How to 3D Print Better Miniatures: Pt. 1 Layer Heights
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Learn which layer heights work best for miniatures on your Ender 3 or Ender 5 3D printer.
NOTE: Using full step numbers for layers, even when the starting Z home position is on a micro step, means it will continually use those same micro steps and even out variations/inconsistencies that would occur hitting different micro step positions for subsequent layers as the model is printed.
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Your videos are absolute gold man. I learn so much from them. Thank you for efforts!
Thank you :)
I'm SHOCKED that this video hasn't garnered more attention!! This is by far one of the best 3d printing videos I've watching since I got into the hobby a few weeks back. I used to teach at one time, and was told I was damn good at it. THIS man knows how to teach! I'm not into the whole miniature thing, but this information is absolutely invaluable to anyone printing anything small and detail. Subbed!!
Thank you for not gassing us up with magic. I also like how you don't seem like a mean spirited person unlike other UA-cam 3D print channels that deal in magic.
>I also like how you dont seem like a mean spirited person.
It's good that you picked up on that.
When he said "I dont want to keep you in the dark" he implied there are people that do... a poor creative person can make a lot of money with a printer.
You are the fourth TY channel I've watched, in confusion and desperate hope in order to make miniature gifts for a group I love watching on Twitch. Within the first minute of video you went "I'm going to talk about all of this in logical terms you can understand". THANK. YOU. 3D printing still feels way over my head but I love facts and straightforwardness. This was great and I am finally feeling confident about printing these minis after watching your videos.
I'm glad they helped you :)
The best video content for our ender 3.
Me sitting here with stock .2 mm layer height on ender 3. Didnt even know it could do .08 and I've been printing for half a year.watched tons of videos. First video I've seen of yours and love it, very detailed.
I watched the first minute and heard you say not to use the phrase "magic number" because it doesn't help you learn, and I immediately liked, subscribed, and now will be watching all of your videos. Thank you for being someone interested in teaching.
Thanks Brad :)
Good to know that you can have better looking minis with half-steps. I'm still convinced that the ideal layer height (for small minis) is variable. It can only be defined for specific filament and your printer calibration.
These videos are EASILY the best description of how to get high quality prints. I love the way you explain the basis for what you are explaining, in this case the winding of the z-motor to select appropriate layer heights.
I'm surprised that are only a hundred for comments with this video being up for almost a year. This has by far the most detailan explanation of how to get good looking fine detail print out of everything I've ever seen. Well done and keep them coming.
Great now I have to re-print all my owlbears. Oh wait, I've only printed one so far. It was printed at .08mm. Normally I'm do them at .12mm. I did notice more zits on the .08mm. Thanks for the comparison and detailed information behind your thinking.
Hope it helps :)
Great video. Thank you.
Though I have noticed that on my Ender 3 Pro, with some minis I'll get a tiny bit of artifact, almost like a little bit of over-extrusion if I print on .1 instead of .08 or .12. But if I print on .08 or .12 it goes away.
It's not a universal and it depends on the model, but it's been a common enough occurrence for me to skip .1 entirely.
I love your videos. I’ve been trying to print minis without much success for a while until now. I love that you not only tell what settings to use, but why they work and a bit of the science behind it. Subscribing for sure
Several people have asked if the bottom z-stop wasn't at a full stop what would happen. I have a slightly different variation on that question that is really bugging me. If you are auto-leveling the bed (and the board has mapped out the differences in height between different areas of the print bed) then it would seem you can't help but start out at micro-steps for at least certain areas of the print. (granted they probably aren't bad for 28mm miniatures, but I can see it being an issue for things that cover more of the bed.) I understand that in general the bed-level adjustments fade out over the first several layers and don't continue forever, but I don't think there's a guarantee that when the board has finished adjusting for layers that you'll end up on either a full stop of a half stop, but are more likely on a micro-stop and even with a .1mm layer height they will always be at a micro stop if the bottom layer is at a micro stop. That leads me to think there are other issues at play besides the full-stop or half-stop of the layer heights on the Z motor.
I completely agree and have the same issue with this theory of "magic numbers". Want to complicate things a bit more? What happens when you have a dual lead screw set up with two z motors?
