These FDM printers are coming for your Tabletop Hobby! 

I didn't think filament printers had gotten to this point yet, let alone at that price point! Very impressive.

Oh man that is some really great results. Totally viable for anyone who has the time or doesn’t want to deal with the “joys” of working with resin.

I did a lot of miniature printing with my A1 mini before I got a resin printer, and they can be very impressive and look way more than good enough to use for a game. The issue I ran into was durability. If you have a character with very thin parts, like a sword, and just a small character with a small arm, the sword and the hands break off 9 times out of ten just getting the supports off. That was really what pushed me to get a resin printer. My fdm printer is still my work horse for terrain.

A few observations-- gyroid is pretty, but it's slowing you down. Bambu defaults to grid, but it may make people's heads explode. Bambu Lab has a new infill pattern called 'crosshatch' which might be worth exploring. For support, try setting to "tree", with type "organic", and check "only on build plate", but UNCHECK "remove small overhangs"-- might be robbing you of detail. Since you're doing multi-material with the AMS, consider using a layer of PETG for the interface between the support and the print-- PLA and PETG by default don't stick to each other very well, so the tree supports tend to just fall off.

I sometimes wait in front of the resin printer for it to finish because I am so eager, and other times I start the print at night and I get it cured after I come back from work. So the printing time really only matters sometimes, in my opinion.

Honestly, 11 hours per model is fine. I compare FDM print times to shipping times. If I ordered some models from a resin printer on Etsy, it would take at least a week for them to arrive. In that same time, I could print 14 terminators for only a couple dollars worth of filament.

Try out the Variable Layer Height option in the slicer! It'll let you get that super-fine 0.06mm height where it matters, and crank all the way back to 0.2 or 0.28mm where it doesn't. IME you can get perceptually identical results in 2/3 the time if not less.

For a more uniform exterior wall appearance, consider using 3+ walls and the Inner/Outer/Inner wall ordering. That lays the inner most wall down first where if there are any pressure issues or blobs, they will be hidden from the world. Then the outer wall is laid down, where it is more likely to be uniform with other outer walls, and then the remaining inner walls between the inner most wall and the outer wall will be filled in. On those remaining inner walls if there is any excess (think a filling between two pieces of bread getting squeezed slight) it will be hidden versus with the default wall ordering of Inner/Outer where any excess will cause the outer wall to be pushed out slightly as it is the last wall printed. This won't help much if the print is too small and various parts have 2 or less walls, which is possible on smaller models, but on your tank model it should noticeably help the outer walls where I could see lots of layer lines. On a print with 2 walls, Outer/Inner will produce slightly better results than the default Inner/Outer as long as there are not any severe overhangs to deal with. In those severe overhang cases Inner/Outer *may* work better because the inner wall will likely have more purchase and then the outer wall can join/grab on to the inner wall, but your mileage may vary. I hope all of that makes sense.

Just a tip about the isopropyl alcohol, if your bed surface is PEI it's soluble in isopropyl alcohol. As it wears and you get micro scratches it will start to absorb more alcohol when you wipe it. If it doesn't evaporate off before the print starts it lowers the adhesion.

I picked up an A1 a month or so ago and have been amazed at how easy it is to use. It's handled everything I've thrown at it, no problem. I've been using it to print scenery, buildings and some modelling tools and it's been wonderful. I don't have the AMS yet, but next time it rolls around on sale, I'll be getting one for sure 😊😊

I have a tip: if the isopropyl alcohol isn't working between prints. Take the sheet off and wash it with dawn dishsoap. The Isopropyl/acetone does great at removing any plastic remains, but it does nothing if you have any oils from your hands on it. Took me a few days of trying to figure out why I couldn't get any print to stick, from slicer settings to calibration. This one trick was the answer. I haven't used the textured sheets as of yet, but for the flat metal sheet on my prusa so ymmv depending on your sheet type.

