Advice??

[ncbqguy]

Wizards-
For home N Scale use, what resin printer (<$1000) would you recommend and why?
Also, what additional tools, peripherals, spares and supplies should/could be ordered?
I was going to wait until I taught myself 3D CAD but having a machine might be an incentive to dive into it and in the meantime there are plenty of files out there to play with.
Charlie Vlk

[IronPenguin]

At that budget you can get one of the larger format resin printers like an Epax X10 or E10.  You'll be able  to print most things, even reasonably sized buildings.
As far as supplies, you can get by with basics - I  started with a nail polish curing uv station for $30 and a bunch of plastic tubs for washing. Now that I  have 3 printers I  purchased a dedicated washing station and seperate curing station.  You can get the combos, but it really limits your workflow.
Oh, and paper towels. Lots of paper towels...

[garethashenden]

I really like the Anycubic printers. I had a Photon and now I have a Photon Mono and it can do everything I need. They’re like $250, so we’ll within your budget. I also think the Wash and Cure machine is amazing. I would highly recommend getting on of those too. If you want to print bigger things consider the Photon Mono X, it’s just a scaled up version. There is also a larger Was and Cure machine if you go that route.

[John]

Wizards-
For home N Scale use, what resin printer (<$1000) would you recommend and why?
Also, what additional tools, peripherals, spares and supplies should/could be ordered?
I was going to wait until I taught myself 3D CAD but having a machine might be an incentive to dive into it and in the meantime there are plenty of files out there to play with.
Charlie Vlk

Just look at what Gary is doing with his Anycubic Mono .. replacing Kato details with something better

[IronPenguin]

One thing you need to consider is manufacturer support. You will need to replace consumables like the LCD screen and things do break. All the makers use virtually the same components from the same suppliers. They all have quality control problems dealing with Chinese firms. All the major manufacturers are pretty equal in quality.
One of the main reason I went with Epax is that they are US based (North Carolina) and their support is excellent.  You don't have to factor in time differences to China or deal with language difficulty.
It makes the occasional problem a lot easier to deal with.

[AlwaysSolutions]

My philosophy has been to get the "starter kit" first to see if this is even going to something I can really get into (mentally.)  I lucked out and totally got into 3D printing so my money was well spent and I later upgraded to handle my needs.  But for people I talk to at my day job that are "interested" in 3D printing I always recommend either Ender3 for FDM or Photon Mono - because both are super capable, inexpensive and have a huge support infrastructure.  Some of my co-workers bought machines and didn't get into it and were only out a couple hundred bucks and could gift it to a family member who wanted to try 3D printing.  I love all my Anycubic printers, OG Photon, Photon Mono SE and Photon Mono X.  I have an Epax X10 2k that I don't love (resolution too low for me and it was expensive when I bought it) but they have a 4K version a couple friends of mine have that they love.

So my recommendation is a Photon Mono, or if you want a sub $500 printer on steroids (metal frame, built in carbon air filters, bright light cannon so faster print times) a Photon Mono SE.

Mike

[Sokramiketes]

The Elegoo Mars was my choice.  Very similar to the group that purchased the Anycubic batch, but slightly upgraded and easy to use. 

You'll find that the washing of resin models is the messy thing you didn't think about going in.  But as long as you can get pickle jars and lots of 90%+ isopropyl alcohol, you'll be good. 

[John]

The Elegoo Mars was my choice.  Very similar to the group that purchased the Anycubic batch, but slightly upgraded and easy to use. 

You'll find that the washing of resin models is the messy thing you didn't think about going in.  But as long as you can get pickle jars and lots of 90%+ isopropyl alcohol, you'll be good.

I just got a liter of the elegoo water washable -- will see how that works

[dem34]

Did some experimenting over the last week, and of course don't know how it handles with the water wash resin. But recently I was taught about "fractal curing" on facebook. Which is literally putting the cleaned but uncured model in a clear container filled with water for curing and only curing for half the time you normally would. As a bonus it also leaves the parts without any tack and the water dip usually cleans off any IPA residue. So far doing this I get a much more consistent cure over the whole surface and the resulting parts are much less brittle, almost bendy. No clue on the material strength in comparison however.

[John]

Did some experimenting over the last week, and of course don't know how it handles with the water wash resin. But recently I was taught about "fractal curing" on facebook. Which is literally putting the cleaned but uncured model in a clear container filled with water for curing and only curing for half the time you normally would. As a bonus it also leaves the parts without any tack and the water dip usually cleans off any IPA residue. So far doing this I get a much more consistent cure over the whole surface and the resulting parts are much less brittle, almost bendy. No clue on the material strength in comparison however.

I put parts into water when I cure out in the sun .. seems to work well ..

[GaryHinshaw]

Yes, water curing works great.  I do that with all of my parts.  I can't imagine how it's related to fractals though...  more like scattering.

[CRL]

Does anyone else find themselves using the “look up” feature on their browser when @GaryHinshaw posts? Maybe it’s just because I never took Physics in HS.  

[ncbqguy]

Thanks to all that gave their advice!

I decided to go with the EPAX E-10.  I ordered it from Amazon where the price was $679.00 before tax.  Also ordered the door case housing and eSun and General Purpose Resins from EPAX.
It looks like the standard screen will suffice for most N Scale projects but may consider getting the 5K upgrade later.  Also waiting to see the EPAX wash station.

I have a couple of 3D files at hand to print and now have $ investments to prod me into getting going on 3D CAD!

Thanks,
Charlie Vlk

[davefoxx]

Does anyone else find themselves using the “look up” feature on their browser when @GaryHinshaw posts? Maybe it’s just because I never took Physics in HS.  

Agreed, generally, @GaryHinshaw's posts read something like this to me, "Yes, [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH] works great.  I do that with [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH].  I can't imagine how it's related to [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH] though... more like [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH]."

I'm a moron.

DFF

[peteski]

Agreed, generally, @GaryHinshaw's posts read something like this to me, "Yes, [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH] works great.  I do that with [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH].  I can't imagine how it's related to [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH] though... more like [BLAH, BLAH, BLAH]."

I'm a moron.

DFF

No, you are likely a very good lawyer.   
As for hobbies, we all have our strengths and weak areas.  With all the new technologies being introduced into our hobby, this is now more true than ever.  Plus experience is another important factor.  CAD is another complex process that has to be learned, and different people have different learning curves.  Even track ballasting takes some practice to get good at it (some never do).    If you have some spare time (or reallocate some from your hobby time), and are interested in 3D printing, spend  that time educating yourself.  As you get better, there will be fewer and fewer [BLAH, BLAH, BLAHs].