Issues with 3D prints?

[Russ]

Hey, all -

I've now got more than a couple (read: "several") 3D print busts in my "someday" pile(s). I'm noticing a couple of common characteristics which differ from more traditional cast-resin busts

1. PRO: The detail is typically superb, and many of those fine details are printed in place on the bust. That keeps me from having to fiddle with, and glue-glop, multiple bits and pieces in the assembly thereof.
2. CON: Many fine and thin details are created in place on the bust (yes, both a PRO and a CON). Among other things, painting those details, and the surrounding areas, can be more problematic. The level of feature integration also means that packaging and packing are increasingly important to prevent damage from handing and the rigors of postal transport. I recently received a shipment of three busts, one ea. two-piece and two each one-piece specimens. All three have delicate parts. Some delicate parts had gotten broken off from the 2-piecer and one of the 1-piece busts; the other 1-piece bust is holding a sword, which is significantly warped.

I realize that the small parts can be re-attached, but the one-piece configuration was part of the initial attraction to the items. And I know that heat can be used to straighten the sword (and have done so before), but that repair is more difficult when the sword is part of the bust.

My point is that the damage risk, and the repair effort, for these situations seems to defeat the advantages of printing tiny details and weak structures as part of the main bust.

Do designers and manufacturers consider such things when creating a subject? Or am I just a whiny little B@$* who needs to just shut up and be grateful for the state of the art?

 

[bigtodd]

They are using a too brittle of a resin. There is a guy https://m.youtube.com/@vogman that has resin that is better for figures so he claims that can be sanded and carved and not break. It is more like plastic in the end. So ask your printing person to use better resin or package the shipment better.

 

[Rob]

If possible, I think all 3D printed busts that are not "classic" head and shoulder one piece should be done in sections. It is not necessary as a well designed 3D sculpt and a top quality print service who know how to build the support structures properly can make anything work. Both designers and manufacturers should be thinking about it. As with anything experience shows through.

The Papatuanuku bust I finished recently was a maze of interlocking and twisting strands of hair but she printed perfectly in one piece even though printing and painting would have been easier if she had been in 3 or 4 sections.

I have had 3D printed pieces arrive warped, but no more often or any worse than similar resin pieces from traditional cast models. Having a one piece warped is a print issue though, that one I would reject. My latest 3D printed bust had a new issue for me caused by it being printed hollow on a high end printer. The base surface of skin, where there was no hair or clothing detail to add bulk to the resin was so thin it got squeezed and cracked through when packing or unpacking it.