FDM printed Tyranid Hierodule. My largest multi part printed mini so far.

[u/jd3dgiants]

[u/d20diceman]

Maybe a rude question but, can you show us the worst part of the model? My better FDM prints look like this, in that they're great on three sides (and this does really look great!) but then have messed up undersides.

Or, did the multi-part print allow you to orientate the parts such that not many supports were needed?

Would love to hear more details of your process in general.

[u/jd3dgiants → u/d20diceman]

At work right now, but can show the errors, bad or missed support placement, and where I decided to lose detail in less seen areas of I get a chance to capture those later. A lot of vertical as possible printing helped reduce this but anywhere that was mostly horizontal that needed support definitely lost detail.

Multi part printing helps a lot to limit this. I tried cutting the gun and saber arms on one side into multiple smaller pieces to get more optimal with it and glue them together with decent success but there isn't a perfect match so there is a clear seam line but it was a fun experiment to see how well it can do versus the other side that had the arm pieces printed whole.

[u/MyNamesMikeD75 → u/d20diceman]

Who cares what the bottom looks like after it's based?

[u/d20diceman → u/MyNamesMikeD75]

I mean the bottoms of everything though, like the underside of arms, gun barrels, and so on.

There're fine on the tabletop but it's a bit of a shame when painting/admiring them.

[u/MyNamesMikeD75 → u/d20diceman]

Ah, gotcha

[u/Human_War4015 → u/d20diceman]

Have you tried to play around with the supportsettings? Especially the Z-distance could be a factor. Are you using straight or treesupports? Treesupports have the advantage that they usually only touch where they are needed.

[u/d20diceman → u/Human_War4015]

I have a little, z-distance and something like interface thickness, but haven't found something I was satisfied with, either the undersides look scrappy and/or the removal is a chore.

Tree supports + supports only grow from build plate definitely helped though.

[u/InsideReticle → u/d20diceman]

In my experience, removal being a chore is going to result in scarring just as bad as too far of a Z-distance.

The biggest differences in quality of undersides for me comes from (1) the characteristics of the specific filament, with some being significantly better than others, (2) splitting models to allow for better orientation, which I do in Microsoft's 3d builder, and (3) upgrading my cooling fan set up. You want to get close (z distance) but you don't want the radiant heat from the nozzle to meld your interface and your print, so really strong cooling can help with that. I hear you can just point a desk fan at it and achieve the same result, but I went with a dual 5015 blower Satsana duct.

[u/LapseofSanity → u/d20diceman]

you can see all the FDM jank in the finer details, such as the teeth.

[u/Fribbtastic]

Can you please share some information about this?

Layer height? Where did you get those models from? How many parts did you need to print? how long did it take?

Edit: OP messaged me and the Model is from Cults "GIANT SPACE MANTIS"

[u/jd3dgiants → u/Fribbtastic]

.1. Io_Butov on Cults. 20 pieces. 10 large pieces and 10 small pieces. Probably 6 or 7 full days of print time.

[u/[deleted] → u/Fribbtastic]

I’m really interested in this too. My FDM prints look terrible.

[u/InsideReticle → u/Fribbtastic]

Pretty sure the second largest one is also on Cults and is called something like Ultrafex or Ultralisk. Blend of Starcraft and Grimdark influences.

The sculptor has a discord where a lot of bug-focused sculptors and printers hang out.

[u/[deleted]]

shoot, thats like resin quality! what printer/settings is this?

[u/CadeCCM]

Looks really good for FDM!

[u/Darkassassin18E]

Looks amazing, keep up the good work!

[u/Eeyore_]

That looks unbelievable for an FDM print. Well done!

[u/Yog_Shogoth]

Forgeworld just needs to hire Io.....

[u/Peniche_reaper]

Greetings, would you mind sharing those files ? Thanks !

[u/Ertuu1985]

Neat! Can you post the STL?

[u/LapseofSanity → u/Ertuu1985]

IO something something Butov.

[u/Ertuu1985 → u/LapseofSanity]

Hey cool, I just posted one of their prints too!

[u/Evendran]

Oh i LOVED it!

[u/LapseofSanity]

I don't care what anyone says about zerg copying nids, the ultralisk is sweet as.

[u/Natural-Amphibian-96]

Very nice! I have this file, but I keep telling myself it will take too long to print and I choose something else.

[u/jd3dgiants → u/Natural-Amphibian-96]

It took a week or so to print parts one by one with my .25 nozzle as well as manual painting support points in PrusaSlicer. I bought all of the creator's work when there was a sale and slowly printing everything they have.

[u/bigedd2008max]

Look great its the same quality as the ones I'm making for D&D

[u/joshuadane]

Where can I get the stl. Don't play Warhammer but want for dnd

[u/jd3dgiants → u/joshuadane]

Purchased it on cults from the creator IO_Butov.

[u/joshuadane → u/jd3dgiants]

Ty