Learning how to 3D print loco parts
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Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Since i started building my railway, I have been enjoying learning new skills building locos and stock as well as the building work in the garden. It seemed logical to try out 3D printing to make parts. There are only a couple of problems, firstly 3D printers are very expensive and secondly, I have no clue how to start designing anything, let alone print it out.
Fast forward a couple of years and the price of printers has come down. I managed to buy a decent one at a reasonable cost after a few months of saving up (a birthday present to myself!! ) and quite a bit of research. I have also learnt online how to make basic designs using 3D builder that comes with Windows.
Printing in PLA material, I am building a test bed loco using plasticard and 3D printed parts to see how i get on so I thought it may be of interest to post here as I work through the project.
My first lesson was that no matter how good you make the design, the actual printing is not as easy as "pressing print". The design has to be uploaded into another program called a slicer and this splits the design into layers that the printer can understand, once that is done settings have to be correct for the heat of the nozzle, speed of the print, layer thickness and dozens of others...one wrong setting and the part is useless! The orientation of the part also makes a big difference - the vertical surfaces print far better than the horizontal surfaces so it makes to do it that way of possible.
The end part also needs hand finishing, just like wood, metal or resin in order to get a decent finish.
I have an old IP chassis that used to be under my sons Tram before it was upgraded so this is forming the base of the build
Bonnet front printed, this part took 3 hours to print and has the holes for the LEDs printed as part of the pattern, the lamps were also printed as part of the same section:
Back of the same part with LEDs wired and offcuts of brass tube used to tidy the wires:
IP Chassis with plasticard buffer beam and running boards:
3D printed air vent:
Bonnet cut out with vent in place:
Bonnet and front assembled with the cab front:
I have designed an exhaust and a pair of louvre panel doors for the sides which should be done tomorrow so I will update this thread soon. If you have any experience of 3D printing, I'd love to hear your tips!
Cheers
J
Fast forward a couple of years and the price of printers has come down. I managed to buy a decent one at a reasonable cost after a few months of saving up (a birthday present to myself!! ) and quite a bit of research. I have also learnt online how to make basic designs using 3D builder that comes with Windows.
Printing in PLA material, I am building a test bed loco using plasticard and 3D printed parts to see how i get on so I thought it may be of interest to post here as I work through the project.
My first lesson was that no matter how good you make the design, the actual printing is not as easy as "pressing print". The design has to be uploaded into another program called a slicer and this splits the design into layers that the printer can understand, once that is done settings have to be correct for the heat of the nozzle, speed of the print, layer thickness and dozens of others...one wrong setting and the part is useless! The orientation of the part also makes a big difference - the vertical surfaces print far better than the horizontal surfaces so it makes to do it that way of possible.
The end part also needs hand finishing, just like wood, metal or resin in order to get a decent finish.
I have an old IP chassis that used to be under my sons Tram before it was upgraded so this is forming the base of the build
Bonnet front printed, this part took 3 hours to print and has the holes for the LEDs printed as part of the pattern, the lamps were also printed as part of the same section:
Back of the same part with LEDs wired and offcuts of brass tube used to tidy the wires:
IP Chassis with plasticard buffer beam and running boards:
3D printed air vent:
Bonnet cut out with vent in place:
Bonnet and front assembled with the cab front:
I have designed an exhaust and a pair of louvre panel doors for the sides which should be done tomorrow so I will update this thread soon. If you have any experience of 3D printing, I'd love to hear your tips!
Cheers
J
Garden railways don't run on steam or electric rather wine and Jedi master level patience
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
James,
Thanks. I'm very interested in this. I've thought many times about getting a 3D printer myself and in fact my wife wanted to get me one for Christmas but I turned it down because I wasn't sure I could get to grips with it.
Which machine have you got?
Do keep updating your progress please.
Thanks. I'm very interested in this. I've thought many times about getting a 3D printer myself and in fact my wife wanted to get me one for Christmas but I turned it down because I wasn't sure I could get to grips with it.
Which machine have you got?
Do keep updating your progress please.
Philip
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Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Here is this weeks update
Hi Philip - Yes I would reccomend getting hold of one if you have the patience to learn it (but if you had the patience to build a garden railway you should be fine!!) there are lots of youtube videos for learning and plenty of free software out there - my machine is a Quiditech - Chinese model which came in a good price with lots of features. It has been running for 2 weeks now with no problems. It has a heated bed which most of the cheaper machines don't which makes for a more solid print.
The hardest thing so far has been removing prints from the machine bed but I think I have the knack now - blue masking tape and a paint scraper!