Just started 3d printing, bought an Ender 5p. Also just found this channel the day I started using a 0.2mm nozzle, for model railroad parts. Thanks to these great, educational vids. My super fine, .2mm nozzle prints are coming out awesome 99% of the time!
I wish I had found this video sooner. I am calibrating my printer right now. I really want to learn how to really run one of these machines and do it well. Thank you.
Good video, however, a stepper motor used at half step, deviation is largest (not smallest) at halfstep position: the magnetic angle (so mechanical angle) deviates the most from the electrical angle. This is just standard specification of steppermotors .
So I went and bought the new silent mainboard for the stock ender 3. I previously already installed smoothers and did quite a bit. I keep hearing the new bored has an upgrade on the smoothers and that there was no need to put the smoothers on. So I printed a few things without and definitely look better than the stock ender 3. Then i installed the smoothers in just to see. The prints came out flawlessly. You cant even see any lines and are amazingly smooth. To the point of not being too anal on the settings. But I'm happy I tried it out instead of listening to what was considered a pointless move. Overhangs are so much better and cut back on even needing infill or supports now. So I highly suggest to anyone to try it out.
so, you do recommend tl smoothers even with 1.5 mainboard installed ?
@@alejandromartinezcarballeda yeah. If you already have the smoothers I highly suggest trying it out. You'll have people say its pointless but I definitely beg to differ. If you don't have them its probably not worth spending the money on them. Although they are pretty cheap. But print 2 of the same thing.1 with, 1 without all the same settings...theres definitely a difference. And I swear, I felt like it helped print at faster speeds yet keep quality results. I had no issues running at 115-120% speeds on things not packed with crazy detail. But yeah man I suggest trying it out. If you do let me know what you think. I'm curious to hear if someone else agrees with this. I did have the normal ender 3 not the pro but with just the silent board. I've since changed to the Skr 1.4 turbo board but I believe that's all I had in it.
Ok, just in case some are wondering. The A4988 drivers that drive the stepper motors, are capable of 1/16th micro-stepping with full torque, thus no need for a magic number or sweet spot. Drivers and the control board of the 3d printers tell the motors either to operate in full steps or half steps.
Again and again, you generate incredibly useful and easily understood content. Thank you so very much!
Very, very good video. You explained the full step idea very well! I have never considered half steps... this really opens things up for me. I don't print minis typically, but thank you for introducing some new information for me :)
Thanks for watching! :)
Fantastic deep dive on the subject of stepper motors and layer heights. I came away with a much better understanding of the subject!
I guess the more layers you have, the greater chance for there to be a layer defect on the model overall (assuming equal chance for a defect on any one layer)
The number of defects shown correlates with the number of layers quite nicely in this video;)
It's not that, it's how thin the layers are, especially in areas with overhangs. The thin layer deforms from the heat of subsequent nozzle passes and the heat from extruded plastic on top of it. The thicker the layer the better it can dissipate that heat. Using full or half step numbers for layers, even when the home position is on a micro step, means it will continually use the same micro steps and even out variations/inconsistencies that would occur hitting different micro step positions for subsequent layers.
Thank you SO MUCH for all you do! I have learned so much about our printer and the settings in Cura and WHY you choose those settings! The way you explain everything is crystal clear. And I know I can trust your setting profiles knowing that you actually test them and have so much experience and knowledge. ❤️ Thanks again! 😁
I'm glad the video helped you :)
Thank you for Sharing, Tom! Your Expertise is highly appreciated :D
Thank you for watching :)
I'm so glad you didn't call them magic numbers. Someone I watch calls them "his magic numbers" like he invented how steppers work I guess.
I just prefer to keep things simple and call things what they are. :)
Have you tried the silicone sock that goes over the hot end? Help with radiation and makes it easier to cook print faster aswell maintain heat in block.
Hello there ... I'm trying to print tiny sails ships hull using this guide but on a Anycubic Mega pro ... I'm experiencing stringing (not able to add the picture here). Trying to solve in different way one by one (less flow, lower temp, more or less retraction, higher thickness) but no way to remove the fenomena can you help me with recommended direction? I'm printing with 0,4 nozzle, thickness 0,1mm. and using your recommanded setup.
Would you say a smaller nozzle diameter would change this results?
The only thing I've not seen covered (it may have been?) by anyone is this:
How can you be sure on what microstep your first layer begins? Everyone's bed height and Z offset will be different. The best your process (i like the explanation) can do is keep the layers a consistent step or half apart from the previous.
