Increasingly discouraged by the high price of, among other things, quality and detailed intermodal equipment and cars, trucks, etc in HO scale, I have tried a few different ideas to cut costs. This week, I tried 3d printing. I paid $15 for a bit over two pounds of knock off 3d filament with free shipping from ebay. I have a way to access 3d printers for free as long as I buy my own filament. So I decided to give it a shot. I could not have been more happy. Not only did my first model, a 40' shipping container turn out as expected, I saved weeks of waiting and oodles of money by avoiding 3d printing companies and train brands that already make the models I want. Below is a picture of the result, with a preliminary coat of paint:
I do realize, however, that new technology like this can often put modelers off, for any number of reasons. I will attempt to help some of those still sitting on the fence about using new technology like this by providing a short tutorail. *NOTE* I do not endorse any of the following websites/companies, they are just free and they work well for me.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of designing models yourself, check places like thingyverse.com. They are my favorite free 3d model website, because they have had way more HO scale models than any other website I have checked. All you have to do is download the files (completely safe), and save them on a flash drive. Make sure they are STL format.
If you do want to make your own models, I have found sketchup to be the best. The free version has everything you will probably ever need, and the conditions do not require very much personal information, like Tinkercad and others do.
Obviously, you will need to find a 3d printing location. If you don't mind spending $40 on something like a trailer, there are plenty of online retailers who will print your model for you and ship it to you. However, if you can't (or simply won't) pay that much, there is another way. Resin 3d printers (see Luke Towan's youtube channel) are only as low as $500, and they print even finer than conventional printers. However, if you don't want to make an initail investment like that either, some public places like libraries now have 3d printers you can use. You will have to check around your area to see whats around and what the conditions are.
I hope this short run down is helpful, and I also hope that more and more modelers are excited about this new way of making finely detailed models for a fraction of the cost and time. I know I definitely am.
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
I'm surprised that libraries would have them, because I think I saw a video where the printing time was 8 hours.
How long did your container take to print?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Are you using PLA, or a different material? Did you print the entire thing with like 20% infill, or did you print the sides and assemble them? I printed some stuff the other day, not train related, but next time I go in to print, train stuff will come out with me. Overall, nice and informitive.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
I used PLA with no infill, because I printed it upside down as one peice. My print took 3 hours. The resin printer that Luke Towan uses, however, always takes nine hours, no matter how much you cram in it, so they are faster too...
BTW, the website is https://www.thingiverse.com/.
Using Yeggi can be easier for searching.
https://www.yeggi.com/
BNSF UP and others modeler I used PLA with no infill, because I printed it upside down as one peice. My print took 3 hours. The resin printer that Luke Towan uses, however, always takes nine hours, no matter how much you cram in it, so they are faster too...
So no floor, eh? As a wise modeler once said, "don't model what ya can't see."
Thanks for the info, I might have to try this.
The one and only picture you show of your container, the ribs look very rough. What about the door detail? and as Harrison asked, no floor?
Librarys? I'm sure they charge for the service.
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewi...
Many containers I have seen in the model industry do not have floors. I have a couple (athearn I think?) As for the roughness, you are correct. But it isn't too coarse and nothing sandpaper can't help. The door detail for my specific model (which I got off of thingyverse) includes two poles and hinges. If you want something more, you can always design your own model. And I know not all librarys charge because up to a certain limit, one near me does not. Thats why you have to do some research for your area...
Yea, the bottoms not a big deal, I thought about that after I posted, and your picture doesn't show the door detail, that's why I asked.
So these are 40'ers? Bottom line, what does each container cost, undecorated, as your pictures shows?
I have a couple of container trains I run, one with 40' ers, to represent foreign destintation ports, and a train with a mix of 48' and 53', to represent domestic traffic, and I have a trash container train, Seattle "style", if you will. These aren't long trains. 20 cars on my lay out is long.
I've been able to pick and choose over the years through Ebay, and A-Line's undecorated offerings.
Guys,Food for thought more or less. One could use the home mades for bottom containers and the more detailed store bought containers for the top.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BNSF UP and others modelerAs for the roughness, you are correct. But it isn't too coarse and nothing sandpaper can't help.