As someone highly allergic to resin I'm very interested in this

As someone who lives in an apartment with kids, I really can't get a resin printer. I'm so glad FDM printers are increasing their print quality to present a viable alternative.

PAINTING. I printed fdm miniatures for years and managed to get good results like shown in the video. That being said, you are going to have a rough time painting. Unless you rely heavily on airbrush and rattle cans, you'll find the layer act like a sponges (terrible for washes or thin paints like contrast or speed paints). FDM is great for terrain but not something I recommend for minis (especially if you enjoy the painting part of the hobby).

The one tip I rarely see for 3D printing, which applies to other printers/CURA, is if your print is "ghosting." It may not be calibration that is echoing the designs but a setting. Uncheck "infill before walls." Example: If you are printing a billboard, with the letters sticking outward, and you see the letters faintly following the previous one printing, it is the infil pushing outwards against the outerwall.

My son has a resin printer. There is no way I could put up with the fumes and mess. I had already decided to buy a bambu labs P1S for printing miniatures and projects for my slot car track I wasn’t sure how detailed the peaces would turn out. You have shown me that filament printing is the right choice. Thank you.

I print miniatures in filament, my army tau is printed entirely in FDM, I'm happy to see content like this, I used to use an ender 3, today I use an S1 pro, I'm looking for a K1 max, it's an Great option for those who have problems with respiratory allergies

Probably get a bit of a efficiency bump splitting arms, heads, and weapons, onto a plate to print at the .6 for max detail where it counts, and then mash out body's and bases on the .8 or even higher could probably be done and covered during paint.

I highly recommend using the "ironing" feature. It makes the topmost layer feel completely smooth. I've started using a smooth PEI plate on my P1S and with ironing, you can get some really incredible results.

I don’t have a FDM printer, I was always skittish about getting one because of sometime there is poor results, but seeing this I might get one! Not for miniature, but definitely for terrain.

Thank you for the video, I bought an A1 Mini because of you. It will be my first 3D printer (will arrive next week). I hope to get good results like you 😊

Mate, so glad you finally got one of these printers. They really are a game changer and are more like an appliance than a DIY thing. I've had my X1C for a few years now and NEVER have to mess with it. It. Just. Works. 1st time, every time. And if it doesn't it's usually because I forgot something and it's impossible to correct for the human :D Now we just need them to make a resin printer!

That is a ridiculously girthy texture roller 😂

I had no idea FDM has gone so far. The quality looks great!

honestly, they sound like an amazing deal just based on smell alone.

Printing a new model while you're painting is a pretty powerful idea. This is actually the breakpoint I was waiting for when I did my research a decade ago. It was obvious things were eventually going to get to a satisfactory fidelity and price point. This is a very reasonable investment for a miniature painter. You're even focusing on full models, just printing bits would be even faster. The mass production of faction bits is always a barrier to peoples dream armies. There are so many projects I've put off because I didn't want to mess with pour casting, this is exactly what people need to make custom armies. Great video, well put together.

12:22 Me: He's going to slice his... yep.

Its really amazing how far FDM printers have come w/regards to mini printing! They really are a viable alternative to resin if time isn't a problem for you, However, if you think your FDM printer is fume-safe please get a VOC capable monitor and test your workspace. I print in a 162 sq ft room with good ventilation. I'm using a Temtop air quality meter and the background TVOC measurement (when no printing is going on is 0.18 mg/cubic meter. When I print with my Bambu Labs A1 mini my TVOC rapidly shoots up to 2.18 TVOC measured 3 ft from the printer. Most safety sites tell me the 'good' air quality is no more than 0.5 TVOC. Yes, resin printers raise the TVOC even higher but some people act like they don't have any safety worries around FDM printers

Actually FDM printers have been capable of this kind of detail and quality for quite a few years. Pretty much any old FDM printer can be fitted with smaller nozzles and do thinner layers. It's just bambu has made it incredibly easy. Like I didn't realize how easy they make it to swap nozzles. But moreover the profiles are all ready to go. No more fiddling for hours and days with dozens and dozens of arcane slicer settings. Very impressive.