I've run 0.12 for quality and 0.28 for quick prints. Features like screw holes have messed up my surface finish more than anything else I've noticed. Not too many of those on minis thankfully.
Covered in the video description :)
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors but who reads those before posting comments? 😉
How can I find out the exact number of steps my stepper motors are built for?
Hey good Video! I learned of the existence of your company, when i bought the Humble 3d printing bundle. I Love the Terrain and the minis too. Keep up the excellent Work!
Thanks!
How do you ensure the motor zeros on a full step? If I start printing on a 40/60 step then move up 1 full step, the next layer will be also on a 40/60 step and so on all the way up the print. Is there a way to ensure your bottom layer starts at a full step?
I have the same question, how do we adjust the limit switch of Z to be in a full step? If you found the answer please reply to this message.
@@pablodestefano5604 Nah, never found an answer.
What brand and color and type of filament was used for these test prints?
eSun PLA Pro Gray
Does auto bed leveling defeat the purpose of dialing in your settings to use full steps? ABL uses small z-axis adjustments to compensate for the bed not being level or being warped but then you aren't using full steps anymore. Is this correct?
That is correct, but it ultimately doesn't matter. The point of the video is that the layer thickness has more to do with quality than adhering to 'full steps/magic numbers'. Using full steps for layers means it will continually use the same micro steps and even out variations/inconsistencies that would occur hitting different micro step positions for subsequent layers.
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors Understood, nothing can be that simple, there are always plenty of variables at play that affect the final result.
This is just something that's been bothering me because I never heard anyone mention it as a slightly disadvantage of ABL.
What do I do if the corners in my prints curl upwards in less than 0.12 layer heights?
Thank you, man. Works great on Longer Lk4
Your videos are amazing, you should create a tutorial to print miniatures using Cura or Prusa in Creality K1.
Excellent video and information as always. Love that you teach every step of the way in your videos. Thank you!
PS- will send more subs your way!
Fantastic video as usual. However, I'm having a hard time finding out what is the amount of steps on the steppers for my printer (Ender 5, so I think I can assume it's the same as an Ender 3), and the equation to find the correct layer height per full turn, could you write it down?
The Ender 5 is identical to the 3/3 Pro. 200 steps on the motor, 8mm pitch on the Z screw. :)
IN THE DROPBOX YOU HAVE 3 PROFILES, WHAT IS THE ONE YOU OCCUPY FOR MINIATURES?
Is there no option for variable layer hight that can be built into the sculpt stl file. An option that automatically adjusts the layers for curved areas. ☺ Or could this be something for the next gen of printers to aspire to ☺
Love the channel, more videos please ☺ 🇮🇪
Both Cura and Slic3r offer this, but the results are worse than sticking with a single layer height.
i've just started with my printer, have an ender 3 v2 but i dont't understand where to change the micro steps
THANK YOU! This is the video I’ve been needing.
With all that discussion about magic numbers/full steps/micro steps - however you call it - I'm always wondering, when you Z home your printer are you guaranteed to land on "full step"? Is the software hardwired like that to turn off microstepping when homing? I mean, if not then all this discussion is useless as increasing by "full-step" from "micro-step" position will give you again "micro-step" position. I couldn't find confirmation that homing lands on "full step".
See the video description, I address this :)
Soooo delicious this content. Thank you. I've been watching all of your videos and have a demo tile from drivethru going right now on my Ender3 with your terrain profile for cura :) Fingers crossed!
As always , thanks for sharing this information in a way we can understand. Its very appreciated.
on my 2 year old Anet A8 I've printed down to .06mm doing cubes and it does well... but does that take alot of time....
I'm just starting to watch your videos using new ender5 pro and getting some stringy ooze. if possible could you point me to the best place for starter advice to adjust settings in creality slicer or other program to use instead?
is .06 also an exact half step?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this topic.
Wish my 3D printer would print details like that.
your mini printing profile works great!
At one point I tthink you mentioned printing 9 wall sections at a time. So my question is will the printer print each one separately or at the same time? Does it print each piece a bit at a time?
Just wanted to say...Awesome video..thank you for the explanation.
Will this work with a Anycubic Vyper?
i want an upgraded ender 5 for minis good choice ?
