3D Printing

[onosendai]

22 hours ago, seiran01 said:

Experten, how tricky is it to add recessed panel lines over a complex shape in Fusion? 

 

I don't see any problems with Rhino or other software, i think also in Fusion, but I would start from an entirely new project, not just any file downloaded from the net.

[TorbenD]

9 hours ago, SCRATCH BUILDER said:

 

It's my go to for design and printing, it does have somethings that you need to watch for , such has once you solidify you model or part you will need to go back and align your vertices mostly on the ends, it does not line them up vertically but at the angle of the face, F360 does not have this issue

 Thanks for this - that’s reassuring.

 

Please could you expand on your ’watch for’ explanation a little? Apologies, I cannot visualise what you mean as I’m not 100% sure of all the terminology yet

 

Thanks,

Torben

[seiran01]

3 hours ago, onosendai said:

 

I don't see any problems with Rhino or other software, i think also in Fusion, but I would start from an entirely new project, not just any file downloaded from the net.

 

How would you go about adding them? I have a few projects nearly ready to print and where I need to add lines, I can’t add them with a straight line or an edit to a revolved shape

[Twobad]

49 minutes ago, seiran01 said:

 

How would you go about adding them? I have a few projects nearly ready to print and where I need to add lines, I can’t add them with a straight line or an edit to a revolved shape

If it's around the fuselage or wing; slice, add a small chamfer to each edge and rejoin?

Edited February 7, 2019 by Twobad

[jumpjack]

Twobad's suggestion can be used for just about any shape of line- at least in F360.

[BiggTim]

7 hours ago, onosendai said:

 

On my production made on Form2 i use panel line up to 0.15mm, the result, after two years of intense experience, is commercially excellent, at least for me and my buyers.

 

That is good to know, thanks. I plan to give it a shot with the resin and see what happens.

[SCRATCH BUILDER]

7 hours ago, TorbenD said:

Please could you expand on your ’watch for’ explanation a little? Apologies, I cannot visualise what you mean as I’m not 100% sure of all the terminology yet

Sure, i will PM you some screen shot of what i mean

 

9 hours ago, onosendai said:

On my production made on Form2 i use panel line up to 0.15mm, the result, after two years of intense experience, is commercially excellent, at least for me and my buyers.

 

Its all about the resin and the machine, I understand that i cant do this with my AnyCubic but i can get better prints from it with different resins. 

[Model_Monkey]

19 hours ago, TorbenD said:

I’ve been following this with great interest and started doing some research into 3-D programs which I think will be good to learn not only for my day job as a designer and also cover my alter ego who whittles away at scale models at night - ie ideally I’d like to learn a program with strong graphics/illustrational and equally strong modelling for print.

 

One that seems to fit the bill nicely is Blender. Has anyone here used Blender building and printing? It’s free, open source and seems to cover a lot of ground really well and work across PC, linux and MacOS

 

Torben

Blender is very good.  Also recommend Fusion360 by Autodesk.  It's a powerful program and there are very good Youtube tutorials for it.  There is a free license for those making less than $100k USD annually with it, which for modelers, is most of us. When you install it, it will ask you some questions about how you intend to use it.  Your hobby-focused answers will trigger the free license, renewable annually.

 

Rhino is arguably among the very best.  Very expensive, too.

 

For printing, I'm using a Form2 and loving it.  Pricy, but excellent.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2019 by Model_Monkey

[jumpjack]

For a 'frrebee' I would definitely recomend fusion- apart from anything else, there are basic tutorials for kids online to get you started double quick and it handles modelling type small scales with ease (unlike some others). I made my first complex hollowed out 3D model from scratch in under a fortnight.

Another plus for fusion is that it can  model direct from DWG imported from other programmes- in my case I use CorelDraw for most of my 2D and ship into Fusion 360 for modelling.

[airscale]

Hi 3D folks

 

Looking for some guidance if I may

 

I have just designed the spinner for my 1/18 P51 in Rhino. I kept it to just the simple shape as last time when I did the Spitfire XIV all the rivets & stuff I put in didn't really come out..

 

the real one is natural metal and I have been dreading trying to skin it in litho..

