Overview ~ Print issues/Areas of Improvement ~ Printed Images ~ Print Data ~ Where to find Files
Project Main: Lost Adventures Vol 1
Overview
Here in lies the Ghouls from the Lost Adventures Vol 1 Kickstarter. While this printed set of humanoid flesh eating humanoids is really straight forward, I did encounter some issue printing one of the sculpts. Since 3D printing is a hobby all on its own this set and more specifically “Ghoul 2 screaming fists” shown in the dark grey color did cause me some problems. I ended up taking it upon myself and make it my mission to dial in my printer settings as much as possible to determine if it was truly my skill in the printing or the model itself. I’ll discuss all the things I tried in the Print Issues/ Areas of Improvement.
As for the models themselves. I find that these sculpts are super engaging and love the different amount of detail there is in each of them. I can’t wait to paint these guys a fun undead color. Also for those FDM printers out there Ghoul 1 Sitting does print absolutely supportless making it easy if you don’t want to support it.
Print Issues/ Areas of Improvement
For Ghoul 2 Screaming I did encounter numerous printing issues where the right arm of the figure would not print successfully. This was largely due to supports for the hand of the model. Since it was some of the first figures printed using Elegoo ABS Like grey resin I took the opportunity to use this printed issue to fine tune and further calibrate my printing settings. One of the most important settings for resin printing is exposure time as the duration of UV light emitted will impact how cured the resin is. Under curing can cause layers to not fully attach to eachother where as over curing can wash out detail and even cause failures like under curing. Therefore finding the correct exposure time is key. Using both the model and the XP2 Validation Matrix I printed a variety of the models at different exposure times to see if the duration of exposure was the key to success for getting this model to print successfully.
You can see in the image above 8 different tests of the validation matrix and 6 for the ghoul to see if they would fix the issue. Looking at the images below you can see more close up the images. Overall it appeared that the longer the exposure time of 3.5s per layer displayed the most printed arm although broken at the wrist.
After numerous attempts using modifications of printer settings and speaking to a friend who has successfully printed the model. I knew it could be done. So my next order of business was to try a different resin. Much like FDM printing not every formula and brand of resin works for everything. Some may work better for you or behave differently. So I choose the increasingly popular Epax Hard Grey resin to try for this model. Sure enough the very first print I ended up with a full model with no error. Goes to show that sometimes experimentation is key and as a result I am defaulting on using Epax hard Grey as my go to resin of choice and have increasingly had more success while printing.
Printed Images
Print Data
Printer: Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K
Resin: Elegoo ABS-Like Grey* & Epax Hard Grey
Layer Height: 0.05 mm
Time to Print all components: 5 hr 29 min
Resin to Print: 28.9 g
Estimated Cost to Print: $1.18 or $0.30 per miniature
Special Note: Values calculated depict only a theoretical successful set of miniatures. Since this was an experimental set of miniatures actual material usage is variable.
Where to Find these Files
These files can be currently found on the Lost Adventures Co Website and are apart of the Lost Adventures Vol 1 Kickstarter.
Lost Adventures Co: Website
Lost Adventures Vol 1: Late Pledge All-In $80.00
Individual Purchase: Ghouls (set of 3): $8.99
Sculptor: Ronald Bondoc
