3D Printing

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 12:15 am

I'm starting a new model from the app to see how it goes.
I do like tge option of starting from the app while lying in bed a lot though.
6 hour articulated dragon.
If I can get to sleep I'm hoping to wake up to a finished print
Brw. Do yiu yseglye on your bed? I haven't for a long time so wondering if this one really needs it .
If i keep it im also gonna take your advice and get the smooth bed. No idea why they did a texture bed in the first place.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 12:22 am

Punisher wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 12:15 am I'm starting a new model from the app to see how it goes.
I do like tge option of starting from the app while lying in bed a lot though.
6 hour articulated dragon.
If I can get to sleep I'm hoping to wake up to a finished print
Brw. Do yiu yseglye on your bed? I haven't for a long time so wondering if this one really needs it .
If i keep it im also gonna take your advice and get the smooth bed. No idea why they did a texture bed in the first place.

I'm reading that as 'use glue.' I do not. I have been using the default textured plate. I set it to 60, and everything else just works. You might consider doing a few hour-minus prints to get everything dialed in before you start the big ones, though - it makes it easier to troubleshoot. And any new device is going to require troubleshooting, whether the trouble is the tech or (like in my case) the user.

I personally like the way I can check on a print for failure, either with my phone, or by opening Bambu Studio on my PC in the living room. I also like the notification when a print has been completed. I have yet to figure out how to select the filament when starting from the (phone) app, though, and the default PLA settings are way too hot for my filament, so I've been starting via Studio.

It's not anywhere in my foreseeable future, but I do find myself yearning for the AMS now that I'm seeing the applications for it.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 12:24 am

Oh, and included scraper blades are for a handle that's pre-loaded on the SD card. I won't be using it (I prefer my plastic razor blade scraper - seeing sharp cornered metal hovering around my print bed makes me cringe.)

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 2:25 pm

...and today I learned that when printing with PETG, the glue stick isn't for increasing adhesion - it's to reduce adhesion so that the print doesn't damage the plate when it's being removed.

(Today I've set aside to learn the nuances of the various filament types and brands.)

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 5:53 pm

Last night I learned that if you forget to put the build plate back on and start a print it wont stick....

Again caught it about an hour in. Fixed it and work up to a beautifully printed articulated dragon.

Tried printing a part I need in ABS and it printed fine but the supports are melted into the model. Trying a different method now.

Also tried melting the PVA in a sink. Don't do that. It's basically melted into a sticky glue I had to scrub out.
It did melt though but the part is very sticky. Not sure if I did something wrong or it's just the way it is.
Using PVA is one of the main reasons I want a multicolor system. Might look at a different support material.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 6:20 pm

PVA is just white/wood glue. It's ultra concentrated Modge Podge! Just get a cheap plastic tote from Walmart for soaking it off. Maybe two so that you can do a 'clean' soak.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 6:26 pm

Also the AMS can't handle filaments of different temps when printing like ABS and PVA.

After this part is done I might try another model with PVA supports and maybe multicolor but man does that add a huge increase in time.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 9:37 pm

Punisher wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 6:26 pm Also the AMS can't handle filaments of different temps when printing like ABS and PVA.

After this part is done I might try another model with PVA supports and maybe multicolor but man does that add a huge increase in time.

How are you doing the PVA supports if not through the AMS?

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Fri Apr 26, 2024 9:57 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 9:37 pm
Punisher wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 6:26 pm Also the AMS can't handle filaments of different temps when printing like ABS and PVA.

After this part is done I might try another model with PVA supports and maybe multicolor but man does that add a huge increase in time.
How are you doing the PVA supports if not through the AMS?

My ams has pla, pva, abs, empty
I tried doing my part in abs with pva supports and it said no.
Then i tried in pla with pva supports. Thats the one that lost bed adhesion.
Then abs with abs supports. Thats the one with the welded supports.
I'm almost done with abs with abs supports but different supports. I found a version that was presupport with tree like supports. Not sure that the bambu slicer can make those or not. If not i might need to try slicing in cura than open that in bambu.
I am LOVING the monitoring and the ease of use so far. Especially with my brain issues.
Not living/sold on the small plate yet. This may be a deal breaker for me since I really want to print fullsize helmets and eventually body size armors.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 12:32 am

It sounds funny to me that a plate four times the size of my previous one is: 'small! '

Not a criticism, just a reaction.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 3:15 am

Yeah, mostly need a larger bed for a full size helmet. My Snapmaker is big enough but just not sure if I can dial it in for something like that.
Just started a 1.5 day 2 color print. I was gonna try adding pva for supports afain but when i did yhat it went to 2 days and 20 hours so just using the pla and see how bad the supports get.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:41 am

Print the helmet in parts that snap together.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 1:06 pm

Most of the helmets I've seen have split options.

