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Well, to my non-commercial self I still think the SLA printed objects have better surface finish. As a customer I would prefer not to have to go through the FUD cleaning hoops. Nowhere in my post I mentioned or even implied that you are complaining too much about anything, regardless whether this is your thread or not.
I stand by my Shapeways comments. With the reduction gear, which was a good success at the Springfield show, I've had commercial products rendered in both methods.A 40' N scale gondola is a lot less than 100mm and there were issues regarding consistency when printing in quantity and/or on multiple orders.I hate having to remove the layer and/or printhead path lines on FXD parts. My RBB&B radar wagons took forever to get the anomalies out of the sides and ends. Same with the donniker wagons. Meanwhile, the Mack LJ cabs with their contoured surfaces rendered perfectly in SLA.I've acknowledged that small parts work very well in FXD (provided you can work with the orientation issues. N scale vehicle wheels render especially well, although they look equally good via SLA.You're comfortable with FXD, that's fine. But you had issues with that medium when you first started as well. I'm happy with the results I've gotten so far, and I'm still learning. But SLA results are far superior to FXD. Some of the products that experienced people are making, such as the Briggs models, are outstanding. It's just a matter of getting used to a new process, and being open to following what others have successfully done.
…and waiting a month to see if your design is successful is great too, I guess.
...Some of the products that experienced people are making, such as the Briggs models, are outstanding.
What's it look like on the inside and how does it mate to other things? When folks first started, I sent a very simple design to someone here that they printed and sent two samples back to me. Outside surface was perfect, but the underside and the support removal was a PITA to the point where one sample cracked in half, and the one I did manage to keep intact had a horrible mating surface to the point is was unusable, whereas the FUD version was perfect but for the sanding ...
John, if all of the outside visible surfaces are fine, and the inside faces are not, I don't see a problem. On your K7, you're designing it with a separate roof that snaps to the body. Why? I'd rather have those two components be one piece along with the floor, which you can do with SLA. Make the ends snap into the body instead of the roof and print the ends upright or upside-down to minimize the area facing the build plate. Or build the ends at an angleC'mon, you've built models, you know when parts don't fit or they are sloppy or undulated, or a sprue attaches to a part right were it shouldn't be, or a seam is still visible after paint, it's just not good enough for me. As you know this roof has a full overhang with rivet detail so if I add it to the shell I have no way to support the overhangs. Tried the chassis with the walls vertical and and at an angle, one end is always messed up so if I print the ends separately there will be a nasty seam on the roof that will never match.Or, if you want the roof as a separate component and keep the ends/body/floor as one component, print the body upside down and print the roof vertically on the end-edge. No one will care what the inside of the car floor looks like, and printing the roof vertically will insure your locking tabs, underside and top outer surface are smooth.I tried the roof vertical, tapers on the sheeting made nasty striations, end overhang (visble on the model) was a mess. Detents fill with resin (even at 2 seconds). Printed the body upside down the first time and the angled ends would not match the underside of the roof.Yes, I've figured out the idiosyncrasies of dealing with FXD from having worked with it for years and have had a lot of success with it. But even with my limited exposure to SLA, it's clear to me that it is the far better medium. Better quality, lower costs, more flexibility. Agree, agree, disagree. SLA FORCES you to design for the printing, not for the model. Even with FUD, I chose an orientation for the part and stayed with it.I'm having absolutely NO issues printing stockcar slats. This printed correctly on the first shot. The ends I had to reprint only because I forgot to include a vent for the resin to escape as I had the ends back-to-back with a membrane connecting the two along the entire perimeter.Ok as soon as I print vertical all the issues above become present for me. Your openings appear to be wider than mine, mine are prototypical, or I lose board count. I am almost there printing the boards horizontally and the wire supports inside support no more than a 3mm horizontal surface which is well within support needs (I feel it is the over-exposure). May try the shell at 30 degrees like I did the roof to see if that improves. Still have to print at sub 2 second exposure. Last one was at 3.You can't print clear glass insets in FXD. Still not sure if you can do it in SLA either. Yes, I think I can sell the kits with supports too- they just won't look like the forest anymore.What I meant with the LSG, was try printing that, in whatever orientation you want in SLA without changing the original design of the parts, and then try to check fits.