3D Printing... Repository ...the Beginning

Good Idea I'd participate.

3DPrint Rule 1. Your first print is rarely your best print.

3DPrint Rule 2. Objects created in a modeling program are either smaller or larger than expected.

3DPrint Rule 3. Place print support points where they will least be seen in the final application.

Pretty underwhelming reply to view ratio.   I suppose that the majority of members are probably in my age group (i.e., seniors) and have no interest in 3D printing which is totally understandable.   I am a little surprised that a couple (or, a few) of the younger members did not respond.  I’ll set up the ftp server in the next week or so and see what the future holds.   

It will probably take me a month or so to provide any .stl(s) as I am new to 3D printing and will have to gain some modest level of proficiency before doing so.

That would be great. As you stated there isn’t much o scale free print files out there currently. 

This sounds like a really good idea I would be willing to share the files that i have made with everyone, as you stated there is not very much in O scale and by trial and error i have been scaling up some of the n and ho files but they don't quite scale up right.  

Dennis,

I am very interested in what you are saying and totally agree, I've run into the same situation where I have to make most everything myself as there isn't much out there.

are you saying that you will host this FTP site for all forum members (or anyone) to use for up and downloading? 

I've had many requests to make 3D prints for members which I have turned down as that is not what I want to spend time doing, but will give them the STL files that they could print or have printed.

So I have a good list of parts made already and am sure to be designing more that I could share.

Many of my STL files run up to and some well over 100KB

I would recommend not only having STL files available but also STP files in case someone wants to modify a part for their individual needs.

I've found that it is important to be able to find a file once made when the data base can be very large.

Would there be a means to control someone from trying to sell this information that we give freely or do we care?

Like I said, yes I'm in if we have a workable system and database to do this.

Shown is some of the parts that would be available.

I agree that this is a great idea.  I'll participate once I master Fusion 360.

Dale

Ray,  Yes, I'll host it.  I'm fairly good at organizing... and, kind of have that figured out.  I certainly will listen to suggestions... and would be hopeful that y'all kinda help me with the protocol(s).   There are a-holes everywhere... however, I don't really care if someone try's to profit off it ....they'll rot, you know where.  This is really about the hobby and it's enhancement.  I can make the site as tight as you want... passwords, encryption, whatever or, leave it open ...y'all can help me figure out the best practices/approach.

dennis

My son's gave me a 3d printer for Christmas last year Since that time, I have printed 1 item...just to see what it can do and the possibilities are endless.  My lack of doing anything further is the absence of files that I want or am willing to pay for.  I did run across one forum member that had done some great things and I asked if I may purchase files so I could build.  That was met with a stern rebuke and a pretty lousy attitude so I just forgot about it.  Due to the lack of files, I considered getting a 3D camera to make my own files...again, not a motivating proposition.  

I will say this, I would gladly consider paying a membership to this site to have access to files without having to worry about royalties or copyright violations.  Additionally, how many of the items we would want to print would be in competition with Forum sponsors?  People, fences, scenic details, out of production engine and/or rolling stock pieces?

Standardization of file formats is another consideration.  

I look forward to joining and subscribing for this purpose.

Some believe that as they have spent time developing models that time has value.  

For those folks, I don't expect them to participate.

This is not a needed source of funding for me. So i have no issues sharing.

However, I don't have a ready easy to find inventory of items. I have maybe hundreds of models that are not well-organized because I was making things on the fly.

Many or a lot of the things I made I don't use because I have revised my designs or layout plans. It's a very iterative design process. So I'd be losing money if I was a manufacturer of Ogauge products.  Gladly I'm not.

Still again I have no issues sharing.

The repository (library) would *not* be a part of the this forum or have *any* relationship with this website whatsoever (unless, the brass at OGR want it to be).  I will host it personally and as a software developer I am *extremely* well versed in copyright.  It probably would not hurt if one was a member or better yet a supporting member...

Al, I'm pretty darned organized... once I get the site up ...help beta test it and see if the way I have arranged it makes any sense and is easy to use.  Then, MAKE SUGGESTIONS!!!

;-)

Last thought. Most of my designs are Custom. See below

These two escalators were made from 3D prints of two escalator stairs and laser cut clear acrylic sides and black acrylic railings.

This is a custom design for a building that has a specific floor-to-floor height. 

How would anyone use it if their building was different?

Holy Cannoli Al!!!

I suppose they would build a new building around it... or, take NYC there are a number of subway entries that are quasi open aired and/or glass enclosed ...Up by Rockefeller Center/ Radio City.

In answer to Alan's question, and knowing next to nothing about 3D print software, couldn't someone who downloaded an existing file modify it by changing (lengthen or shorten) the escalator size or modifying (increase or decrease) the angle of descent with the proper software?  And here, let me quote Gunrunner John: "No job is so easy as the one you imagine someone else doing."

Chuck

I think angles would need to be adjusted in something like TinkerCad (can re-size also).  If you wish to just change sizes, your slicer software such as Cura allows you to do that.

