Magnetic Hex Board Printing Guides
This page walks you through printing and assembling the different designs related to the magnetic hex boards. If you have any questions feel free to message me on Patreon and I'm happy to help.
Printing Guide for the 1.5-Inch Hex
The files for the 1.5-Inch Magnetic Hex Board can be found in the Singularity Games Patron Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> 1.5 Inch Hexes folder.
In the folder you will find four files files: 1.5 Inch Hex Tight Fit.stl & 1.5 Inch Hex Loose Fit.stl
1.5 Inch Hex - Singularity Hex - Tight Fit.obj
1.5 Inch Hex - Singularity Hex - Loose Fit.obj
1.5 Inch Hex - Traditional Hex - Tight Fit.obj
1.5 Inch Hex - Traditional Hex - Loose Fit.obj
The difference between the tight and loose options are how tight the snap fit is. Start by printing two of the tight fit files. It takes a bit force to get them to snap together, however the tight fit ensures that the two halves wont come apart allowing a magnet to escape. If your printer can't print with high enough tolerances, then try printing the loose fit option.
Printing the Hexes:
I printed the files with a Creality Ender 3 using a 0.4 mm nozzle and a 0.2 mm layer height.
The hexes were designed to be as easy to print as possible. You'll want to print the hex with the flat face against the build plate. The file need no supports. When printing, make sure you have good bed adhesion, you don't want the edges to curl up. I didn't need to print with a brim, but it could help.
Adding Magnets to the 1.5-Inch Hex:
I recommend printing and using the Hex Assembler, however you can also put the hexes together without it.
Check out the video to the left to see me adding magnets to a hex tile. First add the center magnet to one half-hex and place the other half-hex into the cavities of the other one, but don't snap the pieces together yet. Then rotate the hexes and add the magnets into each spot, while maintaining some pressure to held the two half together. When all of the magnets are in place, snap the two halves together. I find it can help to place the hex on a table and press down on it with your palm.
The hex is designed for a total of nineteen 3mm ball magnets (1 center and 18 edge magnets) for a strong connection. Alternatively, you could use 1 magnet on each edge rather than 3.
Printing Guide for the 1-Inch Hex
The files for the Magnetic 1-Inch Hex Board can be found in the Singularity Games Patron Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> 1 Inch Hexes folder.
In the folder you will find four files:
1 Inch Hex - Singularity Hex - Tight Fit.obj
1 Inch Hex - Singularity Hex - Loose Fit.obj
1 Inch Hex - Traditional Hex - Tight Fit.obj
1 Inch Hex - Traditional Hex - Loose Fit.obj
The difference between the tight and loose options are how tight the snap fit is. Start by printing two of the tight fit files. It takes a bit force to get them to snap together, however the tight fit ensures that the two halves wont come apart allowing a magnet to escape. If your printer can't print with high enough tolerances, then try printing the loose fit option.
Printing the 1-Inch Hexes:
I test printed the files with a Creality Ender 3 using a 0.4 mm nozzle and a 0.2 mm layer height.
The hexes were designed to be as easy to print as possible. You'll want to print the hex with the flat face against the build plate. The file need no supports. When printing, make sure you have good bed adhesion, you don't want the edges to curl up. I didn't need to print with a brim, but it could help.
Adding Magnets to the 1-Inch Hex:
The general process is the same as the 1.5 Inch hex. I recommend printing and using the Hex Assembler, however you can also put the hexes together without it.
First add the center magnet to one half-hex and place the other half-hex into the cavities of the other one, but don't snap the pieces together yet. Then rotate the hexes and add the magnets into each spot, while maintaining some pressure to hold the two half together. When all of the magnets are in place, snap the two halves together. I find it can help to place the hex on a table and press down on it with your palm. Once you have one hex together, you can place a half-hex on top of the already assembled hex and place the magnets on top. Then press the other half-hex on top.
The hex is designed for a total of seven 3mm ball magnets (1 center and 6 edge magnets).
Printing Guide for the Magnetic Pawn
The file for the Magnetic Pawn can be found in the Singularity Games Patron Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> Magnetic Pawn folder.
I printed the files with a Creality Ender 3 using a 0.4 mm nozzle and a 0.2 mm layer height. I used no supports or build plate adhesion.
About 12% of the way through printing the file, pause the print and add a 3mm ball magnet to each pawn.
Printing Guide for the Magnetic Stones
The files for the Magnetic Stone can be found in the Singularity Games Patron Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> Magnetic Stones folder.
There are two versions of the stones: one with a height of 7mm and one with a height of 8mm. Functionally they are the same, its just up to preference which version to go with.
I printed the files with a Creality Ender 3 using a 0.4 mm nozzle and a 0.2 mm layer height. I used no supports or build plate adhesion.
About 75% of the way through printing the file, pause it and add a 3mm ball magnet to each stone.
