Success - First prints from the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8k

[ednadolski]

Hey all,  thanks to everyone for your comments in the couple of other recent threads.  Turns out that sanding the WhamBam plates with some #800 paper was enough to give it some tooth for the prints to stick to.   Here are a couple pics of the first few test prints with some N-scale parts, first up are some concrete grade crossings and 12' Jersey barriers:




And here are a couple of car stops:



 More to follow, for now these seem like a pretty good start.  (Off to the paint booth....)


Edit - sorry, these aren't really the greatest pics to show what the printer can do..... I am going to have to look into getting a macro lens for the cell phone camera.


Cheers,
Ed

[John]

are the grade crossing files available online or did you draw them yourself?

[ednadolski]

are the grade crossing files available online or did you draw them yourself?

I did my own, based on some proto .pdfs that I found online (with some width adjustments to allow for model flangeway clearance).

Ed

[John]

Thanks .. I got some drawings from UP ..

[samusi01]

Good idea on the grade crossings. I’ll have to rummage around in the NP drawings and do the same. Glad your printer is now working; be prepared for it to consume far more time than you thought, although it will open a world of possibilities.

[ednadolski]

Hot (almost) off the printer: A few of the car stops and bumpers, this time in O scale (next to N scale for reference).



Ed

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Isn't the future wild?

[ednadolski]

Wild indeed.

Here are a few more.... first, a set quasi-functional (the knuckles pivot a bit stiffly, and do not lock closed) of AAR couplers, in 1:48 scale, next to some (fully functional) Protocraft couplers for comparison (note the Protocraft have the compromised, Kadee-compatible shank):




And here is a batch of @GaryHinshaw 's N-scale replacement car ends for the Atlas 17.6k corn syrup tank car printed in 8k -- along with one in 1:48 scale, because, well, why not?




Link to the original 3D file for the coupler:  https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/art/aar-coupler-type-e



Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

Wow Ed - that's really cool!  The 1:48 detail is amazing!!

I've been contemplating an 8K printer, and IIRC, you had a Photon Mono before.  What is your impression of the difference?  The grate detail on the N platforms seems a wee bit softer than I might have expected.  For comparison, here is a shot of a (painted) platform printed with my Mono using 51 μm voxels:



Do you think I should go for an 8K?

[ednadolski]

Gary, I'm pretty sure you would not be disappointed, and I'd expect that you'll find more and more ways to use it over time.

For me the 8k has re-kindled my interest in 3D printing. (Exhibit A, note the number of prints I have made since I started with it, much more than the Mono.)  I've always thought of the Mono as an entry-level device, and while there certainly are some things that it does well enough, still it has its limitations.  My use of it had tapered off, and I don't think I have printed anything on it in the past year or more.

With the 8k I think I have only scratched the surface of the possibilities so far, and I expect that I can use to print the kind of parts which otherwise would have been only marginally acceptable (to me) if done on the Mono.  There is a long list of things that I want to try out (scale spikes, anyone?).

BTW I think the (apparently) 'soft' looking details on the N platforms is more a matter of the camera than the actual parts.   Under magnification they look fine to me.  (I really need to get a better macro lens for my iPhone camera ).

Ed

[Lemosteam]

Have you taken any accuracy measurements from the 8K and compared them to the cad model dimensionally?  That is the most disappointing thing I have encountered with my Mono.

[garethashenden]

Have you tried the knuckle couplers in N yet?

[ednadolski]

Have you taken any accuracy measurements from the 8K and compared them to the cad model dimensionally?

No, I wasn't really thinking to use it for any sort of precision application.

Have you tried the knuckle couplers in N yet?

I think someone else is doing something like that....?   

Ed