u/MikeGyverMinis

Hey folks,

​Just dropping a quick informational update for anyone here who follows my work or was disappointed when I dropped 0.4mm support a few months ago.

​Back in March, I decided to switch exclusively to 0.2mm nozzle print profiles to maximize the detail on my FDM miniatures. While the 0.2mm results are fantastic, after careful consideration, I’ve realized my decision alienated the 0.4mm nozzle folks who just wanted good quality, quicker prints without having to swap out their hotends.

​So, I’m going to doing both. Moving forward, I will be providing reliability-tested profiles for BOTH 0.2 and 0.4 nozzles on my releases.

​Because I refuse to release untested files, I'll be rigorously testing both profiles before they go live. This means release times will be slightly slower, but it ensures you get a fail-proof print whether you want maximum detail or a faster print on your standard 0.4 setup.

​I want to apologize for the back-and-forth flip-flopping on this, but I appreciate the feedback that helped me course-correct.

You'll be seeing the dual profiles from all my designs from now on. I have already finished the 0.4 for most of my new Animal set, and the rest should be in the few days.

​Cheers,

Mike

Just sharing some more of my latest works to give more examples of using my own profile and supports.

For those who might ask, the post can be found here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/FDMminiatures/comments/1syq7hp/mike\_gyver\_minis\_print\_settings

One thing ive changed since then is ive found for my X1C and H2C... 0.16mm Top Z Distance has been the sweet spot instead of the 0.18mm i originally used.

Hey everyone,

​I just wanted to share some cool miniatures I recently created. I've just started a new animal series, and here are the first 5 I've printed! (Featuring a Giant Boar, an attacking Black Bear, and an attacking Giant Badger in the photos).

​All of these were printed on FDM at a standard 32mm scale using a 0.2mm nozzle.

Getting the fur textures on the bear/badger and the tail/tusks on can sometimes be a challenge but these were all sliced and printed successfully using the Mike Gyver Minis support profile.

​I’m really happy with how the details came out. If you want to check out the models, grab the files, or try out the support profile for your own prints, I keep everything hosted here:

​MakerWorld: https://makerworld.com/@MikeGyverMinis

​Patreon: www.patreon.com/MikeGyverMinis

Many more to come like Giant Centipede, Wasp, Octopus etc.

​Happy printing!

Let me know if you have any questions about my 0.2mm settings for minis.

Hey Folks,
After receiving my H2C this week, I decided to work on my Miniature profile for it and also re-evaluate my X1C settings in Bambu Studio since the last time.

I have had a lot of people reach out to me recently about sharing my settings in the form of exported configs and image albums.
I am happy to report, I’ve done both and the link is below.

I've added a Gallery of examples of miniatures using these settings and a screenshot of an example of my typical manual support painting

These settings are based upon u/ObscuraNox v2.0 settings. Without his hard work, I wouldn’t have a baseline to start with. I greatly appreciate his contributions. If you want to learn about calibration and FDM miniatures, check out his YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DungeonsAndDerps

My Miniatures all have supports. These settings have not been tested with any supportless miniatures, but they logically should work fine, since supports are the biggest variable.

I don’t pretend to be an expert in FDM Miniature printing, however I am always ambitious in learning new things when it comes to miniatures and it has caused me to deep dive into creating repeatable, reliable baseline settings to print my miniature designs to show my supporters how my designs print. Designs are nothing, if they don’t print for people. So I sought out to make sure that people 9 times out of 10 can just click print (provided calibration, filament drying and printer maintenance is performed). There are obviously outliers.

Printers: X1C and H2C Nozzle: 0.2 nozzle

Build Plate: Bambu Labs Super Tack Pro (Recommendation). You can use any build plate you want, however you are probably going to need more of a brim.

All I will share is my experience. The Cool Plate Super Tack Pro (and all the 3rd party build plates that are like it in quality. Frostbite etc) are really next level for adhesion in my opinion.

Funny enough they also say to use it at 40 degrees. Do not do this for miniatures. If you do its basically the same as all other plates. Set the plate between 50 degrees and 60 for maximum adhesion. It's a game changer. I have my build plate temp at 50 degrees for my X1C. You may need to use a scraper to get your mini off, but its worth the trade off.

Is it an extra cost? Absolutely. Is it worth it? To me yes. As long as the plate isn't dirty, I have never had an issue with prints coming off the build plate. Have supports snapped off mid-print in my prototyping? Yes they have, but not at the first 20 layers or so. It's always mid support and that's usually because I have gotten greedy in my testing and lowered the thickness of supports to see what the model can handle.

