3D Printer

[Theo]

Hi everyone,

I just bought a Creality Ender 5 Plus 3D printer, it is still in the box, I know absolutly nothing about 3D printing.

I want to print parts for WW2 Birds and maybe even a plane manufacturers don't make, my question is, how can I learn this,

what software is usefull for a complete idiot on 3D printing and is free?

 

Thanks

Theo

 

[seiran01]

Hooray, another one wanting to play with printing!

 

One thing to keep in mind is that an FDM printer like yours (using spools of various plastics and other materials to print, instead of liquid resin) cannot achieve fine details such as for inside cockpits, but they are capable of producing much larger pieces and at a cheaper cost (such as fuselage sections for 1/32 P-8 Poseidons!). The Ender series are quite popular printers so you should be good from that angle.

 

While not the only option for CAD out there, a lot of folks including me like to use Fusion360 to design parts for printing. They have a free hobbyist license that you can renew yearly. There are also have a lot of very helpful how-to videos on youtube for using Fusion360, from the day-1 basics to advanced techniques beyond what you or I will never need to know for making models or parts for models. These videos are from both the company themselves and from other users. 

 

Good luck as you get started, no doubt others will also weigh in with their thoughts and we'll all be happy to help you as you get started

 

Cheers,

Mike

[Theo]

Thanx Mike, and happy hollidays, I will look for that software.

[Theo]

Well nobody give their thouhts... Can I print canopys or is that not possible? I still have a problem with my Liberator with the half turrets

[Out2gtcha]

37 minutes ago, Theo said:

 I still have a problem with my Liberator with the half turrets

 

As I've heard, clear parts are some of THE hardest parts to print, and even then not sure they would turn out satisfactorily.

 

Cold War Studios makes replacement turrets

 

https://coldwarstudio.com/Resin Detail Sets 1/32 scale category/

 

Aerocraft also may have a set, but don't remember off hand.

[Smokeyforgothispassword]

On 12/19/2021 at 11:11 AM, Theo said:

Well nobody give their thouhts... Can I print canopys or is that not possible? I still have a problem with my Liberator with the half turrets

I’m not sure about printing clear parts, but you could always print the canopies as “bucks” and use them to form the parts from clear sheet?

[Juggernut]

Yeah, FDM printing of canopies probably not a good idea.  Not only would you have to sand it and polish it, you'd probably be left with visible layers which defeats the purpose and effort.  I'm not even sure printing canopies with the inexpensive resin printers (and good clear, 3D printing resin) would result in a passable model.  Granted it would be loads better than an FDM printed one but there may be distortions in it that would probably result in extremely high rejection rates.

[Stevepd]

I also got a Ender 3D printer from my wife for Christmas. An inspired gift as I hadn’t mentioned a thing about it other than when I recently purchased CBLS’ from Tim on here. My modelling world has turned a corner now, akin from when you first start using an airbrush. I’ve also downloaded the fusion360 software and I’m on you tube video 9/16 regarding the tuition, but ultimately you can’t beat keyboard time. I’ve got a few ideas for bits that are not out there, so time will tell.

 

Steve.

[Ebf2K]

I've been using FreeCad for creating my 3D models (I print resin STL and not FDM).  It's free, has a lot of tutorials online but has a big learning curve as it is a CAD software.  However this means I can use math to define my parts shape which is easier for me to figure out as most model parts have easy to define geometry.