 

 

 

now when I went to Shapeways to get the parts printed, I see you can choose Aluminium or steel rather than plastic ($87 or $37 just for the nosecone eek), if I choose Steel as it's cheaper, I then get a sub-option for the finish, in which there is 'Nickel' where it says it is polished to a smooth finish..

 

My question is has anyone had any 3D printing done in metal, and could it actually be the answer to my prayers where I get a metal spinner I can then scribe & detail without having to skin it?

 

Not sure how the process works at all - is this actual metal, or is it metal like 3D material?

 

Hope someone knows

TIA

Peter

 

 

[BiggTim]

While I have not seen Shapeways' metal products in person, I do believe they mean actual metal. I've seen some other bits made with "additive manufacturing", as they call it, and they are quite amazing. If Shapeways' quality is similar, then you should be able to get a very nice polished finish on the aluminum or nickel finish part. Only way to know is to try it, but that's a pricey experiment.

 

Short of that, milling one out of billet may be an option. One of the fellows on here with a lathe may be able to help there. Good luck, I love your projects!

Tim

[jumpjack]

When I previously investigated this (for model railway bogies), it appeared the item is plastic/wax printed and that is used for metal investment casting- ie not metal printing.

If that is the case then you may be into casting shrinkage allowances etc and probable final machining (unles the technique is a sintered one).  Perhaps going direct to good machinist (especially one with CAD control)  would give you a better result and offer provision for screw holes etc. . Specialist RC aircraft supplier maybe?

[Out2gtcha]

My friend,

I'm not sure if it would be any benefit, but you may want to PM Ken Friend (aka"foiler" here on LSP) about the spinner.

Ken on several occasions foiled P-51 spinners in 32nd. I'm not sure how well if at all that would translate to litho,  but it's in a larger scale, and Ken's methods ended up looking very realistic in the end to my eye.

 

 

[Model_Monkey]

jumpjack is quite right.  For metals other than aluminum and steel, Shapeways will first print the model in casting wax.  The metal spinner would then be created using the "lost wax" technique.  A mold is created by pouring liquid plaster around the wax 3D-printed spinner.  Once the plaster mold hardens, the wax is melted out of the mold in an oven.  Molten metal is then poured into the mold cavity where it hardens.  The plaster mold is then broken away exposing the spinner.  The metal spinner is then polished.

 

For steel, the metal is actually a steel-bronze alloy, 60% steel, 40% bronze.  Shapeways describes their process this way:

 

"To build steel models, special 3D printers deposit small drops of glue onto layers of stainless steel powder, one layer at a time, until the print is complete. We carefully remove these models from the printer. At this stage of the process, the objects are very fragile, similar to wet sand. The models then go through an infusion process that replaces the glue with bronze, creating a full metal product. Models are then processed to achieve your desired finish, sprayed with a sealant, and shipped to you."

 

For aluminum, Shapeways describes their process this way:

 

"The 3D printing process is called selective laser melting. Fabrication takes place on a build platform with supports to anchor the part. A bed of aluminum powder sits above a build platform. One layer at a time, the powder is melted by a high powered laser. The melted powder is quickly cooled to solidify the metal. To form the next layer, the build platform is lowered and a new layer of powder is distributed with a coater. This process is repeated layer by layer until the part is complete. Horizontal areas and edges print with an automatically generated support structure to prevent the feature from sagging into loose powder. The support is then removed and polished away from the part during post-processing. Selective laser melting is unique because the high power laser provides enough energy to heat the aluminum powder above the melting point. This process fully melts the powder rather than just sintering it, creating a solid, homogeneous aluminum alloy."

Edited March 2, 2019 by Model_Monkey

[GrahamF]

Going back to the panel lines in Fusion, one thing you need to consider and this had given me enormous problems in the past. In Fusion and other CAD programs it has a function to prepare for SLA printing i.e. closing up gaps and solidifying your model, it has a habit of over riding your design so if your model has engraved channels/split lines over it these will be filled in. This will be even worse if you use an 'automatic' function in your CAD to drop in the panel lines as they tend to not be 100% correct. To build a model surface by surface to include all panel lines ( which are effectively tiny troughs ) to ensure absolute integrity and accuracy is a big ask. In the Form 2 that I was using the SLA program to prepare for printing is the same one as in Fusion licenced to Formlabs.

Graham