BNSF,
By the time you sand out the roughness, your container ribs will more-than-likely become fairly wide because of the amount of material you'll need to remove. If you do, be sure to do it outside or wear a mask.
In general, 3D printers are great for concept modeling and prototyping. The resolution and tolerances, however, are still not fine enough for detail work and injection-molding is much better at that.
Hopefully 3D printing will continue to get better though. It's fascinating to watch a build.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Waiting to see just what his undecorated model cost. I notice the connector pins (for lack of knowing the correct term) that hold containers together are not on his print, but I suppose double sided tape would work, or it could be another detail you'd have to add yourself.
Containers on Shapeways are pretty pricey, considering what they are. I like the undecorated models from A-Line, but I don't see them on their web site any more. Ebay is still a good source.
I agree with BN as far as the price of the packaged 3 container sets, although they are nicely detailed.
And it totally depends on what type of container traffic your modeling, the overseas, which is mainly 40 and 20' containers, or the domestic, which are the 45' through 53' models.
As far as printing quality, I'm more than happy with the bulk pnuematic trailer I bought, everything that the prototype has, is there.
My opinion on 3D printing is that it is a very useful tool, but I’m not thrilled about the roughness lower end printers, such as those you can afford in you home or what a local library may have, produce. The sanding required seems to soften the details, making them fit for nothing about background details. You could also make parts for mechanisms (say switch machines) with lease, since in those cases roughness and detail is less of a problem. Lower end printers offer print poorer results when doing curves, square stuff (i.e. the container BNSF printed) comes out better.
I am very impressed by the results I’ve seen people get using resin printers or printing services (i.e. Shapeways). They usually lack the roughness that characterizes lower end prints.
The real benefit of 3D printing is you can print details that are not commercially available. Just often you can’t get the detail in cheaper 3D printers you’d otherwise get. I don’t think that 3D printing really saves money, but it can make anything you what provided you can design it online.
Regards, Isaac
I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!
If you use fine enough grit, it won't distort dimensions. The striations are not very coarse. The price for the container, which weighs under an ounce, is just over 40 cents (if you buy a roll of PLA at $15 for 2.2 pounds). Thats even better than I first thought.
Keep in mind that I am limited by the 3d printer available (its a $2000 dollar knock off and it prints better than the name brand), and this is my very first print/test model. I didn't design the file either. If I did, there would be more door details and they would be finer, and there would be places for connector pins too. I am currently working on designing a BN/BNSF 48' well car from scratch. That will have way more detail than the one currently on thingyverse. Once I get it finished and printed, I'll post pictures to show you what is really possible. There is an easy fix to eliminating the striations entirely. Resin 3d printers print so fine you don't even need to sand anything and you have to hold the print up to the light to see the layers.
If I had $500 odd dollars laying around, I'd buy one. But for now, I'll have to settle for what I can get. However, Luke Towan has tons of good videos on resin 3d printing, I recommend you take a look...
You container is a fine model considering the money you paid for it. However I am cursed as a rivet counter, and am not content with what a $2000 printer will give you. I have see Luke Towan’s videos, as well as the ones on MRVP. The quality you get with a resin printer is exceptional, especially considering they come for less than $500 dollars, less than plastic types. Of course each to his own!
BNSF UP and others modelerKeep in mind that I am limited by the 3d printer available (its a $2000 dollar knock off and it prints better than the name brand), and this is my very first print/test model, for pete sakes. I didn't design the file either. If I did, there would be more door details and they would be finer, and there would be places for connector pins too. I am currently working on designing a BN/BNSF 48' well car from scratch. That will have way more detail than the one currently on thingyverse. Once I get it finished and printed, I'll post pictures to show you what is really possible. For those of you that cannot tolerate the visible layers that distort smoothness, resin 3d printers print so fine you don't even need to sand anything and you have to hold the print up to the light to see the layers. If I had $500 odd dollars laying around, I'd buy one and give you demonstations of the best in current 3d printing. However, Luke Towan has already done it anyway...
If I had $500 odd dollars laying around, I'd buy one and give you demonstations of the best in current 3d printing. However, Luke Towan has already done it anyway...
