3D printing ... anyone doing it?

1/6 scale to be exact.

 

Shapeways would probably do it for you.

 

Bill Lane made some louvered vents for me for a Seaboard Air Line Ventilated Boxcar a while back, but I think he's gotten away from it now that he has a full-time job.  But try anyway, his partner may still be doing it:

 

http://www.3dmodeltech.com/

 

There was some 1/18 scale figures out at one time by 21st Century Toys but they've gone belly up.

I looked into 3d printing in PA area for some custom 1"-1.5" figurines.   found people willing to print for about $2 each but they wanted several hours at $100 an hour to design the file to make the mold.  Injection plastic just as bad: $3000-$5000 to make the mold and 2000+ piece minimum.  Some also want loyalty rights in case piece becomes popular.   Very frustrating.  No wonder Lionel figurines are $26.99

to clarify, the several hundred dollar graphic design fee was to make the "prototype" for 3d printing, not the mold.  I dont think you need a mold for 3d printing, just a computer generated file in STL format for a 3d printer to print it.  But I second any recommendations for custom 3d printers in o scale (especially ones who don't charge an arm and a leg!)

If you meant several hours to make the file to print from, that's not a bad price.  Most Contractors that I've worked with that do 3D modeling charge around the rate you listed at a minimum.

 

If you're at least a little computer savvy, you could download one of the free 3D software packages available for home use and try and model the part(s) yourself.  Once you have the file, you can upload it to Shapeways or a similar site and have them knock out as many copies as you like.

 

Alternatively, if you have a local college with a CAD program, maybe you can find a student that wants to make a few bucks (but far less than several hundred dollars) to make the model for you.

I think the problem I ran into with 3d - and possibly what drove up the cost - is that I wanted 4
Different colors on a 1" figure.  Someone told me that 3d printing is mainly
Meant for single color items and that multi color items aren't there yet (price and technology wise).  What challenges do multiple colors on 1 print job present?  Thanks

there is also a 3D scanner which will produce the file for the printer. for something like a figure I would think scanning would be easier, and a box beam would be easier to draw. now the price of a 3D scan might be expensive also.

As cool and cutting edge as 3D printing is, it is still easier and cheaper to make your own 3D original, then make an RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) rubber mold and cast them with resin.

Not only colleges, but also some large libraries have 3D print services, and some also have the scanners since the price is dropping on those, too. Community colleges with heavy tech programs often have the latest thing, so it's worth a call or a look at the local website.

 

 

I am drawing the parts to convert a Lionel RS3 shell into one version of a RS3m (a Dewitt Geep) right now to print on a friends 3D printer.