I'm holding off on making extra printer upgrades right now. This is a very 'me' thing, but if I'm going to be printing upgrades, decorative elements, storage options, tools, and organizers for my printing/painting/making area, I want to come up with a unified color scheme. Given that the printer itself is black, I'm guessing that black will feature in said scheme. I'm thinking orange, yellow, or light blue, possibly with a third color for accents.

I'm actually going to launch Satisfactory, load up my old save (if it will work), and try out color schemes on the equipment in-game.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 2:05 pm

(Thinking out loud on colors for my utility prints.)

First option, orange:

I like the contrasts. The thing I really like is the gray (which you can't change in-game.) It contrasts well with both the orange and the black. The thing I really don't like, though, is that regardless of what it's on, it ends up looking like something from a construction site. I'd considered yellow, but I have the same problem with it - it looks too industrial.

Second option, light blue:

I do like the light blue/black contrast. It's a dramatic combination. The gray doesn't go with it, although a darker gray might (the gray is just an observation - I'm primarily looking for two colors, a primary and an accent, but a trim color could be interesting.) My only objection is that it could come across as a little cheesy ("Dude! My room looks totally high tech!")

Third option: Medium blue

The contrast with the black isn't as dramatic, but it works. It's got some contrast, but it's a little more subdued than the light blue. The gray makes it a little hard to get a feel for the color, making it look a bit washed out, but if it were white...

(Just because I can't change it in-game doesn't mean I can't change it in Photoshop.)

That looks a lot better. It's still not my favorite base colors, but if I were going for a third color, this would be it.

I'm thinking either the light blue + black, or the midrange blue + black + white.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 3:43 pm

Hatchbox has a light blue that's halfway between the two. I think I'm going to end up going for that. It's dark enough to use white for an accent, and light enough to use a graphite gray (although I'd only go with one of those, and likely wouldn't mess with a third color unless it was either separate parts, or unless I got my hands on an AMS system. I also picked up a single spool of ASA, which I've come to understand is basically an ABS successor, easier to work with and more versatile.

When I can afford it, though, I should probably get a couple of extra spools to store, just in case it goes out of production.

I'd like to get some colorshift/chameleon filament (or even some dual color) for a few tchotchkes, but I've hit the end of the money I had set aside for this project. Anything else will have to wait.

For now, I've started printing the first case for the Tidy System, which is a set of expandable modular drawers specifically for the P1 series. It's got both cases and drawers, and they're in two sizes (slim and fat.) You can print the cases, lock them together in whatever numbers and order you like, and print drawers to fit into them. The drawers are made specifically for things like the complete hotend assembly, the tools it ships with, the extra parts, and so on. Of course, there are also empty drawers, drawers with simple dividers, etc. There are a lot of options. For now I'm just printing the cases. I'll wait and print the drawers themselves in the blue when it arrives.

Up soon on my to-do list:

~Study the nuts-and-bolts of Bambu Studio
~Get it properly calibrated. It's printing great, but I want to tighten the tolerances and polish it up a bit. It'll also be a great learning experience, and will help me understand problems that arise later (like recognizing issues with temperature, speed, and extrusion rate.)
~Get a handle on PETG, and PETG transparent (I have a bunch of stuff I need transparent filament for.)
~Get a handle on printing with the .2mm nozzle
~Work up profiles based on Fat Dragon Games A1 profile for terrain/miniatures
~Finish sorting my collection of .stl files that I've downloaded over the past couple of months (I'm actually close to done), and then decide on which actual projects I want to undertake (there are a few props I'd love to have, and it will be interesting learning to tweak my mini painting skills for making prop replicas.)

I've decided that the first game I'm going to print terrain for will be Rangers of the Shadow Deep. With Rangers (a fantasy setting), I have the advantage that I can use my existing terrain and mats and just fill in the holes. It has quite a few dungeons, too, so I can base a 'starter set' of Dragonlock tiles on it.

FOWW is more than I want to get into right now, and doesn't have a very good solo system (it only works on solo-designed scenarios.) Pulp Alley is very, very tempting, but unlike Rangers, the terrain would be fairly specific to the setting(s.) I'd also be starting off nearly from scratch. Gaslands, CAV, and Warlord are also appealing, but don't have solo modes, and the first two would also be starting from scratch.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 6:45 pm

Zarathud wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:41 am Print the helmet in parts that snap together.

