Resin printers will do the job.
I've purchased a few prints from Shapeways. There are different grades available. In my opinion, only the translucent plastic provides an acceptable level of detail. It is fragile, and requires sanding to achieve a smooth finish. I use it for my HOn30 models. Here is modified Thomas loco, fitted with a new cab:
20201231_114957 on Flickr
A Porter (top left):
20190501_214822b on Flickr
A Shay:
20190517_215454 on Flickr
Simon
..... and not just freight cars,
you can do.....
passenger cars,
non-revenue cars,
MOW cars (boom tender in this pic),
Cabooses (more non-revenue cars, unfinished),
replacement tenders,
a myriad of parts (these are sprung Arch Bar trucks),
even flatcar loads (unfinished) if you get bored.
But i have to tell you, this isnt something your gonna pull off on a public library printer.
Clear Ahead!
PMR
Nice Job
yes, used a filament printer to do flatdeck old time truss rod cars , the wheels and couplers were store bought though ..
i did maybe two dozen of them ..
Depending on the types of 3D printers you are using. Most likely, you are using the 3D printer that print plastic wires, which is a FDM printer. It typically has a low resolution such that you can see the small gooves (wirees). Another type is called DLP, which can offer better resolution.
In either case, you need to test a lot to get the right printing parameters to have good quality. I am not sure if using one from public library would work well...
Jerry
Yes, numerous modelers make their own and I have bought some printings from shapeways.
It takes some skill at designing the model and a quality printer to ge acceptable results.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
"3D printing of freight railroad cars does it wiork?".
Yes.
Respects,
While I could probably afford a fairly decent 3-D printer, I wouldn't have a clue on how to use it.I find it much easier (and cheaper) to simply scratchbuild some rolling stock that's either not otherwise available, or is just something I feel might be fun to do.
For example, I scratchbuilt four gondolas, building them on Tichy flatcar kits. Here's a couple of the Tichy flat cars...
...that are meant to remain as flatcars.
For the gondolas, here are some in-progress pictures....
I also built a fifth car as a cinder car, based on a photo of the real one...
A few photos of the finished cars...
The rivet detail, both inside and out, was done using Archer 3-D rivet decals.
Here's the cinder car prior to painting...
...because of the nature of it's use, I used thin sheet styrene (as steel plate) to cover the "wooden" deck of the Tichy flatcar.
While it's based on a TH&B prototype, I elected to letter it for one of my freelanced "home-roads"...
I doubt that I could even manage 3-D printing, but there's not much mystery in simple scratchbuilding.
Wayne
Because everything that comes out of my public library 3 D printer is wonky and can not produce the detail that I need. Coal cars should be a piece of cake till you realize the rivets and brake lines and pipes that are needed