Going small... Fun with small nozzles  

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

Posted by: @bobstro

I've decided to see how small I could print a recognizable print. So far, I'm down to 1:300 miniatures printed in PLA with a 0.15mm nozzle. It doesn't look great zoomed in, but at 100% size, the strings aren't visible and it's clearly a Jeep. I'm not sure how to paint anything like this, but it does open up possibilities for tabletop miniatures and dioramas at small scale.

Already looks good!

I have also tried to create a multicolor print with a 0.1mm nozzle, but a uniform extrusion is very difficult to achieve:

I think that the mechanical limits of the Prusa have been reached.

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

1:600 is a bit too far...

1:300 seems to be the lower limit for recognizable models.

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

Posted by: @karl-herbert

I have also tried to create a multicolor print with a 0.1mm nozzle, but a uniform extrusion is very difficult to achieve:

Up close everything looks bad, but at any distance the text looks really good. Would a darker base color hide the blurring?

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

I decided to go all-out and try a range of scales. Here are a pair of miniatures at (from left-to-right) 1:600/3mm, 1:285/6mm, 1:200 and 1:100/15mm scales. The smaller khaki prints are all done on the Mk3 with a 0.15mm nozzle at 0.08mm layer heights with Paramount PLA, the gray with a 0.3mm nozzle at 0.15mm layer heights with Atomic PLA.

Zoomed in, FDM will always look poor compared to resin, but I'm really happy with these results at actual size. On a table of foam and felt scenery, they are quite usable, particularly at 3 feet or more. 

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

Pretty cool.  Playing Axis and Allies?

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

I think I've asked this before: but that tank barrel is impressive. Supports or is that a two part print? And, lack of wipe artifacts is impressive.

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

Posted by: @charles-h13

Pretty cool.  Playing Axis and Allies?

We played Flames of Wars (1:100/15mm) when my sons were young. They're off on their own 10 years now, but asked for some to play some nostalgia games over the winter. I'm having fun producing the pieces en masse even if I can't play.

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

Posted by: @tim-m30

I think I've asked this before: but that tank barrel is impressive. Supports or is that a two part print? And, lack of wipe artifacts is impressive.

I'm getting very nice supports out of ideaMaker lately. Turrets and hulls are each one piece, printed as they stand. I've been able to disable wipe since getting the filament extrusion multipliers and LA tuned. The Atomic filament prints very well, and Paramount is almost as good, which helps a lot.

RE: Going small... Fun with small nozzles

My goodness! that Sharpie is HUGE!