my services and time investment. I’m the type of person who significantly undervalues myself with the goal of bringing things and being as accessible as possible to others. I typically only charge printing cost in materials and file cost in almost all of my prints with an expectation of people tip what they are able to. Letting them pay for the print in what they value it as or can afford. This of course breaks down as you need to do much more in order to make the model print.As a result i’ve had to set a value per hour or minimum service fee for a product i’ll be printing. If a file requires work before or after printing put it in your service fee. Be transparent of your cost breakdown and expectations up front. Your time should not be for free.  

Make sure you have a point in the clause where cost could change if you over estimate or under estimate project. 

Post processing support removal

#2 Know the Terms of Service

I am not a 3D printing studio or have a merchant license to print and am merely a printer as a service for people that do not have a printer but find files they are strongly interested in. My first rule is that the person asking for a file to be printed is always either 1) buying the STL and send it to me to print with proof of purchase or 2) I purchase the file and add the STL cost to the final cost breakdown at the end. This ensures that the original creator always gets paid for their work and its single use print and purchase. Always make sure you are reading the terms of service for your files before printing them to verify nothing you are doing is breaking terms, General rule of thumb, I only print something once per purchase of a file for personal use.

#3 Determine the Scale, Commitment and Cost of the Project

In some cases this is incredibly hard to estimate without seeing the files beforehand and diving deep into the project but here are the

The moment I realized the true scale of the project I accepted to do

5 primary cost factors in a print commission. 

1) Digital Model cost

Discussed in the previous bullet but if you are buying the file for the client then make sure you add it to your total.

2) Material Cost

Most of the time you will need to put the file into your software to get an estimate of total materials used in the print job so this can be difficult to blindly estimate unless doing something similar in scale and scope frequently. Oftentimes keeping track of slicing estimates or using software like Octoprint for filament printing can help give estimates but only after you have gotten the files in your hands and are deeper in the project. I have also found that you should never be cheap on the materials you purchase. You’d end up paying more for it in the end. Use materials and quality of products that you would be happy with. In which case I am always a perfectionist.

3) Print time & Printer maintenance 

Some individuals and print shops charge per hour their printers are running as business. Often if the print commission is a singular print that takes an hour or two I consider this negligible. But in the case of this project I estimated over 31 Days of non-stop continuous printing. Perhaps including costs for new nozzles, print beds, etc should also be factored into the equation. 

4) Tip for service

Most often when buying 3D printed models from sites like Etsy tips are not often considered. But when working on one off projects such as these and their customization in nature it is strongly encouraged that you ask for a tip for your time. If you are not comfortable asking for a tip think the question of “what is the minimum amount you will do this project for.” Add that value to your print cost.

I often use tips as a method of which I can gauge the satisfaction of my client on the project. These I consider as icing on the cake and a bonus and not part of my rate.

5) Shipping

Shipping can be an extremely tricky factor when working on 3D prints as well as keeping your print safe and secure. I have come to depend on USPS priority mail system and their free flat rate box. They come with a default insurance value of $100 a tracking number, arrive in a decent amount of time, boxes are free, and are the most affordable shipping options. Their prices are also transparent:

Box NamePriceSize
Small Flat Rate$10.208 5/8″ x 5 3/8″ x 1 5/8″
Medium Flat Rate$17.1013 5/8″ X 11 7/8″ x 3 3/8″
or
11″ x 8 1/2″ x 5 1/5″
Large Flat Rate$22.8012 1/4″ x 12″ x 6″
USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes

#4 Agree upon Deadline


One thing you will hear commonly regardless of type of commission is that they can commonly hang over your head as something you “need to do” and detracts from other aspects of your life or even your own hobby time. Setting a deadline can help eliminate the “when will it be done” questions and force you to focus on getting the project out the door and no longer hanging over your head while also building consumer transparency. 

#5 Set Expectations of Product Quality


One of the hardest things about printing commissions from files others have found on the internet is the simple statement that all files are not created equal. Not all files SHOULD or CAN be printed. A render for a file could be absolutely breathtaking but it doesn’t mean that the considerations of 3D printing the model are taken into account and could make your job extraordinarily more difficult. That on top of expectations. How much post processing are you expected to do? If printing in PLA do they understand that layer lines are going to be visible? How much support scaring is acceptable? Is the model going to have to be assembled on your own time? These things should be asked or you determine as a result of your product if you open your own store. Often times it might take more than one print to optimize the quality of a print due to the design of the model itself or your print settings. Proper calibration as well as familiarity with the company helps tremendously.

