DIY 3D Printed Dice Roller Guide

Get Into the Customization Game: DIY 3D Printed Dice Roller Step-by-Step Guide vírý

For tabletop gamers, there’s nothing more satisfying than the satisfying click of the dice on the table. But standard plastic dice trays can feel impersonal or get damaged during travel. What if you could design and build a unique dice roller based on your favorite dice set, gaming aesthetics, or even ergonomic preferences? Enter the world of DIY 3D printed dice rollers! This detailed guide will walk you through the entire process, from initial concept to final functional accessory to enhance your gaming experience.

Why do it yourself?

Creating a custom dice roller offers incredible advantages beyond simply holding the dice:

• Ultimate customization: Designed to fit perfectly into the tray for extra large D20, small percentile dice, or a complete set of dice. Shape them into castles, spaceships or simple geometric wonders.
• Enhancements: Integrated compartments for storing specific dice, decks or tokens. Add a lid for portability or a secret compartment for extra style.
• Personalized aesthetics: Use paint, plating, or recessed magnets to match your scroll wheel to your favorite RPG theme, faction colors, or personal art.
• Durability and feel: Choose from a variety of materials, from lightweight PLA for easy transport to sturdy PETG or ASA for drop protection. Fine-tune the surface finish for a perfect tactile experience.
• Cost effectiveness: Often cheaper than high-end commercial options, especially if you print it yourself.

Your DIY Dice Roller Creation Journey

Follow these steps to turn your ideas into reality:

1. Conceptualization and sketching: What problem are you trying to solve? Storing dice? Rolling uniquely shaped dice? Travel coverage? Sketch the basic shape, dimensions, compartments, and any special features (lids, hinged parts, magnets).

2. Choose your design path:

   • Option 1: Modify the existing design: Sites such as Thingiverse and Printables provide a large library of free dice roller/tray STL files. Find a tool that is closest to your needs and modify it using a beginner-friendly tool like TinkerCAD:

     • Adjust the compartment size for different dice sizes.
     • Add simple tube holders or notches to secure the cards.
     • Add holes to insert textures or decorations after printing.

   • Option 2: Design from scratch (recommended for flexibility): For truly custom rollers, use CAD software:

     • beginner: TinkerCAD is very intuitive for basic shapes.
     • middle: Fusion 360 or Onshape provide powerful parametric tools.
     • expert: OpenSCAD implements code-based precision. Key design considerations:

       • wall: To ensure rigidity, the minimum thickness is kept at 1.8-2mm. Strengthen key stress points.
       • Compartment: Dimensional Margins – Add 1-2 mm outside of the dice diameter/height for smooth rolling and extraction. Include chamfers/curves on the bottom of the compartment. Bend the tray walls inward slightly (about 5 degrees) to prevent the dice from popping out.
       • Scroll surface texture: Add shallow patterns/grooves (0.2-0.5mm deep) directly into the tray base to affect randomness and significantly reduce dice bounce.
       • Lid/Accessories: Design crimp caps with approximately 0.1-0.2mm interference for a tight fit, or use hinge pin sockets/magnet grooves (standard neodymium magnet sizes are 6mm x 3mm or 5mm x 2mm). Add gripping ridges/dimples.
       • tolerance: Consider material shrinkage (PLA/PETG shrinks approximately 0.5%) and printer accuracy (layer alignment potential approximately 0.1mm). First test printing the small connector part!

3. Choose materials:

   • People’s Liberation Army: The most common entry point. Wide color range, easy to print, biodegradable*. Best suited for decorative rollers and lightweight pallets. Avoid high temperature environments.
   • Polyethylene glycol: Excellent toughness, impact resistance, flexibility, chemical resistance and heat resistance (up to ~80°C). Ideal for multipurpose rollers that experience more wear and tear.
   • ASA: Excellent UV/weather resistance and very durable. Ideal for outdoor or demanding use. Requires higher printing temperature and good ventilation.
   • Nylon (PA/GF-nylon): Extraordinarily tough, high impact resistance, and long fatigue life. Challenging to print (requires dry filament, hot end ≥260°C+) but offers premium functionality. The GF variant is stiffer.

4. Prepare to print (slice):

   • The 3D model needs to be converted into machine instructions by "slice" Software (Cura, PrusaSlicer, Simplify3D).
   • Button settings:

     • Floor height: Detail 0.15-0.2mm; strength/speed drop 0.28mm.
     • Filling density: Most roller bodies/sides are 20-30%. For bases or thin wall high stress points, 40-60%+. Spiral or honeycomb patterns provide a good mix of flexibility/organized strength.
     • Wall thickness: ≥2 circumference (usually 0.4mm nozzle), with reliable rigidity. Match/combine with calibrated flow pressure.
     • support: Enabled when there is a protrusion greater than 45 degrees from the horizontal. Use tree supports in cluttered areas with minimal interfaces.
     • Brim/raft: Use edges (>6mm) to minimize angular deformation of the print when it contacts the build plate. Use rafts only if adhesion proves to be a long-term problem.
     • direction: Orient functional surfaces towards "up" Better to achieve excellent layer bridging and ball rolling behavior where possible without being compromised indoors.

5. print: