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3D Printing


SCRATCH BUILDER

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Tell you what Kev,

 

To get started in 3D printing thats the way to go, you can always  print your big components on it. I know nothing about the machine but I have heard that there are a lot of printers in that price range, some take a bit of tweaking to get them right and if it turns out down the road that 3D printing is not for you then you not out much, someone will pick it up from for a $100.00 bucks.

 

First I would do my internet homework, then figure out exactly what you want use it for. 

 

Something like that will never make the small parts, I push my TAZ6 to its limits and I can print thin walls at 0.30mm most the time with success,because that the size nozzle I have on it. 

Edited by SCRATCH BUILDER
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Hi everyone,

 

I went to college for the CAD and Solidworks aspect of this subject, so I understand that part of doing the 3D parts. I don't have really any experience with a 3D printer hands on though. 

 

I'm interested if someone here who has all the stuff to do it already might be interested in making me a couple parts for making an experimental version of a P-51 in 1/32 that was previously produced in 1/48 scale?

 

Cheers,

Brady

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Thanks everyone for the help and responses. I am going to buy myself the rhino software. I also booked myself an online course from basic to intermediate and it takes around 11 weeks. Happy times I'm actually looking forward to learning something new. Meanwhile anyone here who has enough free time for a commission CAD project please pm me if you're willing to take on something very exotic and quite difficult ;-)

Thanks again

Karim

 

Edit: because the forums are publicly accessible i had to modify the post lol

Edited by karimb
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Karim, best of luck with Rhino! Any questions, always more than happy to compare notes! Tip one. Get to understand the snap functions. Tip Two. Go into the options and turn OFF the Apparent intersection option.Leave it on and you will go mad....!!

Edited by wunwinglow
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Karim, best of luck with Rhino! Any questions, always more than happy to compare notes! Tip one. Get to understand the snap functions. Tip Two. Go into the options and turn OFF the Apparent intersection option.Leave it on and you will go mad....!!

Thanks my friend. Rhino3d has been bought from the local resellers here. It's quite an investment along with the online course i enrolled in. Course is almost 30 hours of video along with exercises and things to complete to progress so it's very interesting and hopefully will keep me partly busy during my layovers. I am hoping the mouse on the macbook pro will be sufficient to fiddle around when i start using the software. To be honest i am quite happy and excited about the learning curve. With the course it seems more structured than having to learn alone like i did with illustrator and the vectoring programs i use for plotting. I'm grateful for the help you have offered and look forward to exchanging ideas when i get to play around on the software. First in line would be ERA blocks for the 1/16 T72 and some ancillary stuff. I had planned to cad an engine and a transmission as none exist in 1/16th but i think I'll just scratch build those if i can't eventually find a way or someone to help me get them caded for 3d printing! I have neither the skills nor the genius at that stage to undertake such a huge project. I can also see various engine mounts for ww1 engine displays and alot of possible stuff down the line!

Karim

Edited by karimb
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  • 1 month later...

Formlabs 2. Well, touch screen gave up the ghost so it took a few days to get a replacement, but easy to swap. I am just about through my first kilo of resin, mostly small parts so the raft support/ part ratio has been a bit brutal, but on the whole the part quality has been very good indeed! I have had a few issues with rough surfaces on some parts but will deal with this in the new year, I suspect dust on a laser mirror.. Support software seems to work well but I always end up editing the support locations anyway.

 

Resin is the black V3. A bit brittle for my liking but v4 is on sale now, so I will order that next, along with the long life resin trays.

 

I will post some pics of the parts made so far. Initial thoughts, very impressive!

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Well, as a sculptor I usually don't make more than one part but recently (past 10 years) I have been using the same characters in more than one of my assemblage sculpture.  For example, I have been using the Laurel & Hardy characters from the 1/18 Gates Jeeps. I am accumulating a number of Unmanned 1/18 jeeps this way. Don't know what to do with the empty jeeps, yet, but who knows? I also have a bunch of the 1/32 Laurel and Hardy Gates Jeeps. Haven't put them in anything yet. 

But, to get to 3D printing, this saves me from buying a scanner  to scan the characters so I can reproduce them in 3D. Not needing a scanner and a printer saves me tons of money, by the way.  

So I am still a little old craftsman/sculptor whittling away in my little industrial complex (that is camouflaged to look like a humble cottage) in the Black Forest. Just me and Snow White and the 7 dwarfs (sorry, little people) and she makes coffee and cleans up after me and a few other little chores. 

So, as much as I really like the latest technology I have no intention of getting in over my hear financially to make sculpture that I can do by hand at almost no cost. 

When I can get a good scanner for about a Grand ($1,000 in Chicago talk) I will get a 3D printer for about half that and then I can make assemblages that have multiple pieces in them. Is it worth it money-wise? No, it is still less expensive to simply purchase what i need in terms of figures and the like. 

But people like me love to have the latest gizmos. My buddy just bought himself a CNC machine. Oh we old geezers do have fun with our toys. 

Besides, using ready made parts in my assemblages means I can peruse garage sales and flea markets and find tables full of comic characters to buy at low cost and use in my work. Some guys get their exercise walking around on a golf course, swatting a poor inoffensive little ball all over the place until it finally hides in a hole in the ground. Well wandering through a local flea market that occupies an 8 acre field for the purpose of buying what I like for mere pennies on the dollar to put into my sculpture is my idea of exercise. 

If I need an original character I can carve my own, I am a sculptor after all. 

So I will sit on the sideline and observe what advancements are being made in 3D technology. Popcorn anybody? :popcorn:

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