3D Printing: You get what you pay for

[Dave Schneider]

I have spent a number of years trying to build a decent version of an insulated plug door boxcar used to haul beer from Pabst on the Milwaukee Road Beer Line.

For those who weren't born yet when I started, or those who want to recall my previous attempt with an etched brass overlay, you can read about them here:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=22381.0

Well, I wasn't happy with the brass sides as I was not able to integrate them onto the car side. So.....I decided to take a turn into e 3D printing barrel. Since I don't know how to do 3D design, I commissioned Barry Clements to produce the Solidworks file. The plan is to print the sides, add IMRC ends and roof to produce a master.

Here is a screen grab of the 3D model from Barry.


So...I sent this in to Shapeways, and was unhappy with the results. One issue is the well-known problem of not being able to specify the orientation. I had hoped that they would print it flat, but no dice, they did it vertical and the FUDiness and fuzziness really showed.



So I asked around and was referred to a shop that allows you to specify the orientation. As a bonus, their Projet3000+ at the XHD resolution is twice the Shapeways resolution. Just got my prints back and am very pleased. Here is the comparison after their Bestine bath between Shapeways on the top and the Projet Plus on the bottom. There is a slight vertical grain, but that should disappear with a bit of paint.



So, back at the topic of this thread, there is a 5X difference in cost. I had 2 car sides printed, and Shapeways was ~$20, while the higher end shop charged $100 for two sides. The other issue is that I am not sure if this firm wants to get a bunch of small jobs sent their way. That is why I haven't named them. Waiting to hear back from them as to whether they would like me to do so. The other takeaway from this first print is that the design could be a bit more "delicate" and still print well.

Overall I am pleased with this latest attempt and hope that I can cast some decent cars. This basic body style had 4 different doors and a number of paint schemes, and if this goes well I will be able to model the variants. For those who are interested, you can see other versions of this car on my Photobucket site.
http://s291.photobucket.com/user/djs_ank_ak/library/BeerRailcars?sort=4&page=1

Best wishes, Dave

[Chris333]

Damn even the rivets look nicer.

[ljudice]

You have to think that with the railroad, military and other modelers out there that eventually there will be a business case to offer really high quality, CONSISTENT prints at reasonable price.

I admire the cool things people have done on Shapeways, but I still think 90% of their business is with the Etsy crowd and there is no compelling reason for them to offer fine scale modelling capabilities that overcome the well known limitations.

[bbussey]

Looks great Dave!  Glad you are happy with the end results.

[asarge]

The other companies car looks great. 3D printing is still in it's infancy, the best is yet to come.

[Lemosteam]

Question, it appears to me that different cad models were used to produce each print?  Was a second, more refined model used for the lower print?  The rivet spacing, etc. appear to be quite different.  Unrelated to the issue, just curious.

[arbomambo]

I have to completely agree that 'Shapeways' is not our answer...
A friend and modeller in the Austin area has commissioned 3D projects from other 3D printers, with much nicer results that are standard from Shapeways...
I really don't believe Shapeways figures in the future of fine scale modelling...
~Bruce

[bbussey]

Question, it appears to me that different cad models were used to produce each print?  Was a second, more refined model used for the lower print?  The rivet spacing, etc. appear to be quite different.  Unrelated to the issue, just curious.

Same STL file was used for both outputs.

[Catt]

According to what I have been told Shapeways like to cram as many jobs on the print table as they can get on there.Quite simply put a verticle orientation allows more items to be printed at one time.Though sometimes I think it is more the machine operator than the machine itself that really determines the quality of the print.

[Lemosteam]

Catt, everybody does.
Bryan, yikes!!! the relief is quite different

[wazzou]

The differences in how the door hardware was rendered is what I find most striking.  Nice job to all involved.

[sirenwerks]

If you're planning on casting those, especially in selling those, the $100 for a fine master doesn't sound all that bad.

What was the name of the shop you were referred to?

[wcfn100]

So, back at the topic of this thread, there is a 5X difference in cost. I had 2 car sides printed, and Shapeways was ~$20, while the higher end shop charged $100 for two sides.

You only did the two sides?  Do you know how many more could have been printed in the same tray?  It brings the over all cost up but could bring the individual price down.

Jason

[R L Smith]

< Thread Drift >

NASA is planning to launch a 3D Printer in August to test the concept of 3D printing in Zero-G. The (very) long-term goal would be to create the capablity to fabricate (print) replacement parts aboard the ISS or other manned vehicle by sending the data file from somebody's desk here on the ground, and printing it on-board in Micro-gravity.

From NASA Tech Brief's June 2014 issue.

< End Thread Drift >

[bbussey]

You only did the two sides?  Do you know how many more could have been printed in the same tray?  It brings the over all cost up but could bring the individual price down.

Depends on how the final product will be rendered.  If building a master for casting, it makes more sense to do one or two sets.  Also, I believe Dave wanted to verify that the finished product would be significantly better than the Shapeways version before incurring additional expense.