Anyway, the loco has come on leaps and bounds and I have just retreated inside from a test run:
3D printed exhaust sanded and filled fitted to the cab:
Louvre panel - this was problematic with such small detail and took a few attempts with different settings to get a reasonable job:
Loco taking shape:
3D printed drivers console - things like this are where 3D printing is great, it would take ages to make this by hand and while it was printing I could make something else:
Undercoat:
Control Console with levers:
Old IP chassis after a clean up and a repaint:
Paint and vacuum pipes with fuel tank cover and air intake fitted:
Console in place:
Weathering taking place - you all know me....no shiny diesels on my line
Nameplates:
Cab roof right off the printer, this is another area where the usual plasticard glued roof just doesn't do it for me. This is 4mm print thickness with 100% infill meaning its solid. I have made this to lift off giving access to the cab.
Roof finished with coarse and fine wet and dry paper leaving a smooth finish - Before and After:
Out on the line this afternoon - runs nicely and looks great:
Thanks for looking guys, thanks for the comments too, all helps!
I have some more finishing off jobs so will post another update on this project soon.
Hi Philip - Yes I would reccomend getting hold of one if you have the patience to learn it (but if you had the patience to build a garden railway you should be fine!!) there are lots of youtube videos for learning and plenty of free software out there - my machine is a Quiditech - Chinese model which came in a good price with lots of features. It has been running for 2 weeks now with no problems. It has a heated bed which most of the cheaper machines don't which makes for a more solid print.
The hardest thing so far has been removing prints from the machine bed but I think I have the knack now - blue masking tape and a paint scraper!
Anyway, the loco has come on leaps and bounds and I have just retreated inside from a test run:
3D printed exhaust sanded and filled fitted to the cab:
Louvre panel - this was problematic with such small detail and took a few attempts with different settings to get a reasonable job:
Loco taking shape:
3D printed drivers console - things like this are where 3D printing is great, it would take ages to make this by hand and while it was printing I could make something else:
Undercoat:
Control Console with levers:
Old IP chassis after a clean up and a repaint:
Paint and vacuum pipes with fuel tank cover and air intake fitted:
Console in place:
Weathering taking place - you all know me....no shiny diesels on my line
Nameplates:
Cab roof right off the printer, this is another area where the usual plasticard glued roof just doesn't do it for me. This is 4mm print thickness with 100% infill meaning its solid. I have made this to lift off giving access to the cab.
Roof finished with coarse and fine wet and dry paper leaving a smooth finish - Before and After:
Out on the line this afternoon - runs nicely and looks great:
Thanks for looking guys, thanks for the comments too, all helps!
I have some more finishing off jobs so will post another update on this project soon.
Garden railways don't run on steam or electric rather wine and Jedi master level patience
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Really interesting. I love the concept of 3d printing but am struggling to justify the expenditure. I assume the more you pay the better the quality of outcome.
Rik
Rik
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Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Hi Rik
This printer is available from Amazon at around the £300 mark, the filament is around £16 per Kilo (which as far as I can see would print 100s of parts) The small home printers seem to have the same specs more or less but the slicing software...thats the key, it converts the design to G code readable by the printer and that's what controls the quality. One with lots of useful settings makes a massive difference. I have tried several but get far better results from MatterControl. I was happy to spend the 300 quid after saving up for a while as I was really interested to see how I could use this for loco and stock building as well as small parts for my day job.
Garden railways don't run on steam or electric rather wine and Jedi master level patience
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Hi James,James from Devon wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:53 pm
This printer is available from Amazon at around the £300 mark,
Thanks for the replies. I hadn't come across this manufacturer when I was looking before, so interested to see it.
Which model do you have? You mention " around £300 " but there seem to be two models, one at ca. £400 and one at £550?
Philip
Philip
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Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Hi Philip, no worries. I did some research and looked at one of these a mate had bought. Its this one:philipy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 8:02 pmHi James,James from Devon wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:53 pm
This printer is available from Amazon at around the £300 mark,
Thanks for the replies. I hadn't come across this manufacturer when I was looking before, so interested to see it.
Which model do you have? You mention " around £300 " but there seem to be two models, one at ca. £400 and one at £550?
Philip
https://www.amazon.co.uk/QIDI-TECHNOLOG ... 3d+printer
However, they have upped the price as I paid £320 only a few weeks back!
I have to say that I am very happy with it.
Garden railways don't run on steam or electric rather wine and Jedi master level patience
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Thanks.James from Devon wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 8:30 pm
However, they have upped the price as I paid £320 only a few weeks back!
I have to say that I am very happy with it.
I'd guess the price increase has to do with the falling exchange rate!
