1. Retraction Settings: Retraction is when the printer pulls filament back from the nozzle during travel moves to prevent oozing. If retraction is not enabled or the settings are not optimized, filament can ooze from the nozzle while it moves across open spaces, leading to stringing.
   • Distance: If the retraction distance is too short, it might not be enough to prevent oozing.
   • Speed: If retraction is too slow, the filament might not be pulled back in time to prevent oozing.
2. Print Temperature: Printing at too high a temperature can make the filament more liquid and prone to oozing. It’s important to find the optimal temperature range for the specific filament being used.
3. Travel Speed: When the printer’s nozzle moves between points without extruding filament (travel move), if it moves too slowly, there’s more time for the filament to ooze out. Increasing travel speed can help reduce the time available for oozing.
4. Cooling: If the printed material doesn’t cool down quickly enough, it remains in a semi-molten state for longer and can be prone to stringing. Ensure that the cooling fans are working properly and are at an appropriate setting for the material.
5. Filament Quality: Some cheaper or lower-quality filaments might be more prone to stringing due to inconsistent diameter, impurities, or additives in the filament.
6. Moisture: If filament has absorbed moisture from the air (especially common with materials like Nylon and PVA), it can lead to stringing as well as popping and bubbling sounds during printing. Storing filament in a dry environment or using a filament dryer can help.
7. Nozzle Diameter and Wear: A worn-out nozzle with an enlarged opening or a nozzle that’s too large for the print’s details might lead to stringing.
8. Z-hop: This is a setting where the nozzle is lifted up slightly during travel moves. If set too high, it can cause stringing. However, if set appropriately, it can help prevent the nozzle from dragging across already printed parts.

To fix stringing, it’s often necessary to tweak multiple settings in the slicing software and perform test prints until the issue is resolved. The best approach is to start with retraction settings and temperature adjustments, then move on to other potential causes if needed.

Understanding What Causes Stringing in 3D Printing: Choosing Quality Filament for Prevention

For every 3D printing hobbyist, achieving the perfect print is an ongoing quest. As enthusiasts navigate the world of 3D printing, a common question that comes with the question of “What causes stringing in 3D printing?” is “How do I choose a quality filament?”. Let’s delve into the filament question and provide some clarity.

Temperature Stability:

• Melting Point Consistency: A consistent melting point ensures that the filament extrudes uniformly, giving you more predictable results with each print.
• Thermal Degradation: High-quality filament should resist breaking down at its recommended print temperature, ensuring longevity and durability for your printed objects.

Color Consistency & Options:

• Uniformity: Variations in color throughout a spool can be frustrating and lead to inconsistent-looking prints. Ensure the filament you choose offers consistent color from start to finish.
• Variety: Embrace your creative side! Quality filament brands often have a diverse color palette, as well as various finishes, from glossy to matte to metallic.

Manufacturer Reputation & Reviews:

• Brand Reliability: Established filament brands tend to have rigorous quality control processes, which translate to a more reliable product for the end-user.
• User Reviews: Before making a purchase, it’s always a good idea to see what fellow hobbyists are saying. Look out for reviews that mention ease of use, consistency, and the final appearance of printed objects.

Eco-friendliness:

• Biodegradable Options: For those environmentally conscious hobbyists, materials like PLA are not only biodegradable but also produce less odor during printing.
• Recycled Content: Some innovative brands are now offering filaments with recycled content, ensuring sustainability without compromising on print quality.

Spool Design:

• Ease of Use: There’s nothing more frustrating than filament tangling mid-print. A well-designed spool ensures smooth unrolling, preventing potential print interruptions.
• Spool Size: Different 3D printers accommodate different spool sizes. Ensure that your filament’s spool size is compatible with your 3D printer setup.

Pro Tip: Always run a test print when trying a new filament brand or type. This allows you to fine-tune settings and get a feel for how the filament behaves, ensuring optimal results in your subsequent prints.

Deciphering What Causes Stringing in 3D Printing: The Final Word

In 3D printing, understanding what causes stringing and selecting quality filament are deeply connected. High-quality filament is a cornerstone for reducing stringing and achieving consistent, impressive prints. However, filament alone isn’t the solution. Adjusting printer settings, particularly retraction and temperature, is equally crucial. By combining the right materials with knowledge, hobbyists can perfect their prints. Here’s to a future of impeccable 3D creations!

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The best 3d printers for miniatures such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and Warhammer are pretty spectacular and several are very reasonably priced when you consider the cost of miniatures in general. A single character will run you $3 to over $100.

We have been using 2 of the printers we cover in this article to print miniatures for over a year now and the results and detail still amaze us with every print. Not only that the selection of miniatures is massive. There are dozens of Kickstarters and Patreons dedicated to miniature file creation that you can support to obtain the .stl files needed to print miniatures on your own 3d printer at home.

There are a large variety of 3D printers out there. Not all are created the same nor do they function the same. Many are rather expensive ranging in the $1000’s range. We will cover several budget friendly printers which we personally use and favor and some more expensive ones that are popular in the community.

What Are The Best 3D Printers For Miniatures?

Creality Ender-3

We love our Ender-3 with the upgraded glass print bed. This is not only a great beginner printer but also a very budget friendly printer. We got ours in 2018 and have been running it without major issue since. The Ender-3 currently runs $189.00 on Amazon.

The first thing we upgraded on our Ender-3 was the build plate. We ordered a 235 x 235 mm tempered glass build plate for the Ender-3. The original magnetic mat warped and we had issues with getting prints off of it. We tore through 3 of the ultra flexible removable magnetic build surfaces before trying the glass plate upgrade. It was a game changer. Since the original Ender-3 several of the newer models have the glass build plate upgrade standard.

