portbury Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Hi folks, just starting to dip my toe in the 3D printing waters and I was wondering what wall thickness people generally use with FUD please? I'm thinking in terms of 4mm scale loco side tanks, diesel sides, etc? I'm guessing 1 to 2mm perhaps? TIA Cheers Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ427 Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Hi folks, just starting to dip my toe in the 3D printing waters and I was wondering what wall thickness people generally use with FUD please? I'm thinking in terms of 4mm scale loco side tanks, diesel sides, etc? I'm guessing 1 to 2mm perhaps? TIA Cheers Rich Hi Rich, I've just had a 4mm tank engine done in FUD. It was originally designed for i-materialise prime gray which has a 1mm minimum thickness. Although there have been some problems with my Shapeways FUD print (they are reprinting it now) it is quite sturdy at this thickness whilst retaining a degree of flexibility. FUD should in theory go down to 0.6mm thickness. Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
portbury Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Many thanks, I shall have a play :-) Cheers Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Mike Posted October 29, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 29, 2012 FUD will go down to 0.3mm - fairly sure that I have had some parts with 0.3mm wall thickness as part of a box (and possibly more discrete parts as well). Though I wouldn't necessarily recommend going to minimum thickness unless you absolutely need to and certainly not for large pieces as you won't have the rigidity. Design details for Shapeways's materials are here: http://www.shapeways.com/materials/material-options Cheers, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 FUD will go down to less than 0.3 but don't make everything to the minimum thickness: you want some strength and robustness where the detail and size isn't critical. Somewhere in the region of 1mm for main structural sections is sensible. I went for less, but 2mm is smaller so there is less wall to flex. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJones Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 0.3mm is only available over a small area - less than 30mm long IIRC. It's also far too weak and wobbly for anything other than small pieces. 0.5mm is fairly rigid but still too flimsy for 4mm sheet metal bits, 0.8mm should do nicely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
portbury Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thanks for the tips, much appreciated Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzler Fan Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Why do loco side tanks need to be so thin? Surely, for a model they help stiffen to hold the shape of the model, and especially as they cover such large areas. From experience, I would not rely on FUD for small detail to be flexible, unless it is anchored to a main structure! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJones Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Why do loco side tanks need to be so thin? Surely, for a model they help stiffen to hold the shape of the model, and especially as they cover such large areas. From experience, I would not rely on FUD for small detail to be flexible, unless it is anchored to a main structure! more space made of plastic is less space for lead! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etched Pixels Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 They seem to be enforcing 0.4mm in most cases now. I had something I'd printed before rejected this time as it was 0.398mm wide at the narrowest spot ! If you go down to 0.4/0.5mm then it can be rather too flexible and also sometimes warps a bit. You can save a lot of dosh however by not thickening it all over but by printing a thicker supporting pattern on the back (as you would thin steel over a frame). Even on small N gauge coach bodies I try and print a small thicker bar at the bottom as I find it stops the sides bowing inwards. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzler Fan Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 I attach a Shapeways print of model in FUD at 4mm scale, with the handbrake and bottom link on the hornblock track, intact. The transverse rod connecting the handles is also present. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzler Fan Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 more space made of plastic is less space for lead! I would not count that as critical, for a dimensionally stable model. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richbrummitt Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 They seem to be enforcing 0.4mm in most cases now. I had something I'd printed before rejected this time as it was 0.398mm wide at the narrowest spot ! That means one of my current projects is off limits, unless they allow small projections, such as ribs, roof overhangs and the like, to be less than that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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