Dynamod Game System - Tiles and Rooms

More information on the website: https://dynamod.games

Printing Instructions

I recommend printing these with an FDM printer, but they were tested with a resin printer as well. Given the mechanical properties of melting filament and the brittleness or scratch-prone nature of most resins, the FDM printing process will ensure the best long term results.

Here are some important settings:

Dimensional accuracy

You can check the dimensional accuracy of the tiles by printing two 1x1 tiles and see if they easily fit together with slight amount of friction.

If they don’t fit, you can experiment with some of the slicer settings below.

First layer

All Dynamod models rely on your first layer to be well tuned. The models have integrated chamfered edges at the bottom to allow for a little bit of squish, but it is important to not overdo it. If the first layer extends beyond the shape of the tiles, it will difficult to get a great fit without manually post processing the tiles.

On the other hand, since there are small features on the Dynamod models, you might have a hard time getting your prints to succeed when the nozzle is too far away from the print plate.

It’s worth taking a little bit of time to ensure that your first layer is as perfect as you can make it. 

Settling time

Before evaluating your prints for dimensional accuracy, make sure to let them fully cool down and rest for a while afterwards. I’ve noticed that it can take 30 minutes or more after removing the print from the bed before the final dimensions have properly settled in.

Wall order

Changing the order in which the walls are printed can significantly improve dimensional accuracy. Note that this could impact the smoothness of the surface of your models.

To experiment with printing outer walls first, change these settings:

Thin walls

You can also experiment with having your slicer detect thin walls and print them as a single perimeter. When you do so, make sure to double-check your initial layer so that none of the walls disappear.

To experiment with thin wall replacement, change these settings:

Extrusion width

Some slicers increase the extrusion width above 0.4mm, this can make the outer walls expand beyond the limits of the intended design, making it harder to fit the tiles together.

To experiment with exact 0.4mm extrusion widths, change these settings:

Extrusion multiplier

Depending on the filament you're using you might have to adapt the extrusion multiplier.

There are no hard rules for this and might require calibration and experimentation. If you're using PLA, the extrusion multiplier should be typically set to around 0.97 or a flow rate of 97%. On some printers, like the Anycubic Vyper, using 0.9 or 90% can be necessary.

To experiment with different extrusion multipliers, change these settings:

Seams

When the seams are positioned on the edges of the slots that connect the tiles together, the filament can have little blobs, strings or other artifacts that prevent the connection between the tiles to be effortless.

I found that I got the best results when I place the start point nearest to the center of the tile. This makes the slicer choose edges that are inside of the geometry instead of outside.

To change the position of the seams, change these settings:

Corner blobs

Most of the Dynamod models rely on your printer being well tuned and that no blobs are present on printed corners. The tiles in particular require that the shapes where the edges connect stay within the designed rectangular area. If you notice that the corners of the connectors have even a slight outward bulge, you may have to tune your printer or experiment with different slicers, slicer settings or firmwares. If corner blobs are present, it may be hard or impossible to properly connect the tiles.

Look for Linear Advance or Pressure Advance features in your printer’s firmware or in alternative firmwares, those can be really beneficial in getting sharp corners to come out clean.

Clips

I recommend printing clips with FDM. The same settings as for tiles apply, with the exception of these:

Magnets

The tiles are designed for 4mm diameter x 2mm thick disc magnets.

Make sure that both magnets on each edge use the same polarity and reverse them for the adjacent edge. This will ensure that only the connecting edges will attract each-other. Optionally, you can put in only one of the two magnet, just be careful to properly pick the side that will attract the opposite end.

When you push the magnets in from below, about half will slide in easy and then you'll meet some resistance. This is a little internal ridge that you need the push the magnet through. Once it's past this ridge, there will be no way to remove the magnet without destroying the tile itself.

I strongly recommend that you print the "Magnet Jig.stl" model before adding the magnets. This little tool makes pushing the magnets all the way to the bottom very easy.

Please watch this how-to video about how to best assemble the magnets into the tiles, if you want to use those:

Resin printing

If you do want to print the tiles on a resin printing, make sure you're not overexposing the models or it will be very hard get them to fit together.

• Print vertically but with one corner all the way at the bottom (rotate 90° on the Y axis and 45° on the X axis). This allows for printing many at once.
• No hollowing.
• Unless there's obvious overhangs, only thin supports are needed on the bottom edges of the models.