3D Printing - What Does It Cost

[BCR751]

I see many of you are getting stuff 3D printed.  It does seem like a good way to get what you want but what does it cost?  What sort of artwork is needed to create the items?  Seems like something that would be done by professional graphic designers, not railroad modellers.

Doug

[John]

I'm sure that others will chime in .. but I would start here ... http://www.shapeways.com/

[DKS]

It does take some prior experience with computer rendering software to tackle RP effectively. You can get the software you need for free, but the cost of gaining experience using it will be measured in the amount of time it takes for you, and YMMV. As for the cash cost of producing RP, it's measured by volume. A solid block will cost many times more than a hollow one, so this aspect of it requires a degree of cleverness.

[BCR751]

Having a look at the above link, I can quickly see that this stuff is way above my pay grade <g>.  I doubt I have the ability to design, say, an N-Scale 50 boxcar, and have it printed so it would actually look like a boxcar.  I think I'll just have to wait until what I want is available on the market.  Bummer.

Doug

[wcfn100]

Having a look at the above link, I can quickly see that this stuff is way above my pay grade <g>.  I doubt I have the ability to design, say, an N-Scale 50 boxcar, and have it printed so it would actually look like a boxcar.  I think I'll just have to wait until what I want is available on the market.  Bummer.

Doug

I don't see this being any different than backdrop painting or other skilled applications that can be applied to MRRing (milling, resin casting etc). 

The one advantage with this is it can be truly free to learn (assuming you have a computer).  You also get to see the final product before any money has to be exchanged.

I wouldn't put a box car as the standard to whether it's something you can learn as I would put a box car as being harder to do than a locomotive shell in most cases.

Jason

[sdodge]

I noticed a 3D printer for sale in Southwest Airline's Sky Mall catalog for $1299. 

[peteski]

Having a look at the above link, I can quickly see that this stuff is way above my pay grade <g>.  I doubt I have the ability to design, say, an N-Scale 50 boxcar, and have it printed so it would actually look like a boxcar.  I think I'll just have to wait until what I want is available on the market.  Bummer.

Doug

But you don't have to start with a 50' boxcar.  You could start with something much simpler.  Some sort of a smaller item like some detailing part you can't buy elsewhere.  Once you figure out how to design smaller items, you can start designing more complex items.

I played with Google SketchUp and the tutorials are very informative.  You might want to give it a try to get your feel for 3D drawing.

[BCR 570]

To date I have been very disappointed with shells, carbodies, etc. produced via Shapeways, but it has been a great way to get some small unique parts done.  At that level this technology can produce very good results for reasonable cost.  A few examples would be the passenger trucks from Panamint Models, and the flatcar ramps and fuel tanks which Jeff rendered for me.

Jeff has had success using Shapeways to produce components for masters to be cast in resin - his M-420, Minibox and NSC exterior post boxcar kits being the latest examples.


Tim

[BCR751]

I agree, it seems like this system would be better used to create masters for casting rather than making an actual end-use model.  The GF6C electric loco shells that we had made by Shapeways were less than stellar to say the least.  For smaller one-off items, however, it may be worthwhile.  N-Scale re-railer frogs come to mind.  I wonder what it would cost to get a few of those made?

[Catt]

I see some misconceptions here.Everybody is equating 3d printing with Shapeways and none of the other companies.If you really want to see quality 3d printing check some of Mark 4s work.

Granted Mark's stuff cost more but then so do his machines.

[kalbert]

Seems like something that would be done by professional graphic designers, not railroad modellers.

That's part of the fun of model railroading! Sure there's trains, and their cool, but there's a multitude of different ways to get your kicks with those trains. Electronics, metal work, logistics, historical preservation, computer automation, graphic design, engineering (the other kind)... The train is only a small part of the big picture!