Hi Bob,
Thanks for the advice..... I have indeed been looking into these a long time already but for 3 reasons I keep saying NO.
First: when I order something from Shapeways the usual run time (from my ordering moment till arrival on my doorstep) is between 7 to 10 days. Thats already for a long time with the old SMOOTH and SMOOTHEST but also with the new GRAY and CLEAR. The service has always been fast and I am happy with the printing quality.
Second: adding 3D printing to my list of things I like to do is a bit too much...... I follow quite a few FB/internet lists on 3D printing with the newest/best printers and the number of issues that keep popping up is quite big (frequent print failures, setting problems, wash and cure differences, resin spills, maintenance and quality control, to name a few). Its for sure not a plug and play system. I have been trying to mqke H0 models (Amos and Andy, 2611 and the One spot) with a local 3D professional printing house using a Formlabs Form3 printer (a quality printer as you will know) because H0 models are way to expensive from Shapeways in all four FINE DETAL PLASTICS, but they never came up with an acceptable print.......
Third: my health is not very good and declining, especially the last few months......... I am 69 right now and have had cancer twice (Hodgkin when I was 22 and Non-Hodgkin when I was 62) and the long term effects of radiation and chemo therapy are kicking in quite heavy. Thats something I have been expecting already a long time (I am very lucky and happy to still be around) but also means I do not know how long I can continue modelrailroading....... But not to worry, I am still enjoying life and the hobby.
Thats another reason to use Shapeways....... even if I have to stop with ATSF N Scale Models at least the 3D prints are still available for those interested.....
One extra piece of info from my experience:
The GRAY and CLEAR are giving a little better results than SMOOTH and CLEAR and are cheaper also. There is only one issue these new resins..... I found out the hard way ...... If walls are thin the models warp easily and thats not correctable. The walls of my latest models (the steam generator tender and the doodle bugs) are between 1,2 and 1,5 mm with lateral stiffeners to help keeping the walls straight. That works fine in GRAY and CLEAR. On my RSD-15 and RSD-7 models the wall thickness goes down to 0,7 mm in places. Works fine in SMOOTH and SMOOTHEST but no good in GRAY and CLEAR.