I've tried that several times before in the before times and it's never gone well.
It's possible that it might be better with this printer but I need to decide in a bit over a week.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 7:47 pm

Punisher wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 6:45 pm
Zarathud wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:41 am Print the helmet in parts that snap together.
I've tried that several times before in the before times and it's never gone well.
It's possible that it might be better with this printer but I need to decide in a bit over a week.

Out of curiosity interest in doing it myself, what went wrong?

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 8:55 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 7:47 pm
Punisher wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 6:45 pm
Zarathud wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:41 am Print the helmet in parts that snap together.
I've tried that several times before in the before times and it's never gone well.
It's possible that it might be better with this printer but I need to decide in a bit over a week.
Out of curiosity interest in doing it myself, what went wrong?

A bunch of poor alignments mostly. The parts were all off noticeably once put together. There weren't print errors, just that the pieces didn't look right together. There were suggestions to use bondo and a few other tricks to fix them but that was more trouble than its worth.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 9:18 pm

PLA? If so, I'd be tempted just to heat them a bit and gently 'adjust' them.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 9:03 pm

Yeah it was PLA but they were off where when glyed together the pieces didn't line up and it was noticeable. They were various stormtrooper and mandalorian helmets. The various features didn't line up and i suspect heating it would have fixed some but then messed up orhers.

Separately here is my 2 colir print completed. It came out MUCH better than I thought. It really looks like it's just part of the model.

https://imgur.com/gallery/SSkwEQY

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:47 pm

If you're going to be doing helmets, it may be worth your while to look into getting and/or making a form that matches the size of your head. It will help with things like reshaping parts.

I'd be willing to bet that there is a lot of information on such things on RPF (Replica Prop Forum.)

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:54 pm

Also, Adam Savage has a ton of helmets, and has posted some pretty extensive build videos. And even though it's not a 3D printing focused channel, he has done some videos (or had guests) about just that.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Mon Apr 29, 2024 12:34 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:47 pm If you're going to be doing helmets, it may be worth your while to look into getting and/or making a form that matches the size of your head. It will help with things like reshaping parts.

I'd be willing to bet that there is a lot of information on such things on RPF (Replica Prop Forum.)

Oh I wasn't concerned with defects on the inside.
It's the visible defects that I had an issue with.
Lets say the outside had a letter A and letter Z in 2 clise but different spaces on it. The print when glued would have both look skewed and offset. If I aligned the letter A for example the ketter Z woukd look worse. That's an oversimplification though. It wpuld also cause the piece as a whole be offset so when i attached the next piece it was way off.
Since I have at least to next weekend I might look for a helmet in pieces to try and see if this printer makes it work.
I will say that other than user error I only had one failure, the bed adhesion one, and these have been the best prints I've ever had. I do think that it's primarily the auto bed lever. No guesswork on my part for the Z height adjustment. I'm using my own filament exclusively so I dont think the auto heat settings matter much since I can set tjose manually for the most part and just need to dial them in manually for stringing. I'm just using their generic PLA and ABS settings.

I'll watch thise Adam Savage vids when I get a chance to see what he does and what he printed it on. Although to be fair I'm positive that he doesn't even need a 3d printer to make anything.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Apr 29, 2024 12:45 am

He has a pair of X1 Carbons and a Anycubic Kobra Max. He did a whole series on how he set them up, his upgrades, and so on. They're here, although there are also quite a few videos from Norm (the other host on Tested) who covers more tech related things.

And yeah, I do tout Tested a lot, but I've learned a ton watching his videos. Adam is a really skilled jack-of-all-trades creator, and he's also a skilled presenter who manages to convey information accurately and understandably while also being entertaining. I've found his stuff to be surprisingly inspirational (especially when the vast majority of what he builds is geek stuff - props and costumes from sci-fi and fantasy films are his bread and butter.)

And I was speaking of the form for sizing, assembling, shaping, and finishing the helmet, not for internal defects. Sort of the way someone 3D printing a dress might use a dressmaker's form adjusted to their size while working on it. It's like being able to work on the helmet while it sits on your head.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Mon Apr 29, 2024 12:45 pm

Thats a thought about the form thing but I don't think I ever had trouble putting the helmets together. They're just bigger midels and I've built a crap ton of models. Thats an imperial crap ton not metric.
It was always print defects tgat screwed them up.
I did see a video by uncle jesse about how he scanned his head with his iphone and then puts that model into meshmixer to help size up his helmet prints.
I want to see if i can do that but my 3d scanner is finiky to say the least.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 2:46 pm

So another quirk.
The AMS doesn't support TPU at all. Thats a downer.
I'm gonna try flexible pla though and see how that goes.
The instructions i have dont explain how to switch from the ams to the spool on the back so might need to look that up to test tpu.
Currently printing out an iron man helmet in multiple pieces.
I definitely need to learn how to do manual support because the first run had a bunch of supports that i suspect weren't needed.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 2:56 pm

I am wanting to print a few things in TPU, but I wanted to go Bambu Labs for it, and they're currently out of stock. It's not immediate enough for me to start experimenting, but I may eventually end up looking for a different brand.

