3D Printed Items

For those into Facebook, thanks to the technical expertise of my son who came to dinner last night, I now have a special Facebook page at

 https://www.facebook.com/modelrailwaystructures



 This will have latest updates on the shop, products under development news and give people a chance to provide feedback on what they would like for future products.  I also welcome comments there on the likes dislikes of the product range.

I have released 14 different types of 3D printed doors today to suit 4mm  scale.
 

 
These can be made to suit any size you want. Each type is illustrated  at the shop as a group of four doors, 2000mm high by 760mm, 810mm, 900mm and 1000mm wide  (or two of these when double doors). I have just grouped them like this  to give an indication of the cost when you buy 4 doors of that type. I will make up individual sets on a customer by customer basis. For example a small terraced house might require a 900mm front door and 5 or 6 760mm internal doors and a 810 back door. 




As the computer models are parametric it is easy to adjust any size to suit.




 
The installation method is as per the windows. Cut a hole in the card or plastic wall and glue the door into the opening using the architrave flange on the printed door to hold it in place.
 

It seems that anything I can print in 4mm scale using Shapeways White Strong and Flexible material can also be printed at 1:148 using their Frosted Ultra Detail material. The extra cost of that material is off-set by the smaller volume of material that has to be printed. I'm just being a bit cautious putting everything on at that scale because the material is not flexible and the smaller cross sections could be a bit brittle. Once I have a couple of printed prototypes I'll be able to gauge what will work and what wont. 

Already up and available for purchase though are the chimney stacks and the doors. The lattice footbridge I'm waiting for a printed prototype, but if all is OK should retail for around £9.50.

Peter, is that figure of £9.50 correct, because in an earlier post you mentioned about £19?

Terry

Update - I think I have twigged.  This is for 2mm scale.  What's the cost of one in 4mm scale?

[user=711]col.stephens[/user] wrote:

Peter, is that figure of £9.50 correct, because in an earlier post you mentioned about £19?

Terry

Update - I think I have twigged.  This is for 2mm scale.  What's the cost of one in 4mm scale?

Unless I have to add some more plastic once I have the prototype in my hand £19.25 plus VAT if you are buying from within the EU plus postage and packing.

I've done a bit more brick laying and added three more chimney stack types to the range. These can be printed in anything from N scale upwards.

Peter,
Terrific work.
How easy is it to paint?
Does it need an undercoat?
Acrylics?
Enamels?
Reason I ask is that I had read that the plastic used in the 3D printing process didn't take paint to well, that is for the plastics used in the 3D home printer?
cheersMartin

Hi Marty
I've being using Phoenix general purpose primer on the Shapeways White Strong and Flexible and it works fine. I painted the cream colour on my canopy structures using a dulux test pot.  I haven't painted any of the Frosted Detail Plastic yet (required for printing at N scale). It's an acrylic polymer and according to Shapeways can be painted with acrylics or enamels. There are are plenty of painted model rail examples at Shapeways  using this material. They do use wax as a support material during printing, but this is removed prior to leaving the factory.

Now just stop it Peter - no sooner do I see something I need, than you post yet another excellent product.

Are you trying to empty my bank account ? This is worse than being hacked !!!

Canopies, footbridge, chimneys - all could find an excellent home on Maxmill.  If you need a European test-bed ………………:roll::roll::roll:;-)

Hi Peter
I'd love to empty your bank account. If only to prove to my Wife that I didn't just buy a 3D printer because I wanted a new toy. 

If you lived just round the corner I'd certainly drop of the odd prototype item that would never have a place on my layout. It would be a shame to see them sit around in an old box unused.

On the subject of emptying bank accounts, I quickly knocked up a model cooling tower today at the largest size that I thought would fit in a Shapeways printer. It's about 350mm high or about 90 feet high in 4mm scale. A real baby cooling tower. Shapeways cost to print ….US$1245. Not likely to be a big seller I think.

The prototype 4mm scale version of the footbridge has arrived with me and after a minor tweak has now been released for purchase.




The OO version is printed in Shapeways White Strong and Flexible material. The bridge certainly is that - definitely passes the throw across the room test.

The surface finish ex factory will need a little light sanding to areas that you want smooth when painted if you want it to look right in close up photography. I would suggest handrails and columns only … the steps and landings would be rough anyway.
Here is a cruel close up showing the surface finish ex factory magnified.




The N scale model is made of a different material and does not have the same visible grain. 

I have to say though that the naked eye doesn't see the grain texture unless your eye is about 3 inches away from the surface.

That look good Peter - I'll have a look at it on Shapeways. :thumbs

Maybe it says on their site but does it come in bits, and if so, how many,  or ready to plonk ?

Hi Peter
It's ready to plonk. You might want to add some smoke deflectors. There weren't any on the photo's of the prototype, but they have probably been removed.

Thanks for the comments on painting.
That footbridge has come out really well.
cheersMarty

Hi Marty

On checking the spray can of primer I was using I see now it was Floquil general purpose primer not Phoenix. I'm now using Alclad primer because the spray cans were working out pretty expensive and lots of waste paint overspray. So I'm now using a bottle and airbrush, much cheaper and more efficient.

Peter

First finishing coat on the 4mm scale footbridge.

Looks brilliant! :thumbs

Terry

Very, very nice Peter. :thumbs

I can certainly see one of those winging it's way to France. :roll:

And one here to Kent.

Terry

I've had a few questions about painting my objects, and as it is a slightly different material from the traditional card or plastic I thought I would give a couple of quick pointers.


Most of my things are printed in a material that Shapeways call "White Strong and Flexible". It consists of a fine nylon powder that is fused together with a laser. It creates a material that is a bit like a sand castle, but with very very tiny grains of sand. (You can see the finish in the close up  on one of the postings above.) The material is slightly porous, meaning any paint forms a good bond with the raw material. It's also possible to dye the product, although I haven't tried this.


The painted finish will have a slight grainy finish to it unless it is sanded smooth. In many cases the grain wont matter or even be visible from a normal viewing distance. But if you are intending to take close up photographs, or view with your eyes from very close to the model, the areas that you want to appear smooth will need some additional attention. Where I want a smooth finish, I lightly sand the material with fine wet and dry paper before applying a primer. I then also sand down after priming and after each coat of paint until the surface achieves the degree of smoothness that I am happy with.


On the footbridge I'm painting at the moment I have lightly sanded the handrails and columns, but left the lattice work and steps "au naturelle". When I've finished I'll post one of those cruel camera close-ups so that you can see the differences in the surface finish.


In general the material is very easy to work with. Painted canopy pictures I posted earlier in this thread were painted with no surface preparation. The cream was brush applied direct to the plastic with no primer and consisted of Dulux test pot house paint. 


There is also useful information on painting this material (complete with video tutorial) at https://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/painting3dprintedsls