You said this was for 28mm miniatures, does it apply to 30mm miniatures?
Yes
So what layer height do you recommend for the Prusa printers? Do their z-axis screws and motors have the same scaling, thus making your numbers applicable or do you have a different set of recommended layer heights? Thank you very much for your help with this.
did you say you had a video of how to do supports???
Never bothered to since none of my models I sell require supports :)
Doesnt the z axis full step only matter if the z stop is located on one of the full, half, micro steps etc? Since everything is relative from the z stop? So if the Z stop is inbetween steps, wouldn't it be safe to assume that everything would then be too?
The video description addresses that :)
Excellent video! Please, can you make a video of the quality of 28mm minis comparing 0.4, 0.3 and 0.2 nozzles? Thank you!
That is coming in August :)
any advice or suggestions on printing Tiny (creature size) minis on an ender 3 v2?
Yes, use a .3 or .2 nozzle and our specific Cura profile for those size nozzles.
Fantastic youtube content and awesome stl files. Thanks for you wonderful contribution to the 3d printing community
Soo how does the nozzle width impact the prints?
I have a separate video covering .4, .3, and .2mm nozzles coming soon. :)
Den avgör hur tunna detaljer du kan printa ut. Du ser det direkt i slicern. Vanligt att det blir hål i en kappa t.ex. om den är tunnare än din inställning för lagerbredd. Vanligast är det 0.45mm för en 0.4mm nozzle så det är något man får ha i åtanke när man designar för printning.
Is the layer height something you can adjust in creality slicer, or does this have something to do with the printer nozzle?
You adjust in the slicer, but you do not want to go lower than .1 for miniatures. See my other video covering layer heights and why sub .1 don't produce better results.
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors alright cool thanks
@Tomb of 3D Printed Horrors BTW, what would the option be that adjusts layer height in creality slicer 1.2.3
Question: is it possible to program a given layer height for one part of the print and another one for a different part of the print? or would I have to stop, re-calibrate and restart to make this change?
It is is you use Prusa Slic3r instead of Cura.
hey there, what i would like to see is how the 28mm miniatures look like after you printed them (with supports), you cleaning work / technique and what you may recommend for repairing. I havent seen a video on your channel about that, might have overlooked it tho^^ Thanks for all the superb explenations
None of the miniatures we show in our videos require supports, they are all designed to print 100% free of slicer supports (available at www.fatdragongames.com)
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors wow thats fantastic! that might be a aquard question, but do you know a video which shows the work? i am asking because i am making some minis on certain sites and i am pretty sure they need support unfortunately. Cheers mate
@@TheHereticSpot sorry, no.
I am really wondering why you didn't use a smaller nozzel size. 0.4mm seems a bit large for 0.08 - 0.12 layers.
.4mm is the standard nozzle size and many people don't want to change it. A separate video will compare .2mm, .3mm, and .4mm nozzles
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors Ah okay, makes sense. Perhaps you could have mentioned it 😜. Anyways, keep up the great work! You truelly bring your expertise to the people in a way that is easy to understand. 👍
im curious though would this change for larger minis?
Great information to have! Thanks for sharing this.
Hey that's awsome! Great info, I've always use only 0.4 increments. But maybe for minis it is better just to use a resin printer. Now they are really cheap.
A lot of people don't want to deal with the mess or toxicity issues of resin printers.
does this concept apply for pla models?
Chuck loves you too.
I am curious if these numbers are the same for the Prusa i3 Mk3. I understand how you are saying about the # of steps per motor, and the Prusa also uses Nima 17's. How did you calculate this based off the pitch of the Z screw? Is the Ender 3 and Prusa the same as it's a clone (sorta).
It would depend on the pitch of the Prusa's screw (contact them for specs)
Ok, awesome video. This is the exact way i exained it to others. However, i do have a question. Im a mechanical engineer, not an electrical engineer, so my thinking my be off, but with a half step, could you not lose torque, making it harder for it to raise the print head, due to the split voltages?
This isn't an issue because the odds of your Z homing height hitting on an exact full step for it's starting point is very slim (see the note in the video description.) The odds are you will always be using a micro step for every layer. :)
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors interesting. Thats where i was heading with my thoughts. Ok, glad i was on the same page. I knew i wouldnt always be on a full step, its almost impossible in the real world. So most likely we woild hit half syeps more often than full steps.