My hardened steel gears showed up yesterday, so I spent some time this morning getting those installed in order to work with some of the tougher filmaments. Breaking down the extruder wasn't all that hard, and it gives me a little know-how for maintenance in the future. Since I was going to have to recalibrate it anyway, I went ahead and cleaned off the carbon rods and redid the tension on the belt (retensioned?) Now I'm printing a temperature tower, having learned the other day that different colors of filament from the same manufacturer can require different temperatures (Hatchbox natural required 205, while all of my other Hatchbox I usually print at 185-190.)

My first actual project is going to be a Seamoth from Subnautica. It's nothing I'm really needing, but it's relatively small, will require a number of techniques to process and finish, and is something I have a certain fondness toward. It'll be a good test piece to try putting together the bits and pieces of skills and knowledge I've picked up in the last couple of months.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:30 pm

For those that print terrain, what color filament do you prefer? I'm starting to lean toward gray (it's too hard to see the details on either black or white during processing, and I'll likely be priming the pieces anyway.)

Anyone have any compatibility issues with any types of paint or adhesive?

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:38 pm

For me, grey has been my goto for the most part followed by white, black, then whatever I have on hand.

I REALLY wanted to print multimaterial with tpu. Particularly wheels in tpu and rims in whatever, but print in place.
There are some vehicle cards that you print put like model kits and i wanted to do those with rubber wheels.
The flexible pla should be here tomorrow to try out.

Also saw a PVA cleaner by anycubic. Looks perfect and was going to grab it until i saw that it costs more then my new printer so nope. Gonna take BHs advice and get some buckets and cheap toothbrushes or something to scrub them.
Might also try my ultrasonic cleaner dince it's just collecting dust right now anyway.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:42 pm

You could always go speckled.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:52 pm

Punisher wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:38 pm Also saw a PVA cleaner by anycubic. Looks perfect and was going to grab it until i saw that it costs more then my new printer so nope. Gonna take BHs advice and get some buckets and cheap toothbrushes or something to scrub them.
Might also try my ultrasonic cleaner dince it's just collecting dust right now anyway.

PVA cleaner?

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:52 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:30 pm For those that print terrain, what color filament do you prefer? I'm starting to lean toward gray (it's too hard to see the details on either black or white during processing, and I'll likely be priming the pieces anyway.)

Anyone have any compatibility issues with any types of paint or adhesive?

Gray. Almost always gray. For the longest time I would use eSun PLA+ matte gray, but their quality fell into the toilet over the past few years. I've been using SunLu Matte Gray PLA+ for a while, and have tried Hatchbox (good but more expensive.) I bought some sale Elegoo gray PLA, haven't tried it yet.

I have used brown PLA in the past for things like wooden floors and an occasional stone wall.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:01 pm

I've got mostly Hatchbox. I find that the price difference, divided by the pieces I print, isn't that much given the good results I've received. In fact, it was only this week that I actually emptied a spool for the first time.

I've also got a spool of Sunlu Meta PLA, as recommended by Tom from FDG for terrain/minis on anything Bambu. I've got a spool of Elegoo transparent (I heard it was the better option there), plus a spool of Overture transparent PLA (which I understand is about the best transparent option you can have with an FDM printer.) I also have the half spool of Bambu that came with the printer. I liked the Bambu quite a bit, but it's expensive, and shipping takes forever compared to the alternatives.

I'm supplied for now, although I've just run out of the last of the gift money from my sister from my birthday, so future purchases will be fewer and further between. I still really want a spool each of red and yellow PLA, some mixed color silk PLA, and some colored transparent (blue, green.) Those will have to wait, though.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:10 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:52 pm
Punisher wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:38 pm Also saw a PVA cleaner by anycubic. Looks perfect and was going to grab it until i saw that it costs more then my new printer so nope. Gonna take BHs advice and get some buckets and cheap toothbrushes or something to scrub them.
Might also try my ultrasonic cleaner dince it's just collecting dust right now anyway.
PVA cleaner?