I've used the A1 mini for 6 months now and the ease of use is unreal and you can get good quality (negligible layer lines) just by setting changes a couple settings and the built in slicer is fantastic. Supports take some tinkering.

For big terrain pieces and giant models, I highly suggest looking into using a soldering iron to weld the parts together. I got a wood burning kit that comes with 10 or so nibs. If there are enclosed parts that you don't need to look perfect, it works amazingly and cools off almost instantly. I printed a 12 piece Battletech Dropship about a 7" Dia Sphere and welding the parts together was infinitely better and quicker than glue. You could also sort of tig weld but melting the spool material into edges. I was also able to weld/heat and push in a eyebolt and then add material on the other side to strengthen the bond.

For years I have been printing minis at qualities reached by your 0.4 mm experiments using an ender 5. 0.05mm layer height and 20mm/s print speeds and things looked amazing. Patience required! Printers have been able to do this for a while now.

For those unaware, you can reasonably bump down the infill to like 3 to 5% with no loss to strength and much faster prints. The strength is mostly from the walls anyway as these aren't load bearing prints

I’m a sucker for videos about printing minis with FDM so I don’t have anything bad to say lol. I do actually agree with people who have less optimistic opinions though, I’d love to see how these look after being painted compared to a resin version. Ideally some examples of FDM friendly sculpts mixed in to see how much quality loss comes with having to use supports. One thing I do wish you’d done with the 0.2 nozzle is test out .04mm layer heights. The increase in print time kills me, but you don’t have to modify the Bambu profiles much; still playing with support settings but hybrid tree supports with a .06mm Z Object distance and “Remove small overhangs” checked has had insane results. Way less scarring and virtually no failures so far (which I think was due to me increasing the Z Object distance to .08).

Good to see people again playing with FDM machines for tabletop. As for tips and tricks, the A1 and K1 are fantastic low effort machines, but these days even the classic ender upgrades (the v3 and such) are getting fantastic with things like Klipper in built even if they dont have multi filament. Multifilament is not as useful for non 3d printing hobbyists. If you want to use it to print things to paint I'd reccommend getting a cheaper machine without it. FDM printers are geniunely fantastic as you said for any large model, and the prints are a lot more friendly to welding (abs and asa for example) and hardware than their resin counter parts. Additionally they are fantastic for assemblies. If you want opening doors, hidden weapon caches, scatter terrain with functional mechanisms you should use an fdm printer these mechanisms are just not possible in resin because of how resin prints but they are trivial in fdm. FDM materials especially PLA, PETG and ABS are also around half the price of similar resins making the clean up, and sanding a lot more worth it for large prints. Instead of buying a bigger resin printer it may be worth it to consider FDM if your reasoning for wanting one centers on terrain, vehicles or cosplay and props.

Tips for newbies: Subscribe to CNC Kitchen (most of the following tips are a direct result of his testing) PETG is NOT stronger than PLA PLA will outperform in most cases except for temperature resistance and some types of impact. FDM can be highly sensitive to environment so a drying method and temperature control method should be part of your added infrastructure with the printer itself ALWAYS keep your bed clean, levelled (less important with BL printers that do that for you), and make sure you understand the full breadth of bed material maintenance Finally, if you want stronger parts increase your WALL COUNT not infill. High infill gives more rigid parts but does much less to strengthen the part overall. Layer orientation is MUCH more important than in resin prints, make sure you're orienting your parts in a way that will yield the results you need. Learn parametric modelling (onshape is great, I use it in videos all the time and it's free)

I'm also a very happy Bambulabs A1 owner. I haven't been cleaning the bed off between prints with alcohol when going PLA to PLA prints with my A1 and had almost zero problems with it. Only when I've used gluestick for other materials have I cleaned that off using alcohol. The main area to watch out for is near the grab tab of the plate as that part may get more oils from fingers and the edge gets cooled better as is overhangs the bed.

