I have done a few initial prints on the M3D printer, some pictures below. More pictures and some analysis can be viewed at; http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2015/09/m3d-printer-1-test-prints.html
Speaker sound chamber
HO scale barrels
The red items were done on the M3D printer.
Kent in KCnvrr49.blogspot.com
Kent in KC'nvrr49.blogspot.com
A couple items I printed on the M3D for use in a piano store diorama. Pictures of the piano store can be seen at: http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2015/09/pianos-ho-scale-3d-printed-at.html
The shelves displaying the benches and stools was printed on the M3D as were the music display racks.
You should submit a how-to article proposal to MR.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Kent:
A few questions come to mind:
Did you scan an item to duplicate? i.e. the barrels
Is the system dependent on the user know CAD of some kind?
Dave
davidmurrayKent: A few questions come to mind: Did you scan an item to duplicate? i.e. the barrels Is the system dependent on the user know CAD of some kind? Dave
It only takes a few minutes to make a barrel in Sketchup. Create a cylinder. Duplicate it and scale down the duplicate a little. Then boolean subtract it from the first barrel to hollow it out. For the ribs, create a torus and size it properly. Duplicate it several times and position them where you want.
You either need to learn a program like Sketchup, which is easy to learn, or find existing model files for download.
Steve S
davidmurray Kent: A few questions come to mind: Did you scan an item to duplicate? i.e. the barrels Is the system dependent on the user know CAD of some kind? Dave
While certainly Steve's method works, not at all how I did it. I did mine is SketchUp. I drew a profile of the barrel, and used the Follow-Me tool to follow a circle the diameter of the barrel. And, there are several other ways to draw it.
There are a few web sites where one can get printable items, but very few are model railroad related. I have never done any scanning, but from what I have heard, there is still a lot of clean up that must be done in a 3d drawing program. There are lots of items in the 3d Wareshouse that is part of SketchUp, but I have never seen an item in the warehouse that was 3d printable. They all take time to edit, or in most cases, it is just about as easy for me to start from scratch.
I was not able to print HO scale concrete blocks on my Afinia printer, as the software would not allow walls thin enough. The M3D will allow me to print walls down to at least 1-1/4 scale inches in thickness. For more pictures and design details, click on this link, http://nvrr49.blogspot.com/2015/10/m3d-printer-3-concrete-blocks-in-ho.html