Grateful for Shapeways

[jhtolatc]

Nice! I'll have to pick up a radio equipped version from them.

What are you using for couplers? MTL 1015s?

Jeff

[jdcolombo]

Nice! I'll have to pick up a radio equipped version from them.

What are you using for couplers? MTL 1015s?

Jeff

Hi Jeff.

There isn't a separate "radio equipped" version - rather, it is just the kit as currently offered.   We pulled the cupola marker lights off the shell and made them separate detail parts along with a battery box that you can cement to the underbody.  If you want to do a Radio Equipped version, you leave off the marker lights and add the battery box plus the "Radio Equipped" decals from the Microscale NKP Caboose decal set.  If you want to do a "regular" version, you simply glue the marker lights to the cupola and leave off the battery box.   Your choice.

Yes, I use MT1015's.  The model was designed for them and mine have all come out at exactly the right height, plus or minus a couple of thousandths of an inch!

John C.

[Philip H]

I've been playing around with sketchup .. looking to do a BQ23-7 cab ..

It's still on my list!  Sadly I have zero CAD training, and even less time to learn at the moment.  But I really want to do at least a pair of these.

[Scottl]

I broke down last night and began to work with Sketchup.  I strongly recommend watching the first few instructional videos- they make it very easy to work with.  After the videos, I did a test "Canadian" wide cab in about 30 minutes.  I was shocked at how easy it was to use and I have absolutely no 3D or CAD background (just Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw experience).

[Lemosteam]

All,

Please note that the free Sketchup tool DOES NOT create solids although they look like one (there is no "material" inside the model).  You must purchase the PRO version to make true boolean solids.  Most RP machines can only work with 3D solids.  I do not know if Shapeways can accept surface skin models or not.

I will be starting a thread soon on free and purchased 3D cad software as I test various tools and compare them to my Catia V5 experience.

Love to know if anyone out there uses the free version's models for Shapeways...

[peteski]

All,

Please note that the free Sketchup tool DOES NOT create solids although they look like one (there is no "material" inside the model).  You must purchase the PRO version to make true boolean solids.  Most RP machines can only work with 3D solids.  I do not know if Shapeways can accept surface skin models or not.

I will be starting a thread soon on free and purchased 3D cad software as I test various tools and compare them to my Catia V5 experience.

Love to know if anyone out there uses the free version's models for Shapeways...

AFAIK, the designs do not need to be solids. They just have to have watertight skin and the surfaces all have to face in the proper direction (inside and outside).  If you look around Shapeways website, they have some useful tutorials on what is required.  There are plugins for SketchUp which can help with the design process (such as http://www.cadspan.com/tools ).

[DKS]

Please note that the free Sketchup tool DOES NOT create solids although they look like one (there is no "material" inside the model).  You must purchase the PRO version to make true boolean solids.  Most RP machines can only work with 3D solids.  I do not know if Shapeways can accept surface skin models or not.

As Peteski says, they do not need to be solid, just watertight. I have produced a number of Shapeways items using SketchUp with no issues at all. IIRC, there's a free plug-in for SketchUp to check for watertightness.

[johnh35]

What do you mean by "watertightness"?

[DKS]

What do you mean by "watertightness"?

All surfaces are connected. No gaps. Imagine making a paint can from a flat sheet.

[wcfn100]

All,

Please note that the free Sketchup tool DOES NOT create solids although they look like one (there is no "material" inside the model). 

Solid models don't have 'material' inside either. 

You guys are all talking about the same thing.  A solid is a 'watertight' mesh.  Solids may have some other inherit properties over what Sketchup provides, but for this application, they are the same thing.

and the surfaces all have to face in the proper direction (inside and outside).

Inside and outside are the same thing in this case.  A face has one direction.  In the case of a sphere or most other objects, all the faces have to have their normals pointed outward.  If not there will appear to be a hole in your mesh and it may confuse the program as to which side is supposed to be the surface.


Jason 

[TiVoPrince]

After 
a very little searching for shared Sketchup files, and I'm getting excited again. 

Found a few worthwhile 'starter' models although most of the radiator screens, louvers, latches and other details seem lackluster even in a generous mood.  It would seem that a 'Cannonized' (to use an HO term) method of virtual model construction is in our very near future.  Start with a bare body core that has essential end details, guidelines, and seams.  Follow the guidelines and apply 'of the shelf' doors, lights, radiators, fans, exhaust, etc.  Save the 3D proof for RailWire dissection/refinement then off to print with confidence. 

Now I'm completely jonesing for a couple of MPI MP20C-3s but can't decide, oiginal Detroit Diesel smooth tops or the 2012 era CAT hump on thier backs.

The bright morning of the brave new world in Nscale is almost here...

[DKS]

...In the case of a sphere or most other objects, all the faces have to have their normals pointed outward.  If not there will appear to be a hole in your mesh and it may confuse the program as to which side is supposed to be the surface.

I don't know about other 3D modeling apps, but SketchUp colors the insides and outsides of surfaces differently so that you can easily spot any ambiguity.

This is a good thing, too, as I've flipped surfaces on occasion, and the outcome is... odd.

[wcfn100]

I don't know about other 3D modeling apps, but SketchUp colors the insides and outsides of surfaces differently so that you can easily spot any ambiguity.

This is a good thing, too, as I've flipped surfaces on occasion, and the outcome is... odd.

That's a nice feature for sure.  I haven't used a non-solid modeler in a while but do remember the issues with normals, especially regarding complex boolean operations.  Of course in the early days, those operations just crashed the system so it wasn't much of a problem. 

The other issue was building game models one triangle at a time.  If you built it the wrong way (CW vs. CCW) the resulting face would be looking the wrong way and the normal would have to be reversed.  Hand building faces is the one thing I miss with solid modelers.


Jason

[peteski]

I don't know about other 3D modeling apps, but SketchUp colors the insides and outsides of surfaces differently so that you can easily spot any ambiguity.

This is a good thing, too, as I've flipped surfaces on occasion, and the outcome is... odd.

The Cadspan plugin, in one of the preview modes, colors those surfaces in drastically different color (like cream and red) so the mistakes really stand out. The default SketchUp color scheme is not quite as drastic (it is more difficult to tell the inside/outside difference).

[Chris333]

How long does it take an idiot to learn 3D?  My autoCAD has 3D, but I can't even draw a straight line with it.