Beginners Guide to 3D Printing and Multi-Shell Models

A couple of months back we teamed up with YouTuber Sonic Sledgehammer to create video guides covering the basics of 3D printing. 

If you are new to the Digital Forge or thinking of joining, we recommend watching these first!

Because of the detail level in our miniatures, we recommend a liquid resin type printer (MSLA/LCD, DLP or SLA), with at least 50-micron resolution. Good budget-friendly options can be found by Phrozen, Elegoo and AnyCubic. 

Some of our terrain might print well on FDM type printers, but may require trial and error as we do not test them for this.

Part One Summary:

• Download and extract the model STL files.
• Import the STL into your slicer software (try Lychee or Chitubox).
• In the software, be sure to select your printer and resin to get the right settings, they may need tweaking if the print fails.
• Check the models are pre-supported (most Digital Forge models are), if not, you may need to add supports.
• When you have all the parts you want on the build plate, slice to create a printer readable file.

You can watch part two here: https://youtu.be/BLtqPjl05Zw 

Part Two Summary:

• Put the sliced file onto a USB and into the printer.
• Make sure the printer is properly calibrated.
• Fill with resin and print (use gloves when handling uncured resin).
• When the print is finished, remove the build plate, being careful to avoid drips.
• Detach the parts with a scraper, then if water washable, rinse in water, otherwise soak/swill in IPA for 5-10 minutes.
• Take the clean parts and post-cure, either under a UV lamp or in bright sunlight for up to 15 minutes.
• Remove the supports, assemble and paint!

Working with Multi-Shell models

A lot of the Anvil Digital Forge models are Multi-Shell, what this means is that you can use software such as Meshmixer to make simple edits to the file before printing. 

For example, you might want to remove certain features, like a skull on a hat, as it does not suit your purposes. Or you might only have a pre-supported version of the model, but would like to remove the supports to orientate it differently for printing.

There is a simple guide for this at the beginning of the video in this post:  patreon.com/posts/sonic-paints-52244662 

Full instructions for Multi-Shell in MeshMixer and Blender here! 

Meshmixer Multi-Shell Summary:

• Import STL
• From the side menu Edit >> Separate Shells
• Click on shells to remove, then hit delete.
• Select all remaining shells then Combine.
• Export model as an STL.

We hope these guides are useful, feel free to ask any questions!

Thanks,

Team Anvil