rue_d_etropal

I have asked experienced 3d printers about this and they say it is a problem. I would have expected the industry to have come up with a some way to fix the problem. I wonder I the really want to do so. And yes, I do keep on suggesting similar ideas. That is because noone is actually listening.

Sticking my head out again. After discussing some of the problems with printing using downloaded files, I think that it is time for the industry to either come up with standards so printers wil print file passing suitability tests like Shapeways ye, or for them to provide software that converts STL files to suit their particular printer. We take it for granted that when we are online that usually we can access most types of files, and if not there is something we can download for our particular computer. I am not particularly interested in doing the actual 3d printing, and like when I was in IT I only got involved in creating the programs and I was not expected to be able to operate or maintain the actual computer it was running on. So I do the design work and carry out various checks(and experience) and then pass on the STL file to someone who can then take it onto printing.

This is one issue I have Ben thinking about for a few years. As I now do not have a car I have to use public transport, and I have even transported small exhibition layouts by bus or train. Charging an eco tax will bring out all the regiments currently being spout that it is not fair on the less well off. Better to look at it from opposite angle and try to get as many exhibitions in venues easily accessible by public transport. In particular by train as we are railway enthusiasts and should try to use it ourselves. I seem to remember reading a long time ago that some larger layouts were even transported by train . Would have required a lot of planning though. Another issue might be our insistence on exhibitions nearly always being held at weekends. Not everyone works Monday to Friday.

Tom Which software package are you using now? I am still using the one( updated) you originally recommended to me.

It does sound complex, but in essence very similar to the software I use. Big advantage for one I use is that it is more like program writing, and has a start and end. There are tools to push and pull but I still prefer to edit the code. I say code, but it is more like a set of sub routines with me setting the parameters. It suits me down to the ground, but can sometime throw up problems which are difficult to fix, especially when resizing. For simple resizing it is just a case of adding one extra line of code. I have now even built in code which calculates minimum thicknesses required for a specified scale.

I know that one feature of STL files IDs that resizing can be done at the post design phase, ie not necessarily as part of the original Cad Design . Now there are obvious limitation such as walk and rod thickness. Reducing scale can result in breakages, and increasing scale can result in over thick walls and clumsy detail. The CAD software I have used for 20 years makes it relatively easy to resizes designs and make adjustments a required. It does mean my designs have several versions mapping different scale ranges, but it doe mean that when asked I can usually resize any of my designs relatively easily. Now there are others out the who offe some fantastic designs but possibly not in scales some would want. A few years ago I asked one designer if they could up the scale on some of the model vehicles and they said no. A pity as I think there was a potential market lost. It does worry me that some designers are not fully making use of 3d print design. Is it the CAD software they are using that prevents them resizing or something else? Just wondering how many of the CAD packages out there can resize designs, and if they can not , then maybe they should. One thing you can always predict is that when you design a model in one scale someone will always ask if you can do it in a different scale.

I have no interest in writing an article myself which is why I suggested someone with experience writes one. When it come to printing large models I know of at least 2 people who have printed gauge one models. One was a few year ago and I think they modified their printer to print a coach end to end. The other is more recent and I assume is printer bought. Have seen photos of one loco( not my design) printed and it was impressive. It should also be noted that som of my deigned models have featured in magazines, sometimes with references to me. I can usually pot them before I read articles. It should also be noted that 4mmscale is not the only scale I design for, and N scale models are more popular, and may be even more popular for downloading. Just waiting to see how the Pay for Download trial goes for Shapeways.

Positioning probably makes a difference. If you have to print on a diagonal then it probably worst case . When it comes to expecting evidence of printability, then I wonder how someone can print on every type of printer in every material available . Just not going to happen.

I have been designing for 10 years and over that time there has been so much hype about how 3d printing can do anything. I started this thread as there still seemed to be questions needing answering, and still feel the message is not getting out there. From a quick search online I found that there re options within slicing software to add supports and this is also dependant on printer being used. The hype may be partly correct but only if you follow the instructions properly. I don't have a printer myself and am not particularly interested in having one, but that does not stop me being interested in helping people print some of my designs. I think that is the future, especially as Shapeways are trialling a pay for download option, so this is a good time to publish all the facts, and show modellers how they can print virtually anything on their home printer.I find it odd that magazines have not had articles about this, and when they do they skate over some of the issues.

This is how I would expect modellers to make use of downloaded STL files. If they decide to alter designs themselves then that is not a problem, as long as they respect copyright etc. I think the hobby is ready now for more use of 3d printing, but there needs to be more in the magazines, which explains the various issues with 3d printing, as most modellers would not expect to have to look to forums for that help. Just an idea, but maybe someone here with experience in 3d printing could write a article for one of the magazines in particular examining how to work with STL files and getting them to print successfully.

Some interesting comments above. Supports(no pun intended) my idea that it is up to those doing printing to solve potential problems of bridging gaps such as windows, lodges and other openings. Shapeways will sort out some problems, but only if you ask them. My designs all pass initial design testing, but Shapeways still manually check designs, in particular for thin rods and weighty protrusions attached only by thin extensions. They have become more critical requiring some walls and rods to be made stronger to come with post print processing, something home printers my not need to worry about as much. I have bought some 3d printed items online and have been amazed how fine some can be printed such as window bas in n gauge. Hopefully this discussion will help as I was starting to wonde if selling STL files was worth the potential trouble of some saying designs could not be printed.

Bridging gaps is what it is about. Lack of skills also a problem. I am also waiting to see how some prints in gauge one turn out , apparently using abs copolymer liquid resin.

I am asking this as I have been asked by BRM about working with someone who is doing something for the magazine. There is far too much hype about 3d printing and little about limits in magazines. Having read so much criticism about Shapeways here, and requests for STL files, I have now offered to help and this problem has arisen. I am not going to be able to modify designs just for home printing. It needs someone to quite literally bridge the gap between commercial and home printing. I have already put lot of work into this, and it is no up to those wanting more designs for one printing to make that possible.

One of the issues with home based 3d printing has been difficulty printing some objects where there is either a big gap which needs bridging or ledge requiring extra support. Some discussion on this would be useful, especially as more people want to download STL files to print themselves. Are there ways to sort this or should people be buying printers that can do this better.

I used to work in IT,and we were using SQL type code back in the 80s. I remember a conversation with one of the team pushing through expansion of this into other areas to replace traditional programming. It was sold on the basis that it would not fall over, but the problem was known then that you would not necessarily get the results you wanted, and they could be wrong. Now we are stuck with that approach, and it is not surprising we struggle to get the results we want. The internet is too big, even with more powerful computers, and that is not taking into account the money paid to make some items easier to find than others. It is one reason I created my own website with all my designs in a more logical structure. No code generation just simple, but clunky code. One analogy I have come up with is , imagine you visit the supermarket every week, but every time you visit they have moved everything around so you have to search for everything, and not surprisingly it takes a lot longer to shop, so you shop elsewhere. If most of the information stays the same or rarely changes you should have to search to find it.