Feasibility of 3D printing Erie Stillwell coaches

[Lemosteam]

John,

I apologize, I meant it as humor.  Given that you are producing a "core", I imagine these will be simpler than most of the heavyweight conversions I have done using Rivarossi or MT cars with sides.  I have a set of Scott's business car sides, haven't started on the car yet, but the workmanship is excellent, and the fit very precise.  I expect the Stillwell kits will also be at a very high standard, and I look forward to working on them.

I do appreciate all the work you are doing to make this happen.

Tom D

No need, I did not take your comments in a negative light at all!

[Upstate Gator]

Hi John--checking to see how these are coming along.
Ben

[Chris333]

Any updates?      @Lemosteam

Got my motive power ready to go!

[Lemosteam]

@Chris333 , the design is on hold until Shapeways can meet their specified tolerances.  I have several designs over 100mm long that are consistently printing 1 mm too short compared to my CAD models.  I believe that @Scott Lupia 's etchings are ready if and when I can solve this issue with Shapeways. Keep the diesels warm...

[Chris333]

Awe man. I'm sure you thought of it, but did you try drawing longer to make up for them?

Thanks for the update!

[Lemosteam]

Awe man. I'm sure you thought of it, but did you try drawing longer to make up for them?

Thanks for the update!

The issue is that the etchings are really accurate and there is no way of predicting the print length consistently, because it's all over the place. 

Don't give up hope though, I am in negotiations with Shapeways regarding this issue.

[Upstate Gator]

Yes, thanks for the update!

[sirenwerks]

Chris, Stillwells or not, the PA1s are inspirational.  It's a simple cheap [relatively] fix for a decent model that's available inexpensively.  You should be given honorary Master Modeler status.

[Chris333]

Still I'm glad they are working it out and not just uploading a file and opening it for sale. Just wishing you beat out MTL's single window coach for my first PAX train 

[Scott Lupia]

I had excellent results with the etchings. I have one car built based on the original RP core. Like John said, at this point the sides are go but the shapeways core is not quite there yet. I will work on getting a photo up of the Stillwell car I completed.

Scott Lupia

[thomasjmdavis]

Just saw a note about this thread on N scale Varnish and was hoping there might have been some news.  I am hoping that the Shapeways difficulties are resolve-able.  I should probably keep my nose out of the production process, but I am wondering if a potential solution might be to use one of the better Shapeways attempts as a master for a mold and cast copies in resin.

In the worst case scenario, ie- the core doesn't work out, I would still be interested in sides.  I have a copy of the RMC with Scott's article on some he built from Lima coaches, and worst come to worst, would follow those instructions to do the roof.

[Lemosteam]

Funny, I was just contacted by someone named Adam, via Shapeways, likely the person who posted that.

Sorry for the long wait, but there has been some great progress made regarding print accuracy with the Shapeways team.  I expect to hear within days of testing results, process changes and implementation in Europe and the US.

I will share this here and on Facebook when the time is right.

Thanks for keeping the interest alive!

[Iain]

I'm interested in the core, myself, because I'd like to do etched sides to do NS wood coaches.

[Lemosteam]

I'm interested in the core, myself, because I'd like to do etched sides to do NS wood coaches.

Iain, tha may or may not work as the cores will include the vestibule.. But I could still make it available separately.

[CNR5529]

(...) there has been some great progress made regarding print accuracy with the Shapeways team.  I expect to hear within days of testing results, process changes and implementation in Europe and the US.

John, I would also be curious to hear about these process changes, as various coaches I have printed suffer the same problem. Sometimes they are too short, sometimes too long. The worst car ended up 2-3mm shorter than the frame which was dimensionally accurate and was printed in WSF. 

Trying to work around it for the Royal Hudson build, but it will mean lots of cutting and fiddling to make things fit properly.