Poor print quality due to support removal and print orientation. Required a reprint

#6 Keep Track the Project as you Go

There is nothing worse than finishing a large project and then having to go back and calculate the time commitment and cost breakdown for final billings. Make sure you are breaking down what you did and why as you go. If you had to manipulate a file on your own, presupport a file, any reprints etc. Trying to remember what you did months ago can be incredibly challenging. If the scope is extremely large.

My print progress tracking: part, material usage, print time

#7 Don’t be Afraid to Say No

If this is not your primary form of income and it is merely for fun on the side. Don’t hesitate to turn down projects that you don’t want to do or necessarily have the time to do. Sometimes these things can massively take away time from your own projects and hobby time. People can find others to print projects or wait until you are ready. 

#8 Maintain Communication of progress and project Status

As a way to help build confidence, keep everyone honest and on track. I commonly find that sharing work in progress pics is fantastic to maintain positive energy on the project. Their excitement helps keep you motivated while also making sure that they are still invested in the project.

One of many project progress pictures

#9 Account for time variance for printer repairs and real life situations

Not every project goes as expected. There are times when you will have to spend days repairing, troubleshooting, replacing parts on your printers which can be incredibly frustrating. Account for taking time off. The printers do not have to run 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

#10 Make sure the process is still fun

In the end of it all this is most commonly your hobby and enjoyable past time. Don’t focus so heavily on making a profit from it and become a professional hobbyist. This is for fun and not a job. If it isn’t fun don’t do it.


Conclusion

Every project you undertake you can learn a lot about yourself as well as your hobby. Do you print professionally? Do you buy printed projects? What takeaways have you made?

As always Happy Hobbying,

Crazmadsci


Fun Facts

Skyship project

  • Total Filament usage: 6.348 kg
  • Resin usage: 247.38g
  • Filament length 2,094.87 meters or 1.30 miles
  • Print time: 748.66 hr or 31.2 Days
  • Total number of pieces: 98
  • Estimated post processing time: 30 hr
Website navigation image to new printing section of website

The Void of Knowledge in the 3D Printing Tabletop Space?


I started 3D printing for tabletop gaming in 2018 and every day I am blown away by how much the hobby has grown. The community of hobbyists is bigger than ever before, there is more art and creators than we can even fundamentally track, and new technologies and tools are hitting the market making the hobby more accessible. There is now more software to make, modify, and slice 3D printed models. Materials have evolved to have significantly more variety in color, additives for flexibility, transparency, hardness, etc. The list of how this hobby has grown in the past 4 years could go on and on. 

However there is one aspect of the hobby that has not changed. The most elusive and coveted part of the 3D printing hobby is its knowledge. So much of the collective knowledge for tabletop gaming in the 3D printing community is spread out and only documented as a series of trial and error. Many of our communities of this collective knowledge are broken into sub groups and platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Reddit, Discord, etc. This requires a lot of asking around for people to share their stories over the internet’s equivalent of a campfire. Much of the information is heard from the grapevine making that piece of information under scrutiny as to if it is really true or has just changed through each telling like a bad game of telephone. 

As someone with a passion for learning, gathering that knowledge and does tests purely for the sake of deeper understanding. I have found the lack of knowledge repository, well frankly frustrating. While not everyone is like me and needs to answer the Where, What, How, and Why of every aspect of our 3D printing hobby I know that I am not the only one who has become frustrated when forced to try new things and not knowing where to start, troubleshooting a taxing issue, or even needing inspiration on how to go the next step. 

We the collective community have made assumptions and sweeping statements such as “People cannot print miniatures on an FDM printer”. Layer lines are so terrible post processing for FDM printing requires sanding, gap filling, and even in some cases acetone smoothing. Why can’t resin be used in 3D printing terrain? I have made a career of exploring these declarative statements and providing people with the most information possible to let them come to their own conclusions.

Bottle Brawler kobold miniature without supports
FDM Miniature Figure, proving that FDM can indeed print supports.

