This may get me back to Shapeways

[w neal]

So what you are saying is that I should go back to model railroading and layout building, and come back to the 3d printing when technology evolves?  That actually sounds good considering I haven't operated a train for almost a year.  As a matter of fact, I sold my DCC system with the Marias Pass and never replaced it yet.  Where are my priorities?  I need help...

HuskerN

With due respect Husker, HELL NO!!!

DO NOT stop your creative process. You continue to turn out quality designs of products badly needed in our scale. You are bringing good things to the N Scale AG/truck world. Please do not stop creating. PRETTY PLEASE!!!!!

Love to see a grain dryer... (Nudge, Nudge)

[jimmo]

Yea HuskerN, don't stop--just practice moderation.

[Jettuh]

Alwyn Cutmore, did you email service@shapeways.com?
The frosting on the side appears to be more than usual.

Below some pictures of a few of my own trains in FUD.


(model finished by a small company that buys multiple of my trains at a time and sells them)





Note: the models all have a tiny layer of primer to make a picture (damn translucent material is hard to photograph)

This doesn't mean i haven't had bad models, but in case that happened, i always got a reprint

Cheers,
Mitchell

ps. all models are 1:160

[S Class]

No 1 loco is just as good but the focus was not the greatest

I would encourage all those using 3D RP to persist but just remember it is what it is and until the technology grows and costs come down those guys with the printers are the ones really smiling.

Is that your C class or an Aust-N-rail unit?

[HuskerN]

Mitchell, those are beautiful models.  What do you do to remove the "fuzzy" texture on the sides?  I find that there are times where a toothbrush will remove most of it, but then there are textures that are harder to remove and require sandpaper or a file.  Of course like others have stated, you risk sanding off detail.

HuskerN

[Jettuh]

Hi HuskerN,

I don't use sanding paper on my models.
To be honest, i love to 3D design, I can't touch my own 3D printed models without completely messing up 
So just a tiny layer of primer for the picture, after that they will start collecting dust

Notice that my models don't have a lot of details, so when using a sanding paper, there is not much to "remove".
I recommend to use warm water + some soap to get rid of the oil (used in post production) and a fine sanding paper (grid 600+) to get rid of excessive (support) material.


A picture after sanding


A picture without any sanding, straight walls so no support material on these sides.


Same for this one, no details sticking out, so no support material needed to support those details.

And a picture of an H0 model in Frosted Detail (!no ultra!) which didn't have the best quality you can expect, though the FD version isn't good anyway

[bbussey]

... I recommend to use warm water + some soap to get rid of the oil (used in post production) ...

Except that it's not oil, it's the remnants of the wax support structure that is removed by heating the parts prior to shipment.  So soap and water will not remove all of it, and eventually the wax will bleed through the pores of whatever paint is used to decorate the model — the warmer the environment, the more quickly it will happen.

[Jettuh]

Correct, that's why i wrote the sentence behind yours 

and a fine sanding paper (grid 600+) to get rid of excessive (support) material.

Let's explain step by step:

1. Printing
2. Oven 58 degrees Celsius (might be a bit higher, not 100% sure to be honest) to get rid of the wax support.
3. Ultra Sonic cleaner with Vegetable oil to get rid of the remaining wax on the model (and hopefully inside as well)
4. a quick bath with warm water and soap to get rid of the oil used in step 3.
5. using q-tips to dry the model and possible wax residue.

Cheers,
Mitchell

[bbussey]

Much easier and less invasive to soak the ProJet parts in heptane to dissolve all wax residue.  But the Railwire community has been roundy-round on this over the past few years on numerous occasions, so you should use whatever method works for you.

[Alwyn Cutmore]

S Class

Is that your C class or an Aust-N-rail unit?

It is from Peter Boorman's Workshop as well as the 442. I have an 80 class as well.

Jeetuh

Alwyn Cutmore, did you email service@shapeways.com?
The frosting on the side appears to be more than usual.

That pic was from a previous thread and is not my model. It was inserted to show the difference in RP that is available. The other models are mine but are castings from a RP master.

Regards

Al

[Jettuh]

Ah my apologies.
I'm not familiar on this forum

As for the model.


The model is printed with the blue line on the bottom, this causes the red parts to require support material and thus causing the frosting on the side.
When orientating the model up-side down (production team at Shapeways needs to do that) the frosting will still happen on the red area on the bottom, but not in the left corner red spot.

Although you will always see frosting below parts that stick out (support material) by calibrating the machines on daily basis you should be able to get less frosting.
An email to service@shapeways.com with a picture and informing that a layer of primer was added to show these defects will get you a reprint with better quality

And another picture by the person that finishes my trains and sells them (not my company)


I'll be happy to share more pictures, but maybe a different topic will be better
 

[carlso]

I have a question for those of you who are smart and talented enough to develop these projects for SW to print. We all see the results of FUD, some good, some not so good, and some just darn right bad. Can these vehicles or loco and rolling stock shells be printed in any of the new metals that SW now offers or would the price become prohibitive for most ? Would the issues with imperfections go away or would it just require extra cleanup as well ?

Carl

[dcyale]

Although I do HO and S Scale items on Shapeways, I recently did some micro photography on FUD and WSF material, as well as testing acetone cleaning of the FUD material.  You can see the results at http://www.dcyale.com/shapeways/3d.html#finishing
and http://www.dcyale.com/shapeways/fudmicro/acetone.html.

You can get inconsistent results from Shapeways at times, I have tried to price out other suppliers for my detail parts- mainly furniture and exterior accessories- and the I find that Shapeways is the only service that can do the fine detail I need at a price that is low enough to be economically feasible.  Overall my customers have been very happy with the results.  If there is another supplier out there that can compete, please let me know the name.

But I am not trying to print out a whole car or engine shell.  Although 3D printing may not work for some things, it definitely has a growing place in the hobby.   

[3rdboxcar]

I use non acetone nail varnish cleaner, soak time a couple of minutes then a medium strength bristle paint brush to get into any really tight heavily gunged corners.

When the model has dried out it becomes non transparent and almost white. Any missed bits are easily spotted.

[Jettuh]

I have a question for those of you who are smart and talented enough to develop these projects for SW to print. We all see the results of FUD, some good, some not so good, and some just darn right bad. Can these vehicles or loco and rolling stock shells be printed in any of the new metals that SW now offers or would the price become prohibitive for most ? Would the issues with imperfections go away or would it just require extra cleanup as well ?

Carl

For example Polished Brass?

1:160 version of my V-IRM train in brass

It's just damn expensive.. almost $30 for this small part of the train.