sorry for extreme levels of hobby newfagness, but i finally got to talk with my one good uncle who got into mini painting (he's trying to pass it on to me and i think it'd be neat to bond over a nice shared hobby since whenever we talk we have no idea what to say half the time) and one of the things that interested me about the general stuff he mentioned was being able to 3d print your own minis to paint.
i'm not really technologically inclined though and while i'd like to get into printing my own models or cool ones i find, beyond looking at suggested lists of beginner 3d printers, knowing resin is best for the tiny details from research, knowing resin needs to be washed and cured from research, and that the models need to be stl files, i'm still as clueless as a boomer about a lot of the actual maintenance of a 3d printer and how to make a good 3d model that will print well, any nuances to things like files and programs used, etc.
are there any good guides about 3d printer maintenance and how you go from cool blender sculpt to tweaking up the model so it's "compatible" with not imploding on itself when its printed that are layman-friendly?
Totally missed this one, plenty of advice here.
For Printer recommendation: Mars 2 pro easily. Good size build plate for minis, nice interface (Uses a Chitu board, so these will be mostly the same between machines though) and has been a reliable workhorse for me.
It's even $50 off right now.
Nearly all files you will find will be Stl files. There are various slicer programs you can use, Chitubox is the most basic and they are working on a pro version ($170/year!), Lychee is a personal favorite with a much cleaner interface but options locked behind pro ($30/year) and others like prussa slicer, which I haven't used.
Washing and curing you have a couple options. There are Wash and cure combo stations from various companies that cost ~$100-$125, you can buy UV lights in flashlight or nail curing form, or there is a big ol bright ball in the sky that will bombard you with it for about 12 hours a day. For washing, you can use IPA of 90% or higher, other solvents such as acetone, but I use Denatured Alcohol. Big can of it costs about $16 at box stores in the paint thinner section and has enough in it to fill my W&C station twice over. The best way to get rid of it after it's used up (Which takes quite a while) is get a big bowl and stick it outside in the sun. The solvent will dissipate and leave you with a brick of cured resin which you can just chuck away.
About Resin: Avoid the "Water Washable" stuff. It is highly misleading as it's still toxic so you don't want to pour it down the drain and takes a whole lot longer to evaporate. If you hollow your models, you also have to be really sure to stick a light up in the holes as I have had WW prints bow and crack.
For brands I recommend: for Display/light play pieces I use Sirayatech Fast resin (Around $35/L), if they need to have a strength you can mix in a bit of Tenacious ($65/L)
Places to get Files: Thingiverse (Which is usually free), Myminifactory and Patreon. The last two generally go hand in hand, where if you subscribe to the patreon for $~10/mo you get all the files on MMF for the next month and a 50% off code for months you've missed.
If you have any other questions, feel free to message me
