Anyone here using 3d printing for making models?

Anyone here using 3d printing for making models?

Author
Discussion

singlecoil

Original Poster:

34,250 posts

253 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all
I'm looking to get a 3d printer and would like some help with the choices, cheers

esuuv

1,353 posts

212 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all

sausage76

360 posts

130 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all
Simple answer is yes.

What you want to do and the level of detail will drive what you need be it FDM or Resin. Then budget.



singlecoil

Original Poster:

34,250 posts

253 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all
esuuv said:
Thanks for that info, I was previously unaware of that thread



sausage76 said:
Simple answer is yes.

What you want to do and the level of detail will drive what you need be it FDM or Resin. Then budget.
We want to make a working model of a Victorian carousel

https://www.crealy.co.uk/theme-park/rides-attracti...

and as isn't obvious from the video, there's an awful lot of detail that we will be able to include, and even more that would not be feasible. This is a serious project, at least 600mm diameter, and we are looking for a really good result. Decent budget and a lot of time is available. I've already bought a small CNC router (I have plenty of CNC experience) and I was thinking maybe £1K for a 3d printer, more if need be.

sausage76

360 posts

130 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all
At that kind of size the level of detail would be easy to recreate with both fdm and resin printers.

You could do a lot of the bulk work with fdm and the detailed horses etc on the resin. You will need to have good 3d files which you can convert into the required files for printing.

FDM will need more work with some filling and sanding but nothing some work can't fix. Resin comes out very smooth already.

I have a Creality for both fdm and resin. Both can be got for around £600-800 depending on what deals are on at the time.

singlecoil

Original Poster:

34,250 posts

253 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all
Thanks for the info. Any thoughts on the best material to paint on? My wife (the painter) would prefer to use water based artist acrylics if possible.

Ozzie Dave

567 posts

255 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all
May be worth considering other options, I have all 3 but find I often use the resin for greater detail and mix that with a CO2 laser for framework, either in acrylic or wood to create a frame. You could make the 'big' parts in acrylic and then use resin for detail or etch detail into the acrylic (or wood).

sausage76

360 posts

130 months

Friday 19th April
quotequote all
singlecoil said:
Thanks for the info. Any thoughts on the best material to paint on? My wife (the painter) would prefer to use water based artist acrylics if possible.
With a decent primer both can be painted with whatever you want.

Ozzie Dave

567 posts

255 months

Sunday 21st April
quotequote all

This is printed on a resin printer- the assembled size is about 30cm, so it was a larger resin printer costing the equivalent of a few hundred pounds. Resolution is set to 0.015mm and its all hollowed out to save resin (3mm wall) used about 200ml of resin and a litre costs me about 17 pounds. I'm trying to learn the new acrylics and to use a airbrush so its a cheap easy way to practice. Lots of models out there to download from places like Thinverse and Gamboy some free some cost. I found the resin was the way to go. different resins have different costs, and even properties- you can even print 'rubber' tyres now.

velocemitch

3,846 posts

227 months

Wednesday 24th April
quotequote all
Where does the economic benefit lie with owning your own as against sending designs out to a manufacturing house like Shapeways for instance?

Or is it more the simple convenience of having your own kit?

There was a series of articles in British Railway modelling about 3D printers, basically following the process of buying and operating one, with hands on experience from beginner level. I didn’t read all of it, but after about six months, their conclusions was…. Don’t buy one!

dr_gn

16,407 posts

191 months

Wednesday 24th April
quotequote all
velocemitch said:
Where does the economic benefit lie with owning your own as against sending designs out to a manufacturing house like Shapeways for instance?

Or is it more the simple convenience of having your own kit?

There was a series of articles in British Railway modelling about 3D printers, basically following the process of buying and operating one, with hands on experience from beginner level. I didn’t read all of it, but after about six months, their conclusions was…. Don’t buy one!
Depends what you want to do. If you want to model something new that's not available, and you enjoy doing the research and getting the CAD right, then going through the inevitable trial and error of printing and getting fits and tolerances right, it's a very satisfying thing to do.

If there's a commercially available model, and/or you don't like doing CAD - or hassle in general, then there seems little point.

MBBlat

1,835 posts

156 months

Wednesday 24th April
quotequote all
This video, although mainly being about testing a new resin, also addresses the problem and comes to the same conclusion as above, ie great if you like doing the whole process from CAD to finished object, otherwise a bit pointless at the moment.
https://youtu.be/mgTmm1M4GEM?si=L0yR8zVx2JrshFIR