I did it. I finally caved and purchased a 3D Printer! After some research, budget checks, and a bit of back and forth, I clicked that Add To Cart button for the FlashForge Finder.
3D Printing is a very exciting hobby and I want to share my growing pains as a complete novice. All the mistakes, accidental discoveries, and eventual wisdom that comes with mastering the learning curve will be documented on my 3D Printing page. Check it out for future projects, ideas, and eventually a shop to hawk my wares! Look out, board game accessory world!
The Finder is aesthetically pleasing. It’s housed in a red and black case that looks sharp. It fits nicely on my IKEA Kallax shelf.
The quick start guide was pretty helpful except for the leveling section. When leveling, you are instructed to tighten 3 screws under the build plate as tight as you can. During calibration, you are instructed to either tighten or loosen “the corresponding screw”. This step really threw me for a loop as I was unsure which screw it was referring to. I tightened and loosened all of them and even restarted a few times. Finally, I realized the nozzle was positioned above the screw when the message was displayed!
It’s a silly error on my part but also something that could have been explained better in the manual.
My only other gripe so far is my prints are getting stuck to the build plate. This is a common problem and the print must stick to the build plate while printing for stability and an even print, but I haven’t found a good solution to remove the finished print other than waiting for 30-60 minutes for the plate to cool down. I want to play with my new toys now!
Setting the FlashForge Finder up on WiFi was easy. The touchscreen is large and the instructions are easy to follow. The FlashPrint software also connected to the printer without issue, but I did need to go to the Support Page and download the full manual from FlashForge to discover that FlashPrint was something I needed to install separately. My Finder did not come with any media, but it does include a USB cable to connect to the computer. After some easy initial set ups and inputting the printer’s IP address into the FlashPrint Software, I was ready to print! The IP address on the printer was also very easy to find and navigate to via the touchscreen.
I’m thrilled to learn, create, and print my own models. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I do. I’m looking forward to learning how to design meeples, board game inserts and travel boxes, as well Rasperry Pi cases. The possibilities truly are endless!
Tinkercad has a great tutorial system that easily walks you through how to make a 3D model and prepare it for printing. Perfect for a beginner with zero experience, like me! And, Thingiverse has everything under the sun to print. Just check out this search for cheese!
Follow me at CheeseViking Games on Twitch to see occasionally see the FlashForge Finder in action while I’m playing board games and video games!
