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3D Printing For Chess

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RoaringForkChessClocks

In an effort to reduce 3d printing thread forks on other CB&E topics, I'll start this thread for asking about 3d printers, printing help, and so on. No one wants Knights on Parade or Post Your Chess Sets to devolve into a discussion of flow rates and infill patterns. That said, if you're printing pieces, sets, boards, whatever, definitely do post the results on the apposite threads, but for the printers themselves, printing, filament issues, resin questions and so on, I figure here's a good place.

Standard disclaimer: 3D printing is nowhere near as easy as the marketing makes it sound. The situation is getting a lot better with brands like BambuLabs and Prusa really pushing hard toward ease of use and user-friendliness, but the entry level (Creality Ender 3) is still pretty challenging for novices. "Turn it on and go" is still a dream, like full self driving cars. We'll get there, and we're waaay further along than before COVID, but we still have a ways to go.

Notes about sharing models:

  • If you print a publicly-available model, please note where you got the files (.stl, .3mf, whatever).
  • If you purchased the model, please note the creator so we can all patronize them.
  • If you share settings, please share what rig you're using. Most printers are different enough from one another, even within the same model line, that settings need to be made almost on a per-printer basis. Let's help each other get better.
  • DO NOT SHARE COPYRIGHTED FILES. This should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: do not share models that are not share-alike. I'm gonna call out Conor O'Kane specifically as a designer who has put a TON of work into making not just beautiful sets but sets that can be more easily printed due to minor design changes. Artists deserve to get paid. Let's not get to a point where we have to report one another for posting files we shouldn't. 

Now I've gotta go round up all my printed pieces and take pics to give folks happier feelings about their first attempts, cuz srsly my first attempts were not satisfactory.

chesslover0003

First, I'd like to thank @conor_okane at https://www.3dprintedchess.com/ for creating the STL files for this chess set. Included with the STL is a detailed guide on how to create the best print possible. I think he did an amazing job optimizing the design for 3D printing.

Lately I've been experimenting with vibrantly coloured boards and pieces. This is a flex pad board from Chess House (w/ 2.25" squares). Eventually I will scale the print for a board with 35 mm squares.

Something I'd really like to see discussed is how to best design chess pieces for 3D printing. For example, this STL uses creative angles to reduce/avoid overhangs that require supports.

chesslover0003

Here's a useful Blender tutorial. It's more about creating 3D models and doesn't discuss how to optimize a design for printing.

chesslover0003

A brief update...

I started to scale my 3D print for a smaller board (35 mm squares). This first print was just a bit too large. I'll be starting another print with the following base size:

  • King: 28 mm
  • Queen 28 mm
  • Bishop: 24 mm
  • Knight: 24 mm
  • Rook: 26 mm
  • Pawn: 22 mm

OutOfCheese

I'm planning to get an SLA printer some time next year, did somebody already experiment with printing pieces on one of those?

RoaringForkChessClocks

One of the designers being discussed above, @Conor_OKane, has models that appear to do very well in resin printers. It's lots of very fiddly stuff like reducing overhangs with fillets and bevels to make the models less reliant on support, and so on. I say "very fiddly" because he made some clear modifications, but has done it while keeping the respective styles of the pieces entirely recognizable, very much a meeting of art and craft. His designs are really nice, IMO.

Unfortunately, I'm an FDM guy, so my somewhat-biased knowledge of SLA is limited to "needs really good ventilation" and "messy and toxic." To the extent that one needs high resolution, SLA is a great option for very small pieces, but if you're printing at tournament scale in FDM, even a .4 nozzle can do quite well at layers under .16, and if you move to a .2 nozzle (and slow down) you can really make some magic.

chesslover0003

I want to get a Bambu Lab A1 Mini. I'm happy with how prices print. My issue has been finding quality designs that can scale. The Dubrovnik above is not very good if trying to print for a 35 mm board... the knight is too small and seems off.

mjeman

Once I happened across this site with several Stls of historic designs. See if you like any of them better. I have no connection. https://www.printables.com/@JeffBurton/models