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3D printer in modeling


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Hey guys,

So I was doing some thinking and thought about acquiring a 3D printer to help w/ modelling, such as making inflight display stands, replacement parts and etc. Does anyone have any experience w/ these and the programs. Any thoughts, advice and opinions are much appreciated.

Dave

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I wouldn't bother buying a printer, the ones for home use right now are far away from being able to replicate parts for kits with any degree of fidelity.

If you have the time and patience to learn how to create 3D models in something like Blender or FreeCAD, then you'd be better off going to a commercial 3D print shop (such as Shapeways) and let them do the actual printing for you.

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I agree. The cost of a printer that would print satisfactory results are really high. If you have a boat load of cash, then yes go for it and maybe open a print service for modelers as well. Otherwise if you're not loaded, use a print service...for now. BUTTTTT....give it a few years and who knows? HP has been working on a printer that hasn't hit yet that may drive prices closer to hobby user levels.

As for programs, there are a lot of free programs (like the Blender and FreeCAd Vince mentioned) Just make sure the output is compatible with print services in a universal formay, like .stl etc... and that it can handle high polycounts. Also check out this new company called OnShape. It's a cloud based solidbased modeling program that has a free version. So far what I've seen looks good. Good luck and be prepared to get addicted to 3d modeling.

Bill

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  • 1 year later...

davevw, I disagree with the opinions of these 2 guys. Been checking out YouTube videos on the varied uses of them now and it's amazing. Like one guy printing up an American 1/32nd scale locomotive which was used to move freight cars in a train yard. Of course he had to do it in pieces, but it's a WOW kind of piece of work. Another 3D printer company is pushing their printer for those into doll houses. Scale down everything and now you have furniture of what ever scale you want. These photos I got via Google using 3D printer model photos as my search to give you and others an idea what people are doing with them NOW.....and not waiting a few years when "things get better".

 

But this is something I can't be getting into until next year, with the hardest part is learning how to use the drawing programs. But from what I understand, there is a simple program for free you can use and of course, there's a whole bunch of 3D enthusiasts web sites to check out AND they have FREE programs so you can print what they printed. 

 

I'm looking at doing a lot more than just the ideas you have. Instead of just parts, why not articulated linkage for a vehicle? Having to scratch build interiors for more accurate 1/32nd scale die cast vehicles which I'll make a mold of, then cast resin parts of. A 3D printer would make it a lot easier by using the design program AND be able to use it over and over again without a mold being worn out or damaged. Why not figures? Which is why I've been looking at 3D scanners. How many times have we had to cut/saw a figure apart, then glue/putty it back together in the pose we want? Why not scan a 1/35th scale figure, modify it on your pc to the pose you want, then print it? From what little I do understand of the printers, the more microns(?) you put in per a specific area, the better quality the object will be.  

 

I remember one guy here(?) who printed (in sections) a V-1 in 1/35th scale and people were standing in line saying they wanted one and how much do you want for it. Think the printers are going to be the wave of the future modelers with only your imagination the limit. Sorry, tried to upload 7 images, but this was the only one that would work. But at least it gives you an idea what can be done.

3D model--3.jpg

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With all due respect, I would suggest that unless you know what you're looking for, and why, and unless you are already designing and printing stuff regularly, it's probably not a good idea to invest in a 3D printer.  Good printers are expensive, the technology is evolving steadily, and for the price of one printer that will rapidly become obsolete, you can have a lot of prints run by a professional service on a professional machine  If you want to start 3D printing as a separate hobby -  a very different thing from using it as a tool in your scale modelling hobby - that's another matter.  But if you're coming at it from a position of, "I've heard about these 3D printers and they sound pretty cool, which one should I buy," you're almost certainly going to be massively disappointed and incredibly frustrated by the learning curve.

 

That said...

 

3D printing isn't a single technology.  There are many different styles of printer that work in fundamentally different ways.  Most are ill-suited to most modelling uses.

 

Any printer that looks like this:

 

frontpage.jpg

 

Or this:

 

Genesis_2_0.jpg?itok=EKTbWI1L

 

Will have extremely limited use for most modellers.  You can print rough shapes that will require an enormous amount of surface prep, but fine detail is basically nonexistent.

 

Printers that look like this:

 

2499-moonray-uv-dlp-3d-printer-launches-

 

Or this:

 

Form2-004.jpg

 

Can be used for finely detailed parts, but they are far more expensive to buy ($3000+), and vastly more expensive to run (higher consumables costs).  They also have a more limited build volume, and are difficult and temperamental to use.

 

----

 

In terms of software... are you asking about modelling software, or slicers?  Modelling sofware is like an airbrush - some are a little better suited to some tasks than others, but they're all generally pretty usable - it's more about learning to use the tool you have, rather than trying a bunch of different tools to find the magic bullet.  If you want to do more sculptural stuff, it would help to use something geared more to 3D/digital sculpting, like ZBrush, Rhino or 3ds Max; if you want to do more geometric drafting/CAD, you probably want something more like Inventor/SketchUp/Solidworks... but other than that, it's mostly about practice and learning.

 

 

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Great post MoFo and Bob- sage advice!

 

I think in 10-15 years the market will narrow down to a few formats and the cost will be more affordable- there are people who market their printers and make jobs for you - google "I need X 3D printed" and you should get some results.

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davevw
referring to MoFo's post, i had the chance to experience the result of the type of 3d printers that he mentioned first which are generally cheaper and their filaments as well as easily available; all i can say is that their resolution is not up to par, not even close to our needs yet. the resulting model has grooves on it (which is due to filament mostly, nothing to do with your design) also causing round and natural shapes to look rather off, think of a soldier figure for ex. looking like an aliased sprite outta 16bit game from 80s.

it is possible for the material to be sanded off of course but still, a lot of work where there are cheaper alts.
 

as for your initial question you might be able to pull of display stands with relatively basic shapes, but still a bit of surface prep would be needed in order to get things looking smoother. 

Edited by murad
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My compliments to MoFo for his excellent post reviewing the situation regarding scale modeling and 3D Printing.  :thumbsup:  I am in the 3D Printing business (at least part of my professional efforts) and I also teach a course at a University in UV Curable 3D Printing (an example of this technology is the last picture of a Formlabs printer in MoFo's post). 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing is a 2 Billion dollar business and growing with over 40+ different types of this technology available so it is much more complex than most people realize.

 

Have fun modeling!

Mike

:cheers:

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