Came across an article the other day on model railroading and 3D printing. Seems us railroad hobbyists are leading the pursuit of highly detailed and/or custom parts and pieces - and using 3D printing to make it happen!! Out of curiosity, I searched for other articles and was pleasantly surprised that it is all true.
So - has anyone used 3D printing for parts 'n' pieces of their own??
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I think 3-D printing is an incredible technology and very excited about what it will bring to the hobby. That said, I don't plan to go there. Pleasure for me is working with the "old techniques," X-Acto, file, razor saw, etc.
I think 3-D printing is an incredible technology and very excited about what it will bring to the hobby. That said, I don't plan to go there. Pleasure for me is working with the "old techniques," X-Acto, file, razor saw, etc.
Kinda argee there Lee.....I build O scale freight cars from wood so I'm old school for sure. 3D printing is used extensively in the scale model car hobby.....even complete kits are being made not just parts. One internet buddy makes the most unreal spoked wheels! Neat stuff!
My issue is the software need to run these machines. I have a graphics background and thought adding one more dimension to my 2D expertise would be easy....WRONG!!! I got the software and tried to draw a box with two holes drilled in it......never got it right. Gave up as it was NOT fun....and this is my hobby. I have a 2D laser cutter....about as high tech as I want to get...and today it not 'cutting edge'!!!
The missing link is the ability to take prototype drawings and create good CAD files IMHO. This is a skill that your average modeler doesn't have.
What would be fantastic is if a "Modelers Database" could be setup as a repository for different prototype CAD files. Modelers around the world that have the ability to create the CAD files could upload them kind of open source style. Then it would be simply a matter of downloading the files and getting them printed. This actually kind of exists already, but it isn't specific to trains. http://www.thingiverse.com/
The missing link is the ability to take prototype drawings and create good CAD files IMHO. This is a skill that your average modeler doesn't have.
What would be fantastic is if a "Modelers Database" could be setup as a repository for different prototype CAD files. Modelers around the world that have the ability to create the CAD files could upload them kind of open source style. Then it would be simply a matter of downloading the files and getting them printed. This actually kind of exists already, but it isn't specific to trains. http://www.thingiverse.com/
The model car guys are doing that now. Many of the parts that folks have created are available for a small fee. No complete kits or really complex parts are out there yet.....but lots of wheels and custom parts. It will become a force in many hobbies but it's not for all!
Oops! I thought that this post was going to be about a new type of knife or saw blade. 
A 3D printer is pretty cool, but its not like you can just buy one at OfficeMax.
How much does the printer cost?
In response to the first post, I think someone did use 3D software to create an adapter piece for a logging locomotive that would not operate / stay coupled on the listed O31 minimum radius without the adapter. I think it was a Lionel engine with the problem and a similar / prior Kline engine had been delivered with the adapter.
If I recall correctly, that person had a 3D printing shop do the job for him because the cost of even the cheaper 3D printers and related materials is just to high for a project with unlikely multiple uses.
Chuck
About $1000. That's for the printer, not all the other stuff you need to make it useful like "ink", cleaning supplies, software, etc.
The $1000 units are fine for learning but their resolution is not good enough for finished work. Units that print a part ready to use is about $10000. The biggest hurdle to me is the software....or learning it.
The printers right now certainly aren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination! But then, I recall the first full color flat bed scanner i ever bought - and look at the prices now.
The software component is also a hefty undertaking. Kind of funny that we can quickly, and at no cost, visualize what we want something to be - but to take it from a couple brain cells into the 'real' world is a major undertaking. Brains! Who knew!!??!!
You could hire a sculptor for a lot less than that for art work.
This technology has a long way to go to match a star trek replicator. It will mature and the costs will come down but not any time soon. The main unit at work is north of $100,000 and the parts it makes cost a lot and take hours if not days to print. While it could print out a building or car/loco shell the cost is going to be $2-$5K, not something you could mass produce.
I think 3-D printing is an incredible technology and very excited about what it will bring to the hobby. That said, I don't plan to go there.
If you run conventionally why not model conventionally.
I enjoy command control operation and I expect to enjoy command control model making.
This technology has a long way to go to match a star trek replicator.
Computer.
Trestle, Earl Grey, Hot. 
I think 3-D printing is an incredible technology and very excited about what it will bring to the hobby. That said, I don't plan to go there.
If you run conventionally why not model conventionally.
I enjoy command control operation and I expect to enjoy command control model making.
This technology has a long way to go to match a star trek replicator.
Computer.
Trestle, Earl Grey, Hot.
I agree completely. I work with all sorts of technology at work and my trains are an escape from that . . . but I know for many others the technology, and mastering it - is all part of the fun of the hobby.
