Adventures in FUD modeling

[Philip H]

So with the arrival last weekend of ESM's stand alone White Tower restaurant, I wanted to share my FUD modeling experiences.  Not sure any insights will be gained - I am borrowing heavily from others, but a new thread never hurts.

First, the ESM White Tower as it comes:



Then it's off to the Heptane/Bestine bath container for the removal of the wax that supports the model during production:



After the Bath, and drying overnight, here's the white, opaque surface you are left with (and yes,  Tom, I grabbed this this morning in between dressing small children and making lunches, so I didn't get to do my normal photo set-up):



As you can see, the details really stand out once you get the wax off, and the thing fully dries out.

Just as I was about to drag out the airbrush and start painting, a UPS truck deposited two other goodies on my doorstep:



The one on the left is Stony Smith's Railking trackmobile, which he kindly upsized for me from his Z scale version.  The one on the right is one of Lou Judice's MOW truck bodies that I will be applying to an Atlas KCS Ford tractor.  Both are available at Shapeways, and neither has yet had its Bestine bath.  Looking over the Railking, I think I may do a hand rail replacement in phosphor Bronze wire, as the resized one, while robust, is too think.  But maybe not if laziness takes over.

More to come . . .

[up1950s]

Wow , that toot was a hoot . I never thought there was such a radical change . I went and ordered some Bestine from http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product.php?productid=20947&cat=0&path=alt&page=1 , they take Paypal .

[Dave Schneider]

Thanks for the photos Phillip. Very interesting. Has anyone seen photos of a painted model yet?  I have seen many photos of unpainted rapid prototyped models over the years but relatively few completed ones. The White Tower looks like it will be a winner!

Best wishes, Dave

[bbussey]

First, the ESM White Tower as it comes ...

Actually the building, with the interior in place to protect the small details, is packaged in a thick four-ply 3"x4" Ziploc bag which fits snugly into the thick cardboard "indestructo" 1"x3"x4" box:



The model is very secure in a thick bag inside a crush-proof box to insure it reaches all destinations unharmed.

[Philip H]

Bryan is correct regarding packaging - I just deconstructed it for a sexier shot.   

[Puddington]

Ok; I know what FUD is, but what does FUD stand for and could they not have gotten a more attractive name ?

[Ian MacMillan]

I need to get back into CAD...these guys are producing some really sweet stuff.

[Sokramiketes]

Ok; I know what FUD is, but what does FUD stand for and could they not have gotten a more attractive name ?

Fine Ultra Detail

Though to be absolutely correct, Bryan's White Tower isn't FUD.

[bbussey]

Shapeways has changed the names of the materials used in their products because they sub-contract out all the work and don't want you to know what the material is and shop around for a better price/service.  FD (Fine Detail) and FUD (Fine Ultra Detail) are the Shapeways designations for ProJet3000 resin in HD (High Definition) and UHD (Ultra High Definition) respectively.  The next level machine, the ProJet3000Plus, can render at a third resolution - XHD (eXtreme High Definition).  UHD is double the resolution of HD, and XHD is double the resolution of UHD.  It seems that the contractor that Shapeways uses in the Netherlands has the 3000 but not the 3000Plus, so they can offer only the two lower resolutions.  The White Towers are rendered in XHD.

When I discovered what machine they were using, I started shopping around for contractors in North America to get better turnaround and build-orientation-choice at as close to the Shapeways price as possible.  That's when I learned of the next equipment level and the higher resolution.  After that, it was a matter of deciding on a contractor that was willing to work with us on (lower) price and (low) volume.

One note:  Almost all of the contractors price jobs based on the assumption it has to be turned around basically in hours (hence the term "Rapid Prototype").  Once you make clear that there is no rush for the product, that it can be rendered as time and schedule permit, and that it can wait until other high-profile jobs that require the same material/resolution are rendered, the prices drop considerably.  Even with the White Tower that we do a tray at a time (thus tying up the machine for the duration of the job), we wait until there are no critical jobs pending.  The good news is that the ProJets apparently are in high-demand, so there's always a job pending within a day or two that smaller jobs can piggy-back on.  Other than the first WT run, I've always received my items within 10 days of ordering them.  And the only reason the WTs took longer is because, due to the quantity, it was cheaper to ship UPS Ground instead of USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate ... and Brown is never timely any more.

[bbussey]

One other thing I learned today during correspondence with the contractor:  We know Shapeways fills the entire cubic build area with models, which is why their pricing is low but also why we cannot specify the build orientation.  Most of you know I'm working on a model of New Haven Union Station and that I'm going to RP the walls.  My contractor prefers to fill the build-tray footprint with parts but not fill the entire cubic area (they call it "stacking" jobs).  I asked today if it would be less expensive to stack the walls instead of building them one or two at a time (NHUS is a big building, and only one wall will fit on the build tray at a time).  I was told it is possible and probably would be cheaper.  HOWEVER, there would be more wax build-up between the layers, and longer oven time and longer labor time would be required to remove most of it, which they don't like to do because there is a greater chance that the resin will warp.  So that explains why Shapeways FUD parts sometimes come back distorted, or appear to have shrinkage.

[DKS]

[wm3798]

I'm fascinated by the physics of removing a coating from the materials that makes it appear translucent, which then makes it appear solid...  It would seem the reverse would be more logical.

Maybe there's a way to translate that concept to women's fashion...  "Here, honey... put this on!! "

Lee

[Robbman]

I'm fascinated by the physics of removing a coating from the materials that makes it appear translucent, which then makes it appear solid...  It would seem the reverse would be more logical.

Maybe there's a way to translate that concept to women's fashion...  "Here, honey... put this on!! "

Lee

Strip a car of wax one day

[wm3798]

But the steel of the car isn't translucent...  You'll have to pardon my ignorance.  I was an English major...

[Robbman]

But the steel of the car isn't translucent...  You'll have to pardon my ignorance.  I was an English major...

No worries.