What if we as a community banded together to curate a knowledge base of information to help not only brand new members of the hobby but veterans or even those who wish to purchase from 3D printing services. What kind of things should you look out for or ask when hiring others to 3D print files for you? What quality of print is standard? How much should you 3D print for your tabletop games? There are so many questions that I am seeking to answer.


Call to Action

I have made it my mission to be apart of the movement to close this gap in our knowledge, experiment & document often in order to search for answers to things that have not been tested yet, and assist those who wish to truly utilize all the things 3D printing has to offer. However this is something I cannot do on my own. I am looking for help, excitement to search more and those who have any questions. There is no such thing as a stupid question. If you have one regarding the 3D printing hobby for tabletop gaming just ask. I have been deep enough in the hobby that I have taken for granted the little questions that might plague those just getting started in the hobby. Having people ask questions really helps me make sure I can help answer it and those that might come in the future.

Most importantly. I am in need of troubleshooting photographs for your 3D printing issues!


What am I doing about it?

I have decided to step out and begin releasing content even if it may not completely fit the image of what I want it to be. So as of today I have officially released a brand new category to my website. As of now, we have a 3D printing navigation section. I have begun to curate the write ups I have done for 3D printing with a main home main and separate categories for resin and FDM printing. I am going to be posting a mix of information and guides to cover introductory subjects, topics I encounter in my hobby but most importantly information asked by my community and the communities I am a part of. 

I have admittedly been nervous in posting only a portion of content that I desire to write and have it appear more empty leading to a poor new reader interaction. However recently I have had several people approach me on how different guides I have written helped them and have told me that writing more tutorials and guides would be useful without realizing that it was already my intent. Starting this main navigation panel and landing page will make it easier for people to find what I have written as well. This is still very much a work in progress but I am excited on where it will go. Not every thing written will end up in posts but will try to make notices in my weekly state of the crazy posts if anything has been added as a permanent page rather than a post.

I am working on adding content as fast as I can while also balancing all aspects of my hobby as well.

Website navigation image to new printing section of website
Guide to Navigate to Printing Category

Come be Apart of the Community

If you want to become apart of the discussion or just banter, ask questions or enjoy aspects of the community all are welcome through the Tableflip Foundry discord server. You are welcome to come say hi and interact with the community and is the best place to find me day to day hanging out! https://discord.gg/tableflipfoundry

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Pile of miniature figures in pieces

The Shattering Reality of my Miniature Collection


Disaster Strikes

Last weekend a disaster struck. A massive majority of my miniature collection has come crashing to the ground thanks to the adventuresome behavior of my cat, Turtle. You see at the moment my miniatures are being housed in an old bedroom TV cabinet as I am working on “figuring out” an improved method of widespread storage. In reality I have been continuously making it worse by stacking an increasing number of boxes and containers on top of each other just waiting for the day something shakes the whole tower down.

Well that day happened. On Saturday I heard a large CRASH and was terrified it was my curious toddler. I go running and immediately feel two emotions. First I am absolutely relieved to find that no child or animal was hurt. Secondly I felt my heart sink to my stomach as I saw the devastation the laid before me.

Miniatures lay in pieces scattered over the floor as hundreds of models crashed on top of each other, into other boxes or just spread out. The largest damage of which is my painted miniatures of 2021. Over half of all models painted in the last year lay in pieces. 


Trying to Piece it Back Together

I then proceeded to spend a large portion of my time to see if I can glue as much of the minis together. While I was trying to piece much of my hardwork of 2021 I had an inner dialogue of problems and perhaps ways I can fix them and should focus on for 2022.

Cutting mat with broken miniatures and superglue to repair the models
The surgical field, to glue models back together.

Trying to Solve the Problems

Actually Utilizing My Storage Solutions

“Carrie, why in the world did you wait this long to try to organize your models?”

Voice in my head

You see this is actually ironic because last year I spent a long post series on organizing my collection & hobby space: Storage Wars. I even went as far to develop a new storage tray system for my models (Storage Wars: Part 3 Miniature Storage Trays). Yet in my haste towards the end of the year I did not fully utilize system. The biggest issues that I have is that I have no way to display or store models I’m using that are completed.

Solution: Actually utilize my storage solutions! Take the time to put models away. Find a way to store finished models safely or on display.