Just a tip for that cilider model. It can be printed within 2-3 hours if you use a 5% infill and/or a centered cilidrical modifier Oh...and Wipe down the plate with acetone for no residual micro waste and best bed adhesion. 👏

I am in the 3D printing hobby for about 5 years now and recently I've been trying Bambu Studio with my 5 year old printer and I was pretty impressed. the printers are phenomenal from what I hear, but the slicer is very powerful on its own already

Tech keeps getting better. Pretty cool stuff. I'd love to see some extreme close-ups of those extra fine prints

I’m a Star Wars guy currently printing only ships and backgrounds but I’ll revisit figures with the settings change. Thanks mate 🎉

I have an A1 absolutely love it extremely easy to use and setup all around great purchase.

cleaning tip: IPA is a good cleaner, but ideally, every 10-20 prints, clean the build plate with degreaser soap (and full dry!). IPA does not usually do a great job of removing the hand oils completely, but just makes them less noticeable.

For first layer adhesion, school grade glue sticks work and are easy to wipe off with alcohol! Also something that I tried with fdm props is to slowly spray some cheap enamel clear coat until it fills in all the layer lines. I can then sand and smooth before primering and painting on top! Never tried with miniatures but maybe it could work!

11hrs per print, but shipping on most things can take a week.... so about 7 figures in the same time it would take to get a set shipped and you could already be assembling and painting the first ones as the others print. it's actually a good trade-off logistically in most cases.

Would love to see the highest quality one painted to see how it it behaves. I;m really happy and surprised FMD seam to get this quality, maybe some day I will be able to print satisfiing minis without turning half of my home into a containment zone for resin and all other "fun" resin printing has

What makes resin perfect for tabletop is, that you print your whole squad in one go. No time difference to one single miniature the same height. love it.

For the Hobby they have booth there spots and compliment each other very well. It is cool that I could print Terrain in Resin and Mini's in FDM, but I'm fortunate enough (and I hope you all too!) to have two printers, each for their specific job.

I find painting FDM prints challenging because the layer lines wick the paint around where it shouldn't go. I'd love to see a follow up video where you paint each result to see if there's a difference in settings.

I’ve been getting amazing results with a Bambu A1 mini and a 0.2 nozzle

wow got my first printer in 2010 and they have come a long way since then

You should really, really try the water soluble support filament.

Very interested in this. I’m planning the house move to get an actual workshop space and this would be so much better in a working space than all the hassle and hazards of a resin printer.

Thank you, I thought FDM printers weren't up to it but now I want to find out more! ❤😊

I like to print minis just to paint so I don't need to print an entire army, but I use an ender 3 and the prints come out really nice. The details really come through for the most part and I have no complaints.

Awesome brewski . Subscribed ! I’ve just got into FDM myself , after a couple years of playing with resin . Definitely considering Bambu labs in the future .

Great video! I think your video does a fantastic job of highlighting the value of the "modern" FDM printers like the A1: how great they work out of the box. I'm an engineer and cut my teeth on an old Ender. Back in the day I enjoyed the tuning and tinkering aspect of the hobby, but that all vanished when I got an A1 and realized everything could just work by default. I think it'd be a stretch to say these currently compete on quality with resin prints, but resin brings another level of safety and processing concerns that FDM doesn't have. It's great to see the tech advancing to where a non-technical person could print larger minis and be happy with them.

I'm sick of the health risks and mess that comes with resin printing but I am an insane stickler for quality and detail in my prints, so I figured I could never switch to FDM. Seeing the results of the 0.2 nozzle and 0.06mm layers, I'm kind of seeing a ray of hope here. Just gotta push myself to take the plunge now. I really don't care if my minis take 24 hours.

Just got back from the mall where i saw a store with a whole 3d printed table with all the sushi rolls and stuff i see on youtube

Adventurer 5m's are pretty nice for terrain and tiles too. My P1s ended up becoming my multicolor time sink lol

I have an A1 Mini and an X1C, I’ve thought about getting a resin printer as well but the health concerns and post processing have concerned me. I have a 0.2mm nozzle for my A1M and I’ll definitely be trying out some of these models.

