3D Printing For Chess

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.

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.

[moved to post #1]

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