That's why I said we could have more than the STL files, like STP so that those who have the means could download the STP file, modify it to their needs and then make an STP and your off to the races rather than reinventing the wheel.

Dennis, I think it is a great idea and would be very valuable to the community. I haven't gotten a printer yet, but I am very interested and am excited to see what you come up with. I am always happy to see projects on the forum where people are moving in a more DIY direction as it allows for more customization and flexibility. 

To customize a stairway for anyone is where Rhino 6's Grasshopper sub-program comes in. I guess I could have programmed one stair step tread run and riser height that would be sloped at an entered variable angle that then multiplied  to become a series of steps to obtain a variable height floor to floor and extruded to the specified width.  

Enter height, width and slope in Grasshopper and you would create a specific stair model in Rhino 6. Now that I say it out loud it could be fairly easy to do that.

In Rhino, like most other 3D programs, you start with a 2D drawing of a stair and extrude it into 3D. Or take a  curve that twists in 3 space, place a circle at one end and extrude the circle about the curve to create a 3D pipe in three space. The possibilities are endless. 

The win (and fail) of existing sites like thingiverse, is the ability to search and find collections of like things. 

When I think of ftp, I think of old school navigation of a filesystem tree and trying to guess what was really intended by someones file naming convention, and hoping that they included a readme file describing what each file is. Are you planning a front end for the ftp site? 

Greg,

Yes, I'm as old as an ftp site.  Firstly, this is not a monetary generating endeavor... it is a small group of like minded people who are willing to give their time and money to assist others involved in the hobby they are enthusiastic about.  Secondly, what is the volume of available information?   Thirdly, the progression of the build. 

Initially, things need to be assembled... data, files, descriptions, photographs and videos ...etc.  These materials need to be well organized and properly tagged.  As the materials are uploaded to there respective folders they will also be placed in a database.  Now, is it worth the time and money to build a front end and have it hosted?  Let's assume we have all the materials needed to complete ten (10) 3D printouts (I have not been able to find 10 complete Model RR O-scale 3D printouts in a month of searching... remember *scaled*).   Is that the point at which a GUI is built?  Is it 50, 100?  At the beginning downloading a master list of the available 3D printouts that contains a description and photographs of items available would seem fairly navigable... read the description, look at the photographs and download the file(s).   It's free.

If, we hit an unmanageable number I can write the front end in the language of your choosing (I prefer C)...

dennis

I like this idea. I print quite a few things myself. Nothing O gauge yet, but that’s due to the lack of available items. My only thought is, other than the site not working half the time lol, what’s stopping you instead of using your own site from just creating a repository or group on Thingiverse or the like? Not trying to discourage the use of your own in anyway, but just curious is all. 

Lancer,

So far this year my servers have been down just a whisker under 7 hours due to power outages (I live in New Orleans)... not bad for a home setup.  There is nothing *stopping* me from using a group service.  I don't use one... and, I haven't spent any time analyzing the pros/cons of doing so.  You, or anyone interested in this project can certainly set up an account on the service of your choosing and we can beta test it.  If it's adequate... you/them would be providing a great service to and enhancement of the hobby... that, I would wholeheartedly support!  Please, have at it!!!

dennis

Dennis, I believe you/we are heading in the right direction, let's get started and will make any necessary changes etc. as time goes by and if any members want to be a part then great.

Dennis, great idea! I am onside 100 percent. Got my Elegoo resin printer about 2 months ago and have been having a blast making mostly scenic parts so far. I have two related threads running in the Scenery category here on the forum.

Most of the items I have printed were downloaded from Thingiverse, and started out as HO, G, 28mm, or 1:10 .stl files. Elegoo's slicer software allows you to scale up or down in all 3 axis, or only one. Its not perfect, but the results are generally pretty good. I have also had good success printing most objects flat on the build platform, without the need for rafts and support fingers.

I have been pushing for  repository site for 3d files and your plan looks like a great idea. Happy to share any files that I have. 

Rod

Hi Dennis,

I think this is a great idea.  My son keeps pushing to make more use of the 3D printer that I have.  I originally bought it so that I could recreate draw slides that weren't available for an old metal desk that I use for my train workbench.  Luckily my daughter, who is an engineer, is quite adept at using CAD software to design the slides that I needed.

My son is 26 and living back home since he changed jobs and this location is 40 miles closer to the new job.  While he is here he is helping me with building a pretty large layout.  He has the train bug and is probably one of the few that will keep the hobby going.  He just joined the TCA.

In the meantime, I think he would love to get the 3D printer re-set up and start printing things for use on the layout.  I was telling him about the escalator that Alan built and he was very interested in building something like that.

Let us know if you need any help in setting up the files, etc.

LionelFlyer

Cura is another good slicer to look into. With some tweaking it’s worked flawless for me especially the tree support option. It also allows scaling on all 3 axis. 

@sidehack posted:

Dennis, I believe you/we are heading in the right direction, let's get started and will make any necessary changes etc. as time goes by and if any members want to be a part then great.

 

Exactly!!!

