3D Printing - whether to buy, what to buy and how to use it?

[Paul_H]

small amount of stringing which tends to remove itself when rail is threaded through

From my limited knowledge its not only the printer that's important but the tweaking of the print software, and in this case using PLA+ filament. I am in the situation of needing the knowledge and inspiration of others

Indeed, learning what all the options do in slicer software is crucial for all forms of 3D printing. Along with recognising and diagnosing faults.

Stringing in FDM can be down to a number of things. There are various test routines and models you can use to dial in the best settings. Retraction, Z hop and acceleration are significant options to look at. https://all3dp.com/2/3d-print-stringing-easy-ways-to-prevent-it/

Filament 'wetness' can be a factor, I've seen increasing problems with 'wet' filament in recent weeks as humidity here in SW Herts has shot up after the relatively dry summer. Running filament through a dryer has helped a lot.
I've also had one reel of filament that was just horrible for stringing, but that might also be due to not having done enough calibration on my last printer (Creality....never again)

Depending on severity, an old stiff tooth brush dry can get rid of fine stringing easily and quickly.

 

[76043]

Can anyone recommend a railway modeller friendly 3dP bureau in the UK please? I've used Asis3d for their own products, but not any of my potential future designs.
Cheers
Tony

 

[michael080]

Hi there,

saw this at another model railway group.

Solidworks for 24usd/year

Power the Maker Within

I am using Solidworks at the office, but a budget copy at home is an attractive extension.
No affiliation between me and them.

 

[simond]

Simon, humble apologies for taking 9 months to finish your excellent telephone model, unretouched photos of the latest version are attached and I'll post them today. Sorry about the quality of the photos. I agree with Mickoo, having tried a number of combinations I've found the Elegoo Saturn 2 with Siraya Tech fast navy grey (FNG) resin works really well. The Anycubic Photon with Anycubic resin that Steve Baldock donated to the Love Lane group produced good results for its time (running in my nice warm bedroom) then conked out and I couldn't get a replacement part. The original Elegoo Saturn I bought a year ago produced very poor results and after 2 months of struggling it was found to have been faulty from new so I sent it back.

Next came an Anycubic Mono 4k and the printer is probably very good but the software is limited, although I did produce some reasonable prints using various resins. Then on Mickoo's recommendation my "benefactor" bought the Elegoo Saturn 2 which is brilliant with the Siraya Tech fast navy grey resin. We have also found good results at 0.05mm using Elegoo 8K water washable which is much nicer to handle and clean up but not as good with detail or as tough. I would add to Mickoo's reply that I find the IPA fumes from cleaning affect my health so the printers are in the garage and temperature is very important. The ST FNG will print quite happily at 20° c but most of the others need to be higher. I've just tried Siraya Tech "Build" black with mediocre results and now think it needs a temperature of at least 25°c. Because my garage is unheated I built a cabinet shown previously and I think its a must if you don't want the fumes in your house.

Mickoo is right that cleaning is quick and easy in with a brush and a couple of trays but the IPA fume problem has put me off it so the build plate comes straight of the printer and is dumped in the Elegoo washing machine, swirled around for a few minutes followed by a quick manual rinse in clean IPA, then dried off with air and into the Elegoo cooking machine for a couple of minutes. The 7 litres of IPA in the cleaning tank gets murky very quickly and I've found syphoning it out after settling for a day and leaving the syphoned IPA outside for a day or so in clear plastic bottles sets the particles of resin so it falls to the bottom and leaves clean IPA above to re-use. I'm wasting very little IPA now.

If you want to try the Anycubic Mono X you are welcome to borrow it.
Robin
View attachment 173790View attachment 173791View attachment 173792

just browsing RMW this morning, and found this gem. I suspect the telephone in the 1907 Cardiff office might be more difficult to 3DP!

Windows, Doors and Refreshment Rooms

www.rmweb.co.uk

isn’t it magnificent?!

 

[Boyblunder]

Y

just browsing RMW this morning, and found this gem. I suspect the telephone in the 1907 Cardiff office might be more difficult to 3DP!

Windows, Doors and Refreshment Rooms

www.rmweb.co.uk

isn’t it magnificent?!

Simon you draw it and I'll print it. On second thoughts maybe not yet! One day soon I'm sure technology will catch up. We are using the Saturn 3 now and the results are even better than the Saturn 2 with less distortion and very few failures but I doubt if I could cope with releasing those spindly handset rests from the support structure without destroying it. Perhaps you can persuade your firm they really need a Selective Laser Sintering printer?

 

[Rob R]

Just been playing with my "Black Friday" indulgence - Elegoo Neptune 4 pro.
The erstwhile GNR Open has been blown up from 1:64 to G3 and after a few drawing tweaks the first viable print is this.
Garden quality (ie ok from 3 yards or more away) so there is still some work to do on both the drawing and the print settings.

The stringy bits are from (partially) scraping the supports off (I got bored).
Don't know why the planking is showing on the corner plates and othe ironwork.
I am thinking of re-jigging it as a flatpack just to see what happens.
Printer is a bit busy at the moment with the Sentinel body.
G3 Sentinel

Edit:- Sentinel print pulled.
The supports for the window tops weren't printing so best to stop it at 3/4" high rather than waiting another 8 or 9 hours for it to fail.
Still trying to work out which Slicer suits the printer, me and the stuff I want to print (ie flat, boxy, square railway stuff reather than mythical creatures), Elegoo's version of Cura, Cura itself, Orca or Lychee.
Oh well, filament is relatively cheap..............