If you are thinking about the Super Tack Pro build plate, be aware that Bambu markets the Super Tack Pro as buying it for the P2S only. The A and X series are marketed for the Super Tack (regular 1st version). I've tried both and the Pro is way better. So I ordered the Pro for my X1C. The only thing you don't get is the QR code on the plate matching other printers and the auto build plate detection.

Layer Height: 0.06mm. I stuck with 0.06mm as in my experience when I went to 0.05mm or below it's doable, but less reliable across different geometries and models and it just took too much time to prototype versus 0.06mm.

Filament: Bambu Labs PLA Basic Blue Grey. This is the brand/color I really like. It’s reliable (in my experience). I really like how the shadows are cast on unpainted minis. It helps me showcase my designs.

Drying: 6 hours (12h if possible) at 53 degrees in my Sunlu S4. During Printing, Drying for how long the print will take, at 45 degrees.

I have a Sunlu AMS Heater, Sunlu S4 and I am waiting for the Drying while Printing for the H2C to launch (which should be shortly).

Caveats/Things to Know:

• I don’t design miniatures in parts. I know there’s a lot of people that do and it’s amazing. It’s not for me. My designs are all one model and support settings are built around each miniature.

• These settings have been tested by myself multiple times with miniatures of varying geometry. From 20mm tall goblins to 43mm tall Elephantfolk to Giant Animals 73mm tall miniatures.

• There are other variables that make a difference. These things are: Orientation of the mini, Support Painting in Bambu Studio, Sacrificial Cube under the feet, Decoy Tower in the corner to deal with radiant heat. 

• Auto Supports only without any manual painting are just unreliable, especially if Bambu Studio updates the slicer software. But I have found even when there’s issues with Auto Supports, Manual Support painting seems to workaround most of the issues.

Printer Configurations
My Bambu Studio settings are available in two formats. One is the Bambu Studio Settings/Filament config that you can import. The other is Images of all of my settings found in Bambu Studio.
Both can be found here: Mike Gyver Minis Print Settings

**DISCLAIMER: While these have been tested multiple times, there is a chance that these do not work for you or may cause issues when importing/using them in Bambu Studio. You understand by using these settings, you do so at your own risk.

Support Removal
Support removal is typically very easy. Most branches are like thin plastic straws that are easily cut with flush cutters or removing sections with thin needle nose tweezers.
When removing supports, Do Not twist. With thin tweezers grasp the sides of the support and carefully pull straight down and it should release from the model. Scarring is decently minimized

FAQ:

1. Why do you use Bambu Studio and not Orcaslicer? I use Bambu Studio because I am a miniature designer first, so getting my supporters to change slicers is difficult to do. Especially having to use middleware like Bambu Connect just to use Orcaslicer. I know Orcaslicer can have better settings that Bambu Studio doesn’t.

2. What about the Bambu Labs P2S? These settings should work. However I used to have a P2S and recently sold it. I had nothing but problems printing miniatures specifically. After all the calibration, doing everything possible with the printer, including a support ticket, I was not able to get any miniature to print successfully. Something with that specific printer, but I was unable to pinpoint it and support was not able to as well, but it would print anything else with great quality. I have had a small number of people also reach out to me and let me know they had the same issues. After switching to the H2C and using the exact same settings, 0 issues on the H2C and the X1C. All this to say, this was my experience and I don’t have an answer as to why.

3. Do you have settings for a 0.4 nozzle? No, I don’t. I used to use a 0.4 nozzle, but I have since pivoted to 0.2 nozzle only. In the interest of time (prototyping and testing), I can’t do both at this time. 0.2 for high quality was just the logical choice.

4. What settings do you change between different models? I manually paint supports for all overhangs and floating features. From there I typically change the following:

   1. Branch Diameter: I start at 2.5mm and go up or down from there, depending on the size of the model. For example: a Goblin that is 20mm tall, I would start at 1.5mm. Larger miniatures are usually 3-4mm.

   2. Branch Diameter Angle: I start at 2.5mm and go up or down from there, depending on the size of the model. For example: a Goblin that is 20mm tall, I would start at 1.5mm. Larger miniatures are usually 3-4mm.

   3. Branch Angle: I don’t change very often and keep it at 40degrees. If I can do more vertical due to Geometry then I may decrease to 30-35.

   4. I adjust settings, test print, adjust some more for the model, print. After multiple successful prints that are repeatable. The design is done.

5. If I want to check out your designs, where can I find them? You can find them on Makerworld and my Patreon

1st Edit: In my sleepiness, I forgot to add an important section: The Build Plate. I've added that now in the specs settings and my thoughts.