Printing Guide for the Magnetic Hive Tiles
The files for the Magnetic Hive Board can be found in the Singularity Games Patron Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> Hive folder.
The magnetic Hive hexes were designed to be printed in two colors with a single nozzle printer. I printed the files with a Creality Ender 3 using a 0.4 mm nozzle and a 0.2 mm layer height. As with all the other magnetic hex tiles, they use 3mm ball magnets.
In the Singularity Games Patreon Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> Hive folder you will find two files for each hive piece:
The Hive Inlay
The inlay is 0.4mm tall, which using a "standard" 0.2mm layer height means it prints in 2 layers. The square around the inlay is there to help align the inlay to hex. When you "center" the model in your slicer, the symmetrical square ensures it is positioned correctly. At the end of the printing process, you can just discard it.
The Hive Hex
The Hive Hex has the icon for each piece inset into it which matches with the inlay.
To help make things easier, you will also find files in the folder that include one full set of Hive pieces for one player all combined together in one STL file. If you wanted the icons on both sides of the hexes you'd need to print two sets for each player or you can just use the standard blank hex for the other side.
Hive Inlays Combined
Hive Hexes Combined
Before printing, You'll need to prepare two files:
Slicing the Hive Inlays
These can be printed with more or less "standard" settings. Turn off any build plate adhesion options such as a raft or brim.
Slicing the Hive Hexes
When slicing these, you want to make sure there are NO supports as they would print in the space for the inlays. Crucially, you also need to make sure "z hop" is turned on and set to "0.4 mm." The z hop moves the nozzle up to avoid it colliding with the already printed inlays.
Printing the Hive Hexes:
First, print the inlays in your color of choice. Make sure you have good bed adhesion. You don't want any portions of the inlays sticking up. There is a delicate balance though, if the inlays are too squished on the bed, the icons on the final hexes will lack some definition. This should take only about 20 minutes.
Then, before your bed cools down, swap the filament to the color you want the hexes to be and print the hex file, leaving the inlays on the print bed.
When the printer is done, let everything cool down until the hexes pop off cleanly. The squares surrounding the hexes can be discarded. From there place the magnets and snap on the back hex. If you want the hive icons to be on both sides of the hex, you'll need to print two sets. Otherwise a standard non-hive, 1-inch hex can be used. Start the process over for player two's pieces. Then get playing!
Printing Guide for the Dungeon Wall and Doors
The files for the Dungeon Hex Walls and Doors can be found in the Singularity Games Patron Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> Dungeon Hex Walls and Doors folder.
These are still a work in progress. The print guide will be updated when the designs are finalized.
Printing Guide for Hex Assembler
The files for the Hex Assembler can be found in the Singularity Games Patron Drive -> Singularity Boards -> Magnetic Hex Board -> Hex Assembler folder.
In the folder you will find three files for the 1.5 inch assembler and three files for the 1 inch hex assembler as shown below:
1.5 inch hex assembler plunger
1.5 inch hex assembler holder
1.5 inch hex assembler plate
1 inch hex assembler plunger
1 inch hex assembler holder
1 inch hex assembler plate
Printing the Hex Assembler
Printing the plate and holder is pretty straightforward, just use your normal print settings. I test printed them with a 0.4mm nozzle and a 0.2mm layer height. No supports are required, although a brim may help keep things well-adhered to the bed.
The settings for printer the plunger will be the same as the other parts however you will want to pause the print around layer 19 to insert magnets into each circular hole around the edges and in the center.
Pausing mid-print in Cura
The steps for pausing mid-print will vary depending on your slicer. For Cura select extensions at the top and hover over "Post Processing" and select "Modify G-Code." This will pop up a window. Select "Pause at height." Change the "Pause at" setting to "Layer Number" and the "Pause Layer" to the desired layer (in the case of the Hex Assembler Plunger set it to 19). You may need to tweak some of the other settings but they will be dependent on your printer.
Using the Hex Assembler to Assemble Hexes
Check out the adjacent video to see me using the hex assembler to put a couple hexes together. The process is the same for the 1-inch and 1.5 inch hexes. You can also follow along with the instructions below.
Place the Plunger in the holder and add half a hex.
Place the plate over the hex with the plate cavity facing down.
The plate has a side that is flat and one that has a concave hex cut out. This concave hex fits over the center of the hex held in the assembler.
Add a magnet to each hole in the plate.
The magnets should snap into place given their attraction to the magnets embedded in the plunger.
Remove the plate.
The magnets should stay in place thanks to their attraction to the magnets embeded in the plunger. If some do pop out you can usually press them back into place with your finger.
Add the other half-hex.
Make sure the hexes are correctly aligned to each other.
Replace the plate with the flat side towards the hex.
Place the assembler on a flat surface and press the plunger down.
It should take a bit of force to get the two halves to snap together. The assembler helps ensure that the force is applied evenly across the hex when its being snapped together.