Stop getting defensive. No one is criticizing you; just pointing out the limitations of 3D technology, at present. The resolution of SLAs is getting better but still in the 2 to 5-mil (0.002 - 0.005") range, which will yield visible roughness to the naked eye. (FYI: I used to machine as part of my job as a technician so I know a little something about it.) I congratulate you on giving it a whirl.
No defense intended (pardon the pun).
I just want people to know absolutely everything before making a judgement or decision...
Thats why I gave a short tutorial on my first post. Let 'em try it first, then see if they like it.
Why not just go with an liquid 3d printer, very fine detail.
You mean like the resin ones? I would like to, when I get the money...
Or are you referring to something different?
BNSF UP and others modeler No defense intended (pardon the pun). I just want people to know absolutely everything before making a judgement or decision... Thats why I gave a short tutorial on my first post. Let 'em try it first, then see if they like it.
Thanks!
My son-in-law has a medium priced printer. He made me some containers that were in flat pieces -- needed to be glued together. They included floors. The ribbing, connecting pins, door latches, etc., were all very highly detailed. There were no rough lines. The containers were just as detailed as the ones I bought from Atlas and Kato (except for painting and decals).
For ten containers, we used under a dollar of plastic, as opposed to $6.00 to $12.00 per container at the LHS.
For an N Scale intermodal train with 15 doublestacked cars, and more cars in the yard, and more containers sitting in the yard, I was overwhelmed by even sale prices.
While I'm too cheap to buy my own printer, I think this is a great possibility for some modelers.
York1 John
This printer you talk about, is it an FDM printer? Also, may I ask what the printer brand and name is? I didn't know that standard 3d printers could achieve way better results than what I got. I'll have to look into this.
I've been using 3d prints from Shapeways. I think the level of detail is more than adequate for HOn30. With a bit of sanding, they can be quite convincing. I think some folks remove some of the grain by exposing the pieces to acetone (I leave that to the pros). I just do some final sanding. Below is an HOn30 shay I've been working on. It still needs some detailing and a bit of weathering. It is motored by a Tomix drive. The gears don't work, but it is so tiny that my 50 year old eyes can't really tell... I certainly appreciate the smooth running mechanism. Anyway, 3D is here now for me. And it can only get better.
Simon
20190505_145451 by Flickr" alt="" />
Wow, that is really impressive quality. Is that resin 3d printed or standard 3d printed?
The seller calls it "smooth fine plastic". It's certainly as brittle as resin. The trucks broke off a few times while working on it. CA took care of that. It did require some prep work before painting. I sanded the piece using a piece of sand paper glued on an angled piece of wood. I also filled a few gaps with putty. So it's not off-the-shelf... besides, it would not be fun otherwise wouldn't it? I only have a short strip of HOn30 on my layout, so I did not want to spend 500$ for a RTR one...
BNSF UP and others modeler You mean like the resin ones? I would like to, when I get the money... Or are you referring to something different?
You mean like the anycubic photon?
https://www.amazon.com/ANYCUBIC-Assembled-Innovation-Off-line-Printing/dp/B078N2TSYS/ref=asc_df_B078N2TSYS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312205217278&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5848068785953354753&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033356&hvtargid=pla-494955475377&psc=1
Because...thats a resin 3d printer...
And its around $500. A little less, actually.
Yesterday I got to the printer and printed this 20 ft container. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:38392 Print settings are 5% infill, print upside down(no floor) and generate supporting. Printed with PLA, heated bed Prusia I3 MK2.
Also printed some oil drums, they don't look the greatest though.
Hey, Harrison, what kind of printer did you use to make those?
That container looks really good. That looks to be some intricate detail on the door!
The oil drums look like they melated or something? I suspect That they might make okay background detail though.
SPSOT fan Hey, Harrison, what kind of printer did you use to make those? That container looks really good. That looks to be some intricate detail on the door! The oil drums look like they melated or something? I suspect That they might make okay background detail though.
I am using a Prusa I3 MK2 https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/59-original-prusa-i3-mk2-kit.html#/7-color-black_and_orange. It is owned by my robotics team.
The container will get further detailed and painted. I don't think the oil drums will work any better than they are now, unless I got a resin 3D printer.
Thanks Harrison, it’s probably true that only resin printers can do the detail needed to make good looking oil drums .
That container looks really nice though, especially considering that it’s a normal plastic printer!