The other item we swapped out to upgrade the printer was the extruder drive. It was talked about as a must upgrade item within the 3d printing community. With so many people mentioning it we picked up the upgraded aluminum extruder drive feeder on Amazon for $10. 

We also picked up the upgraded mother board. It is suppose to make the printer much quieter. We cannot speak to this since while we did purchase it almost a year ago its still sitting in the box somewhere cause the noise does not really bother us. We have it on our to-do list during August 2020 to make the swap so we can do a write up about the difference.

Now the assembly of the printer is much easier these days as the instructions have improved greatly from when we got ours 2 years ago. We followed an assembly video by Tomb of 3D Printed Horrors which was a great help back in 2018 since the instructions were lacking then. Tom is was also the one we followed the advice on and video’s for the extruder drive upgrade. You are probably looking at about 2 hours to fully assemble the printer. This is actually pretty good, there are many out there that take far longer before they are ready to use.

As you might of guessed this printer is very flexible and easy to use. There is a large community of 3d printers out there that use the Ender-3 and have created numerous mods and add-on’s for it. It is one of the few you can probably find a video on just about everything you would ever want to do with this 3d printer.

Once you fire it up it is ready to print rather quickly. The bed and extruder tip heat up rather quickly. You do need to level the base plate often, we tend to spot check it before each print just to make sure its still good. It only takes like 1-2 minutes to hit the home button then disable the steppers and check that a single sheet of paper is snug when pulled between the print bed and extruder tip at all four corners of the print bed.

The print detail while not as great as a resin printer is not noticeable when your actually playing with the pieces on a tabletop. Once you clean up the prints and get some quality paint on them you will not notice the difference.

Ender-3 Pros

• Affordable
• Very durable
• Light and Portable
• Easy to assemble
• Ready to print within 5 minutes from powering on the printer
• Large community to get help from
• Lots of upgrades and mods

Ender-3 Cons

• The uneven base that makes you experience a slight wobble
• The need for extra adhesions to stabilize
• Base leveling

Final Thoughts

With all this we would vote for the Ender-3 as the one of the best 3d printers for miniatures. It’s affordable, easy to use, and very flexible. Great for landscape and building pieces. But the next printer is our preferred for miniatures.

Anycubic Photon Resin Printer – Best 3D Miniature Printers

We picked up a ANYCUBIC Resin 3D Printer, Photon Mono 4K several years back when they came out and have been using it with great success. The miniatures that come off have amazing detail. The older model we picked up is going for between $200-250. Now they have newer versions. We have not used the newer models as of yet but when you visit the model we use on Amazon you can get it but it refers you to a newer model the ANYCUBIC Resin 3D Printer, Photon Mono X, while newer it is also about $100 more expensive at $350-400.

They also have the newer model Anycubic Photon M3 Plus but it is more than double the previous 2 printers we have talked about coming in at $699+, so is not what we would consider an entry level printer. It is a high quality and fast printer though.

• 9.25″ 6K Screen: The Photon M3 Plus 9.25″ 6K monochrome screen Resin 3D Printer offers 34um accuracy, max build size of 9.6″ x 7.8″ x 4.8″. And adds a screen protector, which effectively prevents scratches and damage to the LCD screen.
• Ultra-fast printing: The Photon M3 Resin 3D printer is equipped with a powerful matrix LED light source, the max printing speed is 3.93 in/h, and it only takes 1.2 hours to print a 12cm model, which saves at least half the time compared to other resin 3D printers, bringing you more efficient printing experience.
• Automatic Feeding: ANYCUBIC Photon M3 Plus has automatic resin feeding function. Never worry about print failures due to lack of resin. And the 3d resin printer laser engraving platform has strong adhesion, which greatly improves the printing success rate.
• High-Precision Printing: The ANYUCBIC Photon M3 Plus 6K LCD screen has a contrast ratio of up to 350:1, which is 75% higher than the competition (200:1), greatly improving print details. High precision ball screw Z-axis linear guides help improve stability and create fine detail models.
• Cloud Transfer&Cloud Print: ANYCUBIC Photon M3 Plus supports “USB-A2.0/LAN/WAN” and “USB-A3.0/LAN/WAN” control methods, file transfer and printing can be operated remotely (Note: ①Cloud service features require firmware update to use. ②M3 Plus 3d printer doesn’t come with a camera, to be purchased separately. ③No camera doesn t affect cloud service, but can’t check the printing progress)

Within the community there are a couple go to resin printers. We already mentioned the Anycubic Photon which comes in a variety of models. We still use the base model Anycubic Photon and have had little trouble out side of the base plate coming loose and going crooked twice. However even with that there are mods you can print to improve it.

How To Keep Your Print Bed Level

Plate Balancer which will prevent the base plate from moving.

How To Vent Your Anycubic Photon Resin Printer

Exhaust Vent Adapter this is a must if you want to use your room you have the printer in. Resin is toxic and you dont want to breath it in so you will want to vent it out or filter it. If your able to vent it out its far cheaper than the filter addon we used.

We used this adapter along with some 4″ ducting and a inline duct ventilation fan and heavy duty filter. This is the original inline fan recommended but is out of stock sometimes so we picked up the other one that is very quiet and has an adjustable flow. It worked great.

We printed the Exhaust adapter on our Ender 3 FDM printer so there was no real cost to that. If you do not have that option though you can do it on your resin printer just as easy!

Resin Printed Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures

So now that we have talked about this printer for a bit lets show you some of the results we have gotten from it. Keep in mind it took us almost 2 weeks to figure everything out, most of our issues were with not having the print plate level and zeroed proper. Highly recommend you follow the ANYCUBIC guide on leveling your Photon resin printer. It is far more detailed now than when we initially bought one!