Yep.
Made a mistake though. Its ultimaker not any cubic.

https://ultimaker.com/accesories/ultima ... l-station/

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:10 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:01 pm I've got mostly Hatchbox. I find that the price difference, divided by the pieces I print, isn't that much given the good results I've received. In fact, it was only this week that I actually emptied a spool for the first time.

I've also got a spool of Sunlu Meta PLA, as recommended by Tom from FDG for terrain/minis on anything Bambu. I've got a spool of Elegoo transparent (I heard it was the better option there), plus a spool of Overture transparent PLA (which I understand is about the best transparent option you can have with an FDM printer.) I also have the half spool of Bambu that came with the printer. I liked the Bambu quite a bit, but it's expensive, and shipping takes forever compared to the alternatives.

I'm supplied for now, although I've just run out of the last of the gift money from my sister from my birthday, so future purchases will be fewer and further between. I still really want a spool each of red and yellow PLA, some mixed color silk PLA, and some colored transparent (blue, green.) Those will have to wait, though.

Some of the FDG kits call for using transparent filament and leds and button batteries. I have a roll of yellow that I have barely touched, but it works really well with the kits and the flickering LEDs.

I guess if you have a clear transparent you could try and apply an ink over it to get the effect...

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:24 pm

Also, fyi, my godzilla above was with microcenters brand green silk pla.
I mostly use thiers unless i want something specific they dont carry or are out of stock with. Mostly because it's local and i get my discount there.
If you want to look for something there and have me grab it and ship it to you let me know.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 5:06 pm

hentzau wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:10 pm
Some of the FDG kits call for using transparent filament and leds and button batteries. I have a roll of yellow that I have barely touched, but it works really well with the kits and the flickering LEDs.

I guess if you have a clear transparent you could try and apply an ink over it to get the effect...

Or just throw in a small gel. Or order yellow LEDs, which should be here tomorrow (the batteries arrived today.)

I also backed that Kickstarter I mentioned earlier that was all LED pieces with the balloon LED balls, which is why I picked up the transparent to begin with. I'd prefer orange for fires, but a lot of the stuff I'm going to be lighting isn't fires - it's magic, or spotlights, or computer monitors, or... I went with the clear filament plus the colored LEDs just for the versatility.

And also because I'm already starting to run out of filament storage space!

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Apr 30, 2024 5:07 pm

Punisher wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 4:10 pm
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:52 pm
Punisher wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:38 pm Also saw a PVA cleaner by anycubic. Looks perfect and was going to grab it until i saw that it costs more then my new printer so nope. Gonna take BHs advice and get some buckets and cheap toothbrushes or something to scrub them.
Might also try my ultrasonic cleaner dince it's just collecting dust right now anyway.
PVA cleaner?
Yep.
Made a mistake though. Its ultimaker not any cubic.

https://ultimaker.com/accesories/ultima ... l-station/

And I made a mistake and read it as a PLA cleaner. Acronym overload!

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed May 01, 2024 9:53 pm

Totally random question not related to the nuts and bolts of printing, but to themed STLs. Specifically, I'm not sure if anyone is using STLs that are good for Pulp Alley (or Pulp-themed) that they can share links to? I have the characters from the starter set so I'm mainly looking for pulp-y themed enemies (humans and otherwise). I did some searching but didn't really find anything, I'm guessing because I'm not sure exactly where to look.

I can probably cobble together minis from other games (like the various Cthulhu themed board games I have), but my buddy is feeling a spark of interest with starting up his 3D printer again and was asking me if I needed anything...

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed May 01, 2024 10:21 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed May 01, 2024 9:53 pm Totally random question not related to the nuts and bolts of printing, but to themed STLs. Specifically, I'm not sure if anyone is using STLs that are good for Pulp Alley (or Pulp-themed) that they can share links to? I have the characters from the starter set so I'm mainly looking for pulp-y themed enemies (humans and otherwise). I did some searching but didn't really find anything, I'm guessing because I'm not sure exactly where to look.

I can probably cobble together minis from other games (like the various Cthulhu themed board games I have), but my buddy is feeling a spark of interest with starting up his 3D printer again and was asking me if I needed anything...

Just minis? I don't have anything, but I will say that most things you find are likely to be under something other than 'Pulp Alley.' Look for things like 'mobster', 'pulp', 'retro miniature', etc. I'd start with Thingiverse (massive amounts of files, all free, but not all are top quality), Printables, Cults3d, and MyMiniFactory.

Others who have been at this longer probably have better advice (which I'm watching closely.)