Excellent video once again. Thank you.
Thanks Tom. Another informative video.
very useful video!
Thanks!
I'm slightly confused I'm fairly new to this I've had a voxelab aquila since October and I've only been trying minis for about a week I use cura and its extra fine setting says 0.08 and it's acceptable quality but your talking about 0.12 and yours look way better maybe I'm just an idiot and am missing something can someone explain this please lol
Thinner layer heights can actually decrease quality. Use my latest profiles found at my website.
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors ah right thanks will do that tomorrow if I make it through the night here lol twins babies waking up constantly is taking it out of me
Ty for your dedivated experiment!
Thx so much for the quality content !
What filament do you use?
eSun PLA Pro.
I downloaded the Cura profiles. Now how do I install them to the machine or where do I insert them in the Cura software?
I have a video covering that: ua-cam.com/video/nDPDOBW_VpU/v-deo.html
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors Thanks. I was able to import all the settings. I saw the Cura 4.4 Profiles. What are those for?
how hight of the model ?
There is brand of filament you recommend for printing miniatures and high detail prints?
Hatchbox PLA
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors can you give me something like 5 or 10 options ? I'm from chile and the brands are very limited
@@pablogallardo5100 5 or 10 bro.... just buy what you can
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors hatchbox cost 67usd
@@pablogallardo5100my recommendation is to buy a single roll of each of the various ones in your price range and see which one gives you the best results.
What size nozzle are you printing with?
.4mm
I love this video, as well as one you did previously where you explain CURA profiles. I have downloaded your CURA profiles and have been using them for printing minis in last two months.
However, I did notice one thing in profiles. When I downloaded them initially and loaded them in CURA 4.1.0, they had layer height set to 0.1mm. Recently I have downloaded CURA 4.2.1 (same thing seen in CURA 4.2.0), and when loading this profiles I have noticed that layer hight became 0.12mm. Initially I was thinking that since profiles are online you have modified their layer height, but recently in CURA 4.1.0 I have saved older profiles with 0.1 layer heigh to new file, and when importing this file to CURA 4.2.1, I saw that layer height became 0.12.
Did you have this issue? Do you profiles still have set 0.1 layer height or is it 0.12 now?
It should be .1 (I use .12 for large minis like dragons) :)
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors yeah, I figured. I did some research and it seems like cura can change settings to profiles between releases. Seems like bunch of settings get messed up.
github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/issues/6125
FYI both your videos now talk about 0.1 layer height, yet if a new user downloads new cura and imports your profile, it will get 0.12mm layer height, together with a bunch of other settings changed. Although if you take a look into the attached link developer over there says they try to keep same gcode generation between releases instead of profile, so it might be that gcode will be correct. I don't know what happens, just wanted to let you know.
BTW which cura version do you use, and do you update cura to new version ever?
THANK YOU.
Such a boss, way better than teaching tech. Not to be a dick. You just are better teacher more info and reasons why not just showing blindly how to do it your way.
Thank you!!!!!
Is that 0.1mm layer height
Yes.
@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors got my layer height the same any advise my supports have been destroying my prints
do you have stl for your mini's
Yep! www.fatdragongames.com/fdgfiles/?page_id=4582
Skeleton was very happy)
I was given my first 3d printer as a gift for Christmas 2020. Learning so much from your videos. I've been buying your models for years waiting for this day. So far I've done three skeleton prints and they came out okay. I think my nozzle is too low to the print plate as I am getting some minor stringing and some detail loss. I'm using a filament with a print temp of between 205 and 225 . I used your settings from another video but instead of using your suggestion of 195 I stuck with the 205 minimum temp. so not sure if the stringing and the glassing is from the temp or a low nozzle height. These issues are very minor but I want to get better results.
My printer is an Anycubic mega 5.
Since the heat is what causes the defect in the prints on .08 layer height, would improving your fan cooling with something like this: www.thingiverse.com/thing:3343456 make printing at smaller layer heights produce less defects? I'll have to experiment.
I want to print some figures
My first question is...what's a step remote lol.
resin is better. More fragile, but better.
Not when it comes to toxicity.
As of watching this, 4 thumbs down....they must be using the wrong layer heights.