Interestingly, we just reviewed and tweaked an investment plan for a manufacturer/large customer of ours to use 3-D printing in a unique way for emergency services. Pretty neat stuff and I do think 3-D printing will lead to a revolution of new ideas much more than it will replace conventional robotic manufacturing - when you are into volume production the marginal cost of a production line still seems to justify the production line, warehousing, and transportation costs. Many of those new ideas will probably be in hobbies like model train and remote control airplanes, etc.
Regardless, I'll stick to conventional running and conventional model making a bit longer.
I think the real question here is who will be the first individual or company to start printing O scale models "on demand" to individual specifications.
The price of the printer makes it unlikely for anyone to own one for personal use. But someone with the proper skills and desire could turn it into a buisness.
I dunno....
For the strangest reason(s) the first time I saw this technology in 'action', the first customer that came to mind was Madame Tusseads.
Remember those little curtained kiosks of about 50+ years ago (No, some of you probably wouldn't
...) you could climb into to have your photo instantly taken? Combine that concept with TSA full-body scanning technology and the 3D printer....I mean, think of the possibilities!!
Hey, anyone remember rolamite...the frictionless bearing gizmo developed by Sandia Labs...the 'hottest' thing since sliced bread, canned beer, serrated TP, etc.? I remember my boss (automotive component manufacturer) bringing the sample Rolamite desk-top widget out to me saying something executive-ish, like "Check this out! This is amazing! See what 'we' can do with this to gain a competitive advantage!!" OK??....Dilbert?
right.
Hey, I hope the 3D printer works better than the 1D ink-jet printers we've gone through at work. The back room pile reminds me of the heap of crumpled phone bills in the Vonage commercial!
I work in the power plant industry. My company currently uses 3D printing for small prototypes and marketing tools. I'll post some pictures later of a real part ( about 65# of steel) and the plastic marketing model which happens to be in my trunk right now. The finish on this part would not be suitable for our hobby but is not meant to be.
As to the software I have not been exposed to it but I think it depends on what you are used to. This is a manufacturing process so the software is going to be complex. At one point I was trained in 3D cad and frankly its nothing like 2d drafting. As an example to draw the threads on a bolt in 3D you create the profile of one thread and then tell the computer to wrap it around a cylinder for a given distance. From there you need to translate the finished drawn part into manufacturing instructions. Most of this complexity is frankly beyond the scope of what makes sense for the casual hobby guy or gal that needs to make a new grab iron or brake stanchion.
The process has great potential for our hobby as the part finishes improve. I think once a more satin-like finish comes about we will see lots more variety available but still in smaller lot quantities.
I look forward to this technology coming of age for use in model railroading. Maybe in back here in the good ol' U. S. of A.
I am not sure what printer some commercial companies are using but one the model car guys use is Shapeways and they items they 'print' are pretty much ready to use....or at least thats what some of my buddies have said about their parts.
It will not be used for mass production as time/cost is too high when compared to injection molding or even RTV/resin casting. But it will have a place.
Shapeways already offers model trains on its website. True, most of them are European prototypes in HO scale or smaller, but that probably means only that (just like with train simulators) most of the people interested in making CAD train models for 3D printing...are not in the US.
I'm pretty sure I saw some HO or N scale offerings by Island Modelworks offered on the site as well.
---PCJ
The only thing that I know is one piece can take 13 hours. 3D printers are laying 0.2mm layers of materials at the time.
my 2 cents.
Andre.
Shapeways already offers model trains on its website. True, most of them are European prototypes in HO scale or smaller, but that probably means only that (just like with train simulators) most of the people interested in making CAD train models for 3D printing...are not in the US.
I'm pretty sure I saw some HO or N scale offerings by Island Modelworks offered on the site as well.
---PCJ
Correct.....Shapeways only offers part or items other folks create and offer to the public. I know of one N scale modeler that created a Thrall well intermodal car with a 3D printer but used it to make a RTV mold to then cast the cars in brass so they would weight enough to run well.
And the time it takes to 'print' is why I say it will never be used for mass production. Major commercial companies are using hand cast resin.....so that means doing it by hand is still cheaper and FASTER!
Shapeways has some real advantages for certain parts, but is not a good
general-purpose for model trains. Among the disadvantages are the cost, which
is based mainly on the 3D volume of the part. Still. I am working on some
train projects that would be nearly impossible without 3D printing. And
by using a service like Shapeways, you can use their near state-of-the-art
3D printers without investing on one your own, which would be very soon
obsolete. And you can focus on your 3D models rather than learning about
dealing with a particular printer and 3D printer technology.
One of the OGR members posted about some O Gauge catenary components
that he made available on Shapeways, and there are a lot of Z gauge parts
there now.
-Mark
The N and Z scale guys are doing a lot of 3D work.......makes sense too as it is so small.
I guess its only a matter of timet until Microsoft comes out with the "Build Your Loco Wizard"
Still, it is a pretty danged cool technology.
Personally, I vote for the replicator, and not necessarily for Tea, Earl Grey, hot. (Do you suppose they will put that on Patrick Stewart's tombstone?)
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