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Westy strikes again!

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heirflick

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Fancy commissioning Bachmann to do a RTR version? It will always be the dream!

 

fran, shapeways did a laser printed an A class body in N gauge - wonder what the quality was like? got a few of the E class shunters and they were pure s***e!

 

The main draw back with a 3D printed model is that you would need to do quite a bit of sanding to achieve a smooth finish even with finer materials such as Shapeways Frosted Detail.

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Guest hidden-agenda

John I think in fairness the guy getting the stuff printed was encouraged by guys ( including me) to get stuff made and it was only when you got down to preparing the model you realised what you got. The wagon bodies were acceptable to a degree ( copies are still available) but as far as loco and coach bodies are concerned it was an uphill battle so much so i kept your E class etch for when i scratch build a body so unless the 3D printing companies have an alternative that,s not overly expensive its safe to assume etched brass and or resin is the way forward.By the way i like the steam loco your planning.

 

By the way thanks to Des for getting the etched grills sorted so quickly.

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John I think in fairness the guy getting the stuff printed was encouraged by guys ( including me) to get stuff made and it was only when you got down to preparing the model you realised what you got. The wagon bodies were acceptable to a degree ( copies are still available) but as far as loco and coach bodies are concerned it was an uphill battle so much so i kept your E class etch for when i scratch build a body so unless the 3D printing companies have an alternative that,s not overly expensive its safe to assume etched brass and or resin is the way forward..

 

Gareth

 

I think a lot of people who work in 3D modelling like Jack saw the potential of 3D printing for producing models without realising the limitations I think he did a very good job in designing the models but was ahead of the technology and material that was available at the time.

 

The other downside is there is a set up cost for each individual item and the material is charged by the Cube so the proceess is very expensive for OO but reasonably competetive even with the Detail materials for an N gauge model. So a Valve Design A Class or BoBo in Frosted Ultra Detail would be a reasonable proposition in N gauge or possiby TT.

 

Personally I think the main benefit with 3D printing will be in producing masters for resin casting.

 

We originally looked at uproducing a resin body shell from a 3D printed master with brass overlays as a simple way to produce coach kits, but resin shrinks warps and twists while brass or nickle silver is relatively stable and the cost of producing the model would have been prohibitive.

 

I have used this for forming the fuel tanks and axleeboxes for the Tin Van and the castings have been to a reasonable quality.

 

Most of the other 3D printed parts have been replaced either with brass or whitemetal, the main area that still has to be resolved is forming the roof

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