Looking to buy a basic 3D printer. Intend to make miniature detail models of no more than 5*5mm’s. I haven’t used CAD software before and would appreciate a guide with sourcing CAD for 3D printer.

The printer I have looked at is a simple 650 dollar job but I don’t know much about the limitations of the basic ones. It looks like it takes one spool so if I want more than one color is that something that is dealt with in the software so the spool can be changed?

You may need to spend a bit more if you want fine detail at that scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing#Printing

Printer resolution describes layer thickness and X-Y resolution in dpi (dots per inch), or micrometers. Typical layer thickness is around 100 micrometers (µm), although some machines such as the Objet Connex series and 3D Systems’ ProJet series can print layers as thin as 16 µm. X-Y resolution is comparable to that of laser printers. The particles (3D dots) are around 50 to 100 µm in diameter.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Looking to buy a basic 3D printer. Intend to make miniature detail models of no more than 5*5mm’s. I haven’t used CAD software before and would appreciate a guide with sourcing CAD for 3D printer.

Although I’ve used CAD, the program you want wouldn’t be the one I’ve used (too expensive, CSIRO can afford it but I can’t). You will probably find that your 3D printer comes bundled with CAD software, if so then use that and don’t bother buying a second CAD package.

Google hits on CAD with 3D printer comes up with “To get started building a model, you’ll need some good tools. There are lots of powerful, free, and open source design tools to choose from. Our favorites include 3dtin.com, Tinkercad.com, Sketchup, OpenSCAD, Wings3D, Scupltris, Autodesk 123D, and the outstanding, open source Blender project. POV-ray (excellent tutorials here), FreeCAD, HeeksCAD, and Art of Illusion also have serious fans in the 3D printing world, too, but we haven’t done much experimenting with them yet.” https://tinkercad.com/ may be your best bet. I don’t recommend Sketchup, the only one on that list that I’ve tried.