Thank you for the review been eyeing up a fdm printer for a long time and this has helped

Dude why are you using the scraper to remove the supports from the tank, they are to remove the print from the bed, use a clipper or a needle nose plier to remove supports frim prints.

I have a Creality Ender 3 Max Neo with a 4.2.7 mainboard upgrade, a Sprite Pro extruder upgrade, and a flexible steel PEI textured magnetic print bed.

I knew I was going to be too busy to touch my printer for a few days so I filled the bed with scatter terrain, set it to 0.6mm high quality profile on my P1S, 4 and a half day print! Only 150g of material - but amazing quality.

Whilst I don't think I'm totally sold on using these for infantry miniatures, I will certainly be trying mine out for vehicles, terrain and busts. I print a lot of larger miniatures for display too so will try them out as well

I already have the A1 mini and learned a lot by watching this - so thanks!

First thing users say is go from box to gyroid infill. I've been getting away with going as low as 5% infill as well. Also I'd be interested in a resin usage / waste cost per mini vs PLA one.

Something to try with fdm 0.2 nozzle miniature printing is to cut the object in half and place it on the bed so it now needs no or very little supports. Cuts down on material use and time, less chance of support failure and even crisper details. Just requires some extra assembly

Yeah the A1's are game changers for Vehicles. Worth it 100%. They're also really great at making some durable table quality miniatures for wargames.

Tip for you my friend! That included metal scraper isn't all to safe for you or the plate. I would print an all plastic scraper, then, spray iso directly onto your PLA model right as it comes hot off the printer. Use plastic scraper and flex the plate to get everything off, thus avoiding harm to self or plate. This works with PETG too.

Printed about 65% resin quality on a ender 5 not too long ago. It's just way slower than resin. But also helllllllla more durable. Give and take. Having both is nice lol

Excellent video! Loved it! Production quality is over the top. Something to definitely learn when it comes to making videos. This printer also looks to be an awesome choice. My teenage son is going to need to check this video out!

Looks like I might get one of these small Bambu printers as my second printer. While I'd love to have the quality, I just don't have the cleaning patience and modifications I need to make around the print environment to properly ventilate.

Very impressive and your videos are well shot which always helps

I am glad you had success with PLA miniatures. I gave up on them a few years ago, before Bambu labs existed. I had seen some very good profiles for an ender 3 that looked promising. And it's true, I did get a few really nice miniature prints off my ender 3. But most of my plan miniatures were off a highly modified Tronxy X1 with a .2 nozzle. I did get some very nice prints. But I also had a lot of trouble with cooling the parts and thus the supports were difficult to remove. Seeing your work here makes me think I should pull the Tronxy down off the shelf and try again. One of my favorite techniques is to do bigger chunkier parts in PLA and more detailed parts in resin. So I have a dragon I printed where the body and wings are PLA, but the head and arms are in resin. Turns out that you don't have to have all the details rendered. Just enough that no one notices where there are issues.

Thanks for sharing My experience with resin is that it produces great prints when it works, but it's very high maintenance and you need a whole lab space. My stock CR-10 from 2019 I have on my desk next to me and it's just much easier to set a 0.10mm layer height mini to print in 4 hours. Or I do a few and after work I have a couple minis all done and there's usually little clean up or stink that would bother my family. I just think FDM is way more accessible, although the quality isn't as great as someone more interested in playing these games I think these are the way to go. Plus you can make bigger parts for more than just hobby stuff

I own an X1C, but started with a Hictop several years ago. Bambu lab printer are basically 3D printing on easy mode with cheats enabled. 😅

I recently bought one of those BIQU panda hotend attachment things (the hotend adapter for the Revo e3d nozzles) and got a 0.15 nozzle (i have a bambu p1s), it prints amazingly, the details at 0.04 layer height are amazing, BUT the addon is something like 129 USD and it's still FDM so prints are brittle because PLA, but it does work really well!

I’m intrigued by this because I’d love to ideally just have one 3D printer

As ridiculous as it sounds, my solution for long print times was… getting a second printer. Less that I want to print multiple figures (though I do), more that I want to print my around the house stuff (planters etc) and other practical prints as I do the hobby stuff. Choosing between the two always makes me feel torn, and getting an A1 mini at $199 for mostly figures is pretty easy to justify.

If you have further print adhesion issues, I always add a bit of pva glue added to water in a bottle. I use this for basing miniatures, but it also works for the print bed in place of those nasty glue sticks. Try it out, just make sure it dries first

I dont even use any cleaner on my textured beds. If i touch the plate where i exoect to print next i just use a paper toweo and wipe over it. So far its worked well for me.

Depending on the options in your slicer, you may be able to speed up your prints by bumping the speed up on the infill and inner walls without impacting print quality.

Please print these up so we can do a direct comparison of the final product to resin.

This is interesting. Bambu Labs definitely has been creating great printers and keep adding cool features to them. I'm curious though if you could use a 0.2mm nozzle with a printer running Klipper and input shaping enabled to achieve the same result. If that happens to be the case, then even budget printers would be able to do this.

Clean your build plate with hot water and soap every couple of prints, it really is the best.

i've been sitting on the 0.2mm nozzle i bought for my x1c for a long time now. i might actually try it out now.

I saw some of these small 3D printers this weekend at Quakecon. Seemed to be alot of interest as the booth had alot of people checking them out.

If you're still having problem with bed adhesion, get some gluestick from a good brand. I personally use elmer's glue extra strength gluestick and it works wonders. Coat the bed liberally, wipe with a paper towel to even it out and to remove excess, and that should last more than a spool's worth of printing.

i got an Anycubic Photon back then exclusively for our DnD Minis. They quality was amazing and i got a good value out of it until i just lost the motivation to always take care of the chemicals, the stink, the curing and post processing and stuff.... Got myself a Bambulab X1C a while ago and finally bought a Panda Revo Hotend with a 0.15mm nozzle.... the minis look resin-like up until you take them really REALLY close to your eyes. But 3-4 hours for a small mini is a really hard hit comparing to 3-4h for a whole build plate of minis...

😮 .... just recently got a printer ... but this 😍 opens up a whole new world ... ❤

Detail benefits aside, cuz I agree modern fdm printers have more of a space in the hobby then they did before, the other big benefit to msla style resin printers is 1 part vs a full build plate will take the same time(assuming all the same height). So like a squad of 5 the msla scales better and that's where it'll start speeding past fdm for speed. Fdm every part adds time.... usually a lot lol

You can use a hair dryer to gently warm the support before removing it. This will help soften the material and make the removal process easier.

I use IPA and lint-free cloths to wipe the bed. At least there are no pieces of paper left. It is also worth washing the bed with water and dishwashing liquid from time to time.

I may get one just for vehicles, the detail is sick and I do not mind waiting

In regards to print adhesion the best thing to do, even with spray down with Isopropyl alcohol is every handful of prints (your mileage may vary depending on several things) its a good idea to clean the bed with a good dish soap, hot soapy water, then dry with a lint free cloth. Oils from your skin build up on the bed and are not totally removed with the spray so eventually you will get bed sticking issues. Also, when you say Isopropyl alcohol, make sure its 90% or higher, 70% doesn't do much of anything useful.

Another thing to consider is that you don't always need top quality in every mini. An army of fdm zombies at 0.16 is perfectly acceptable

even at 10+ hours I promise this will finish prints before I can finish painting up my back log :)

Big tip for printing in FDM, When you wipe the bed down. Let the bed cooldown before you wipe, and let it evaporate in it's own time. I've had the experience of wiping print beds down when hot and my prints just refused to stick. It drove me mad for a long time before I realized this could be the problem.