Experiment with New Materials

The harsh reality of it is that resin from 3D printing can be extremely brittle. Depending on the material used, duration of cure times, or even staying in storage exposed to UV light can increase this brittleness in your resin models & terrain. Towards the second half of last year I began to use harder resins which are more impact resistant making them more likely to just break rather than shatter. This was definitely noticeable in my Dwarven Frostgrave army printed mostly in 2020 rather than my husband’s necromancer undead army printed later 2021. When the newer models broke I could find most of them to try and glue back together. However some of the original resins used that were basic resins without additives such as ABS-Like or Hard were more likely to shatter rather than break. Let this be a testament on more durable resins being valuable! However in truth and with all the benefits of 3D printing the brittleness of the models definitely is a very strong negative about the 3D printing hobby. I had no reaper bone model damage, metal model damage and very little hard plastic model damage. 

Solution: Prime all printed models to prevent more curing from storage & investigate and start a series of experiments with flexible resin additives to give models more give and capabilities to stay intact.

Begin Cataloging My Collection Again

Last year I started a database of my miniature collection as well as a visual catalog. While it is still a long way to go it is a start. One major downside to this is that in December I sold off a large portion of my collection and did not update my spreadsheet or visual. I need to go back through the list and update the data before I can continue to grow again.

Solution: Update the Spreadsheet, visual catalog and actually track the known vs unknown.


Conclusion

I recognize that finding better systems to account for ever curious toddlers and adventuresome creatures is a much needed thing. I wish I could have shelves to hold the things I love and have spent time on but just do not have the space for it in our home. If you have a precarious pile of models this is my warning to you to make it safer.

How do you keep your hard purchased or crafted items for your tabletop games safe? I keep telling myself that this is the moment where I learn my lesson, but only time will tell.

Happy Hobbying!

Carrie aka crazmadsci the Crazy Mad Scientist


Past Writings

View of my hobby space and desk as of the time of writing this article

State of the Crazy: January 14, 2022


Update Quicklinks: Assembly, Printing, Painting, Blog

It is Friday again and that means. The State of the Crazy! This week has been absolutely a whirlwind and definitely one of those where you feel like you have accomplished so much and so little at the same time. Lets go through what all happened this week

View of my hobby space and desk as of the time of writing this article
The honest state of the crazy at the time of writing

Assembly

Snotlings Assembled!

Bloodbowl snotling models assembled
Completed & assembled snotlings

This has been incredibly therapeutic for me and I have slowly been chipping away on this project when I only have a few minutes or highly likely to get pulled away. I definitely think that having a small project to chip away at slowly is something that will be a requirement for my hobby space. Next up is to scrape mold lines and attach to bases. There are a few snotlings that will be pained in subassemblies since they will go on the pump wagon.

I might have a Goblin Problem

Is there any truth in the statement, “You can never have too many goblins?” Well I appear to have a significant number of goblins at least 67 which I have found in this box. Many of which are duplicates with failed prints or portions as I have printed this set of (22 goblins) in at least 3 different occasions over the 2021 year. I am slowly going to take this collection of goblins and test a few theories and aspects of the hobby.

  • How to use green stuff to sculpt (repairing the failed print pieces)
  • Temporarily gluing to bases for ease of painting
    • Do I prefer to paint without a base?
  • How many ways can I paint green skin?

This is definitely going to be a project I slowly chip away at once the snotlings are completed and moved into painting.


Printing

I actually think for once I did not print anything last week of note. So far I am following my hobby focus of painting and website for now and catching up on documentation and projects before printing out new things.


Painting Update

For the first time I have begun to paint a model with an airbrush. I have begun work on my 2022 Benchmark model and it is still in progress. I am going to take my time for this paint job and attempt to do the best I can. I definitely already know I have room for improvement in both technique and placement but we all have to start somewhere.


Blog

Last week I published my 2022 Benchmark Model writeup “How to Gauge Growth in Miniature Painting”. This has received quite alot of positive response from people in its relatability to their own hobby. I can’t wait to see peoples benchmark models in the future!

I have also been writing quite a bit on other things and not quite ready to publish but should be coming up! Much of this is to update out of date sections of the site and begin publishing my starting to 3D print section.


Conclusion

Not necessarily a ton to report on but it is still improvement towards finishing projects. What did you work on this week?

As always happy hobby,
Carrie aka crazmadsci


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