My original 3D printer is still a doorstop. The controller board is bad. I'm in communication with the manufacturer since the printer itself is out of warranty but the board failed during the upgrade. I'd like them to cover at least some of the cost of replacement if they won't cover the whole cost. We'll see how it plays out.
The other printer has been chugging along just fine. I had planned on twice the output because I'd have twice the number of printers but that's life. I'm running it almost 24/7 and it hasn't complained.
Slowly but surely I'm getting the pieces I need for my new modular dungeon. They're all printed in grey so even if I can't paint them in time they won't look that bad on the table. I'd like to paint them if possible. I even ordered a big bottle of the primer I want to use with the airbrush when I ordered some other things during their pre-holiday sale. That bottle should easily cover the entire dungeon and then some.
I also set up the new print server for the new printer. I finally printed a case for it that attaches to the frame. My previous one was just kind of sitting on the table and I think I broke the power connection because it wasn't secure. I have to exchange the memory card and I think I'll give this a try as-is because the new case is really steady on the frame so the power cable won't move around much.
I haven't set up the cameras yet because I'm waiting for both printers to be in place so I can get it all in order. I have the lamps I wanted so there could be enough light for good time lapse videos and I think I know what camera stands I'll be printing. I may print out a sample of that to see if it needs adjusting or if it will work as designed. I also have to make sure that I have the proper length cables for them. So much to set up but then it's done.
I ordered spare parts for the printers and will be ordering more from the manufacturer when I get my board. I have to pay for the overseas postage anyway (unless they cover it for me, which would be acceptable) and the things I added didn't increase the cost. They're parts I may never need but if I do I can be up and running again soon. The ones from Amazon will be here in a few days. All this means is that I need a box I can put on the shelf under the printer.
The dungeon itself is looking quite good. At least the pieces are. I haven't tried to assemble any of it yet. Honestly I've been working on getting enough of them printed. 3D printing takes time. Just to print nine of the corner pieces takes 37 1/2 hours. Nine of the single walls take around 25 hours. Note that these are attached to floor tiles so that adds time. Printing nine floor tiles takes 12 hours. It all adds up.
Mind you I'm doing different levels of the pieces at different layer heights. The stuff that doesn't matter as much - the things that don't have a top surface - I'm printing at the thickest layers the printer nozzle will handle. But doing that on the flat, textured layers means they look terrible. So I change those to be very thin layers. Thinner layers means longer prints. I weighed it out and I'd rather spend the time up front and have pieces I like rather than go faster and be unhappy with how they look.
I'll do a post just on the dungeon setup itself when there's more to talk about. Right now it's all about printing the pieces that go into it. I may do the math at the end for how much time and how much filament went into making the pieces since that's kind of interesting.
There's been some discussion on how 3D printed dungeons compare to Hirst Arts dungeons in terms of time and money. It's an interesting discussion. 3D printing is 'set and forget' while Hirst is a lot of steps. Having done both I think I might try to compare them and see what differences there are for those considering which way to go. I don't know if there will be a clear winner or not. I would surprised if there was. The Hirst vs Dwarven Forge ended up with "both have advantages and disadvantages" after it was all said and done.
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