 

[timbowales]

I'd be inclined to say that's better than 'garden' quality!

 

[Giles]

My Christmas present is a Saturn 4 Ultra, which has been hidden till the 25th...... I'm looking forward to that!

 

[John_B]

I am thinking of re-jigging it as a flatpack just to see what happens.

I've been experimenting with O, O-16.5 and On30 wagons on my Qidi Q1 Pro, and have been really impressed with the results. I usually print in one piece at a 45 degree angle with tree supports. This avoids almost all troublesome overhangs. I've printed a few wagons in parts flat on the bed, and ironing all top surfaces makes big difference to the quality. I orientate the parts so that the ironing layer runs parallel to planks, which produces cleaner results. If you can design the parts so all layers are ironed longways that's even better! I've found this harder to do since I changed from Prusa to Orca Slicer, but I'll get there eventually. I also use variable layer height on curved surfaces like roofs, or the minimum layer height the printer is capable of. I'd be inclined to use minimum layer height on all the detail layers, and higher layers on the body for a bit of extra speed.

I haven't tried painting anything yet though, so the jury is still out. I'm willing to lose some quality to avoid using nasty resin, and the cost savings in producing, especially O gauge, wagons are worth a sacrifice in quality, but there are limits, and I'm not 100% sure yet.

 

[Rob R]

Early days yet but it looks promising.



Why bother to print FB track bases?
Well, you can get S scale rtr track from the USA at a price but S Scale Irish BG track is generally only stocked at the places that sell Rocking Horse and Hens Teeth.
Peco code 75 if you were wondering.
Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro, Elegoo PLA filament.

 

[Stephen Freeman]

Just been playing with my "Black Friday" indulgence - Elegoo Neptune 4 pro.
The erstwhile GNR Open has been blown up from 1:64 to G3 and after a few drawing tweaks the first viable print is this.
Garden quality (ie ok from 3 yards or more away) so there is still some work to do on both the drawing and the print settings.
View attachment 229002
The stringy bits are from (partially) scraping the supports off (I got bored).
Don't know why the planking is showing on the corner plates and othe ironwork.
I am thinking of re-jigging it as a flatpack just to see what happens.
Printer is a bit busy at the moment with the Sentinel body.
G3 Sentinel

Edit:- Sentinel print pulled.
The supports for the window tops weren't printing so best to stop it at 3/4" high rather than waiting another 8 or 9 hours for it to fail.
Still trying to work out which Slicer suits the printer, me and the stuff I want to print (ie flat, boxy, square railway stuff reather than mythical creatures), Elegoo's version of Cura, Cura itself, Orca or Lychee.
Oh well, filament is relatively cheap..............

Only issue is the corner plates, otherwise as good as you going to get and better than most, not limited to 3D prints either

 

[Bill Bedford]

Only issue is the corner plates, otherwise as good as you going to get and better than most, not limited to 3D prints either

Not just the corner plates. Leaving a void behind the ironwork where they cross the plank chamfers is something to avoid.

 

[Stephen Freeman]

Not just the corner plates. Leaving a void behind the ironwork where they cross the plank chamfers is something to avoid.

hadn't looked that close same issue I think.

 

[Rob R]

Not just the corner plates. Leaving a void behind the ironwork where they cross the plank chamfers is something to avoid.

Filled behind the corner plates before this print.
It's the same effect on the end posts as well which is a bit more puzzling as they are quite a bit thicker.
Still have a million and one settings to play with on the slicer (Orca) but I have kicked it into the long grass for now while I play with the flat bottom track.

 

[simond]

Not just the corner plates. Leaving a void behind the ironwork where they cross the plank chamfers is something to avoid.

I presume the planks were not chamfered in the way of the ironwork?

Was the ironwork bedded in putty or something similar to prevent water being trapped & consequent rot?

 

[Bill Bedford]

Filled behind the corner plates before this print.
It's the same effect on the end posts as well which is a bit more puzzling as they are quite a bit thicker.
Still have a million and one settings to play with on the slicer (Orca) but I have kicked it into the long grass for now while I play with the flat bottom track.

The trick is to draw the ironwork from a sketch on a mid-plane to the plank thickness.

 

[Rob R]

The trick is to draw the ironwork from a sketch on a mid-plane to the plank thickness.

I suspect I will have to move on from TinkerCad to do that....

 

[Hayfield1]

Early days yet but it looks promising.
View attachment 229080
View attachment 229081
View attachment 229082
Why bother to print FB track bases?
Well, you can get S scale rtr track from the USA at a price but S Scale Irish BG track is generally only stocked at the places that sell Rocking Horse and Hens Teeth.
Peco code 75 if you were wondering.
Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro, Elegoo PLA filament.

I am printing Templot COT track using a Neptune 4 and using eSun PLA+ Martin thinks Sunlu PLA+ is even tougher



Chair detail is very good. Using Cura 556 for slicing and Martin Wynn has some tweaked print settings for Neptune 4 printers



A bit more detailed photo

COT stands for chairs on timbers rather than the older Plug Track