Resin2FDM Walkthrough

1. In Blender, switch to the Resin2FDM tab in the right-hand N-panel of the 3D Viewport.

2. Click the button labelled Prepare Scene.
- If you have already used the addon in this Blend file, the button may say Reset Scene instead.

3. What this button actually does (in plain language):
- Creates or resets a scene just for this workflow.
- Sets the units so that 1 Blender unit = 1 mm, which keeps scaling sane for printing.
- Optionally shows a "build plate" visualizer (enabled in Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Resin2FDM) so you have a sense of your printer's size.

1. In the same Setup section, click Import STL. Blender will open a file browser window.

2. Browse to the folder where you keep your pre-supported resin models. - You can select one STL or several STLs to import at once, useful for models that are split into multiple pieces.

3. Click Import STL in the file browser.
- If you imported one file, you will usually see one object.
- If you imported several, you may see them stacked near each other or overlapping for now.

4. At this point you do not need to fix the position, rotation, or size of the model. Resin2FDM will handle snapping your model to the plate and splitting in the next steps.

1. In the Model Prep section, click Grid Sort Models (if you see this button). Resin2FDM will arrange your objects into a grid.

2. Click Split by Loose Parts. This is the first "real work" step:
- During this step, you will see a progress bar in the Resin2FDM header. You can press Esc to cancel if it seems stuck.
- The tool will also move each piece so its bottom sits on Z = 0, which lines up with your printer's build plate.

3. When the split is done, Resin2FDM marks the scene as "split complete", unlocking later parts of the workflow, such as assigning the miniature and optional advanced features like tip detection.

1. Before you continue, you need to tell Blender which pieces of geometry are the actual model (the miniature) and which are just supports.

2. In the 3D Viewport, use left-click (and Shift + left-click for multiple objects) to select only the miniature parts.
- Do not select the support columns or tips.
- If you accidentally select something wrong, press Ctrl+Z to undo and try again.

3. Once you are happy with your selection, click Assign Miniature. Resin2FDM will:
- Merge your selected objects into one and rename it to MINIATURE.
- Look at the remaining pieces and automatically separate them into SUPPORTS (thin columns and connection pieces) and, when appropriate, a BASE object.

1. In the Thicken Supports panel you will see two values, a slider, and a thicken supports button.
- The first value shows the current average diameter of typical support columns in mm.
- The second value shows an estimated new diameter after thickening.

2. Drag the slider to choose how much extra material to add to the support columns.
- You want to shoot for making your supports 1mm to 1.8mm after thickening, depending on your nozzle size and printer capabilities.
- Most find that 1-1.4mm final diameter works well for even 0.4mm nozzles.

3. Once you are happy with the thickness, click Apply Modifier. This "bakes" the thickness into the actual geometry so your slicer sees the stronger columns.
- If you change your mind, you can still undo with Ctrl+Z immediately after applying.

1. You will see a field for the output folder and a base file name.
- By default R2FDM will set the export folder to the same folder where you imported the STL from.
- Click `Set Output Folder` (left) to change it.
- Click `Open Output Folder` (right) to quickly open the folder in your file browser.

2. There is also a field to set the base name of your exported files. By default it uses the name of the imported STL file.

3. Choose one of the three export buttons:
- Export Miniature writes only the MINIATURE object.
- Export Supports writes only the SUPPORTS object.
- Export Both writes two STL files at once using the base file name plus a suffix.
- If the file already exists, the tool will warn you. If you still wish to overwrite it, press the lock icon.

This step is optional and only available in the Advanced version of the addon. If you are using Resin2FDM Lite, or your slicer does not support 3MF, you can skip this and stick to the STL exports.

1. In the Feature Toggles panel, enable 3MF Export. This reveals the Export 3MF button in the Export panel.

2. Back in the Export panel, make sure your output folder and base file name are set the way you like, then click Export 3MF. Resin2FDM writes a single 3MF file that contains both the miniature and supports as separate objects in one scene.

- Users have reported this allows them to use R2FDM exports in PrusaSlicer as well.

Great job! You now have clean FDM-ready exports of your miniature and supports from Blender. From here you have two paths.

Option A: Go straight to slicing
- Bring your exported STL or 3MF files into your slicer of choice, but this guide will specifically go over using Orca Slicer.
- The next section walks through import, splitting, and recommended processes step-by-step.
- Similar slicers such as Prusa Slicer can be used, but support is only given for Orca.

Option B: Explore advanced Resin2FDM features
- Features like Tip Detection (Easier Support Removal/Cleanup), Auto-Select (Find Miniature Parts), Mesh Repair (Specially designed for Miniature and Supports), and extra export tricks can help with trickier models or speed up your workflow.

With Blender done, it is time to move into OrcaSlicer or another slicer based on the Orca framework (such as Bambu Studio or Elegoo Cura/Orca).

1. Open Orca on a blank project.

2. Find the files you exported from Blender: one for the MINIATURE, one for the SUPPORTS, and (optionally) one for SUPPORT_TIPS if you used the tip export features. Select all of them at the same time and drag them into the Orca window.
- If you exported a single 3MF scene instead of STLs, just drag that one file in.

3. When Orca pops up a dialog asking how to import, choose "Import as single object". This keeps everything perfectly aligned in 3D space.

4. In the Objects panel, right-click the combined object and choose Split → to objects. You should now see separate entries, one for each imported object, still sitting exactly where they should around each other.

These recommendations are based on Painted4Combat's testing with 0.2 mm and 0.25 mm nozzles on common FDM printers like the Neptune 3 Pro and Bambu A1. Feel free to adjust for your own machine, but this is a solid starting point.

1. Miniature process
- Start from a high-detail profile for your printer with a layer height around 0.08-0.12 mm.
- Keep your usual wall count and infill.

2. Support process
With the supports object selected:
- Set the layer height to roughly double the miniature's layer height (for example, 0.16 mm if the mini is at 0.08 mm). This prints supports only every second layer and saves a lot of time.
- Set wall loops to 2.
- In the Strength tab, set Minimum Sparse Infill Threshold to 0. This stops the support towers from printing solid while still allowing infill if the raft is thick enough to require it.
- In the Speed tab, set most speeds for the support object to around 50 mm/s.
- If you see supports snapping mid-print on your machine, lower the outer wall speed for supports to around 35-40 mm/s as a safety margin.

Once your processes look good, it is time to slice and sanity-check the toolpaths.

1. Slice and preview
- Slice the project and scrub through the layers in the preview. You should see the miniature printing at your fine layer height and the supports printing with thicker, faster layers.
- Make sure supports reach the model cleanly and that no islands are left unsupported.
- On a typical hero-sized character, this change alone can turn a 6+ hour ultra-fine print into something closer to 4 hours, without sacrificing visible detail on the model itself.

2. Export or send to printer
- When you are happy with the preview, export the G-code or send the job to your printer as you normally would.
- After printing, remove supports carefully with flush cutters or a hobby knife, then clean up any remaining marks with a blade or small files.

Hardware and filament tips
- Use a 0.2 mm nozzle for the sharpest miniature details and more reliable tiny supports. A 0.25 mm nozzle can also work well; a 0.4 mm nozzle is possible but much less forgiving.
- Choose a slightly matte or satin PLA if you can. Very glossy or hard filaments tend to cling to supports more and can make cleanup harder.