Rock On

d

Update from New Orleans: *On Hold* for a few days... Potential Storm (Hurricane Delta) ...no biggy,  I'm used to it.

Hey Guys,

I looked into Thingiverse as I have heard that it is a pretty big hub for the 3D printing community. I created an account and uploaded a project I am working on intermittently to design a Railking Husky Stack compatible shipping container. Right now it is just a rectangle with the right dimensions.

The site seems to work pretty well and even generated an image of what the project looks like so far (even if it is not much).

The site allows you to create your own collections which would be a huge benefit as you could name different collections depending on what they hold. For example, I put my shipping container in the "O Gauge Scenery" collection I created.

Here you can see what the collection inside looks like. Another benefit is that there is tracking among the accounts. So, if you posted something I could save it to my collection and it would still have your name attached to it, ensuring credit.

Dennis, you could still create your own system, but that seems like it might be a lot of unnecessary work when there are good out of the box solutions that are free. The only thing is that you likely have to spend time growing the collection. I still think it would be an extremely valuable resource.

Here is the link if you want to check it out for yourself: https://www.thingiverse.com/

My .02 cents:  Freely available and well operating NOW doesn't mean it will stay that way next year or the years after that.  I can remember plenty of websites and software packages that started out as free, but had to switch to subscription, or pay-for-use, models to keep the lights on and the programs running.

And what happens if somebody contributes something in 2020, sees changes to the operation in 2021, and then decides to remove their contribution in 2022?  Would that be possible?  Legal?  Could intervening users be threatened with a fee to keep what they printed with someone else's files?  And how much of any of these answers depends on Thingverse policies?

So, is it even worth .02 cents?

Chuck

Chuck,

The same could be said for anyone hosting files. There is no saying how long that the OGR forum will continue support our post (Hopefully a long time). The nice thing about thingiveser is that they are own by stratasys one of the oldest 3D printer manufacturers. The aren’t likely to disappear overnight.

As for legal action any platform could face similar issues. However, the likely hood of that becoming a problem is low. It would take work to find everyone that download your file and then tell them that the file is no longer under creative commons license and that they need to start paying for it. I’m also not sure they would have the legal authority to do that since the user that uploaded the file also agreed to a creative commons license.

My point is thingiveser is a great platform for sharing files.  

@Slipskull posted:

The same could be said for anyone hosting files. There is no saying how long that the OGR forum will continue support our post (Hopefully a long time). The nice thing about thingiveser is that they are own by stratasys one of the oldest 3D printer manufacturers. The aren’t likely to disappear overnight

Think Photobucket.

@Dennis-LaRock posted:

While waiting for my 3D printer to arrive I have searched, read, downloaded, installed and tested (played with) so much that my head is ready to explode.  One thing that is obvious is that there isn't much O scale available online that is ready-to-print (free or otherwise).  I won't get into scaling here... because, it isn't always lineal and even that may be beyond someone's ability.   Why should parts that are unavailable be continually modeled?  Would it be helpful to *all* if we had a Repository for O scale 3D files to make it easier for everyone to find/upload/download these files?

I will make any of the 3D files I create freely available to all forum members (without having to do so privately) via ftp.  I have quite a bit of storage/backup space (around 20TB) and 2 machines that run 24/7 as well as decent bandwidth... 200MB Up & Down.

opinions please...

dennis

Keep in mind that you can rescale any STL in your slicer to any size you want. I have taken HO models to standard gauge size. I use Ideamaker, you can also resize in different ratios for each axis (X, Y and Z). Just type in the new dimension. You can also slice the model into parts if it's too big to print, then just glue the parts back together. I have done GG1 shells that are 30" long (my printer will do 15")

I have purchased STL's from several modellers that have their stuff on Shapeways (who prints parts). Some of the designers will not even sell a copy of the STL because they are afraid that it will become 'wild' on the internet, available to anyone that wants to print it. They derive a small income everytime Shapeways prints a part.

I probably have 1000 hrs on my CR-1), and anxiously awaiting a large UV cure printer (very fine detail).

Jim

An .stl of my double head signal is on another thread.

what about  curating a shop on shapeways.com dedicated to "freeware" models that can be downloaded directly from shapeways or ordered from them as a completed print.  I understand and appreciate  the no problem I can do it attitude of hosting the files, but there may come a time when you can't do it anymore.

@AlanRail posted:

An .stl of my double head signal is on another thread.

Alan, I had a look at your posted .stl file in chitubox; really nice, amazingly realistic. Only question, is there supposed to be a second signal head, or did I miss it? I see only one signal head that looks like the lower of the two, since it has the mitered support post. I would like to try a test print of the file and see what success I have, though ladders and railings are often problematic.

Thanks,

Rod

OK... done with the cleanup from a windy weekend... now, onto more important stuff.

I do not disagree or have any issue with using any of the services pro-offered.  Does anyone have an account on one of the services where you can create a group?  If yes, then *invite* me and I/we can upload/download some test data and see how it is organized within that group.

OK Dennis I have 2 test parts ready to upload

Rod

Let me take a look. I make  lots of modifications it may not be the latest version.