Philip
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
James,
I noted earlier in the thread that you used 3D Builder in Windows for your drawing work. I've never used that before so I thought I'd have play with it this morning to see how I got on. Unfortunately it no longer seems to exist!! Windows 10 did a mega "upgrade" ( took 2 hours in total) on my PC a few days ago and they appear to have combined the old, useless, "Paint" program with 3D Builder to produce a hybrid "3D Paint"!!
Just thought you might like to know before you get "upgraded".
I noted earlier in the thread that you used 3D Builder in Windows for your drawing work. I've never used that before so I thought I'd have play with it this morning to see how I got on. Unfortunately it no longer seems to exist!! Windows 10 did a mega "upgrade" ( took 2 hours in total) on my PC a few days ago and they appear to have combined the old, useless, "Paint" program with 3D Builder to produce a hybrid "3D Paint"!!
Just thought you might like to know before you get "upgraded".
Philip
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Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Ohhh, that it very useful info thanks for the heads up! Why Microsoft just can't leave the programmed alone is a mystery!philipy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:04 am James,
I noted earlier in the thread that you used 3D Builder in Windows for your drawing work. I've never used that before so I thought I'd have play with it this morning to see how I got on. Unfortunately it no longer seems to exist!! Windows 10 did a mega "upgrade" ( took 2 hours in total) on my PC a few days ago and they appear to have combined the old, useless, "Paint" program with 3D Builder to produce a hybrid "3D Paint"!!
Just thought you might like to know before you get "upgraded".
Garden railways don't run on steam or electric rather wine and Jedi master level patience
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Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
I am running the latest version of Win10 (1703) and 3D Builder is installed? It is in the Windows Store as well if you want to install it.
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Tom,tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 9:08 am I am running the latest version of Win10 (1703) and 3D Builder is installed? It is in the Windows Store as well if you want to install it.
It's strange. After I posted, I also looked at the Windows store to try downloading it but when I did it said I had it installed. I clicked on the link in the Windows store window and it did indeed open on my computer. It has allowed me to pin it to the taskbar, BUT it wouldn't let me put it on the desktop and it doesn't obviously show in the list of installed apps.
However, as I just looked again in case I'm even blinder than I thought, by accident I found it buried inside Windows Accessories, not as a standalone app where it was before.
So my apologies for creating havoc, but I do wish they would stop moving and hiding things when they "improve" them.
Philip
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
There's some clever stuff going on here! Makes resin moulding look a little primitive. The printer seems to have good reviews and is affordable but I think I will have to wait until my grandson is old enough to show me how to do it!!
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Great loco James (again) - and yes your weathering does add so much to the locos - I may yet have a go on one of my battery work horses! Millie will always be shiny though!
Its funny - when 3D printers came out I thoughT i'd never have need of one of those - now as I see them being used more and more in the 16mm world, I'm starting to think..................
Its funny - when 3D printers came out I thoughT i'd never have need of one of those - now as I see them being used more and more in the 16mm world, I'm starting to think..................
Where did I put that uncoupler?
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Hi James,James from Devon wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:53 pm slicing ..... I have tried several but get far better results from MatterControl.
I'm actively looking at 3d printing again.
I quite like the look of MatterControl, compared to, say, Makerbot and Replicator G. However, I've just downloaded it ( 3 times!) from the Mattercontrol site and my Norton Antivirus software keeps freaking out and removing it saying it is infected.
Did you have any probs with installing it? I suspect it is Norton being paranoid,, as it often is, but thought I'd check.
Philip
Philip
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Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Do you have a link so we can check it although I suspect it is Norton as with most of these 'security suite' applications they are OTT and grind your computer to a halt.
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Mark,markoteal wrote: ↑Mon Jun 12, 2017 9:33 pm Great loco James (again) - and yes your weathering does add so much to the locos - I may yet have a go on one of my battery work horses! Millie will always be shiny though!
Its funny - when 3D printers came out I thoughT i'd never have need of one of those - now as I see them being used more and more in the 16mm world, I'm starting to think..................
I was browsing the "Thingiverse" site last night and came across a rather tasty looking Hudson tipper to download....!!
Philip
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Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
That is fine to download, just uninstall Nortonphilipy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 17, 2017 3:05 pm Hi Tom,
Thanks.
http://www.mattercontrol.com/#jumpMatte ... lDownloads
The Windows version.
Re: Learning how to 3D print loco parts
Thanks. I didn't think there was a problem with it, but as well to be sure.
As for Norton it isn't the first time I've thought the same....! I might agree except that it did warn me about a genuine nasty earlier this afternoon.
Philip
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