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Does anyone do 3D printing to specific customer orders?


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Hello,

I've been planning a 4mm model of the WDP-4B. It is an INDIAN RAILWAYS version of the Class 66. They share the same chasis and the only difference lies in the actual body where the WDP-4B has a narrow hood and a single cab. It looks American in design. Now to the point - The cab of this loco is basically rounded off in the corners and I think 3D CAD printing is the best to get this shape, however I don't have the time nor the resources to do it, So are there people who can do it? I will give you proper details and drawings of the cab. I plan on using a Hornby Class 66 chasis as I prefer it over Bachman.

 

 

heres a link to my previous thread regarding the WDP-4B http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/60963-can-anybody-suggest-a-narrow-motor-for-me-please/

 

I will be happy to provide anyone willing to do it with the details which I will sketch out myself. Any help will be appreciated. May I also know the cost, so that my uncle in the UK can pay before he sends it. There are also pictures of the cab attached.

 

Thank you.

 

Kind Regards,

Jeremiah Bunyan (Bangalore).

post-15929-0-71146100-1351827717.jpg

post-15929-0-72052600-1351827727.jpg

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Welcome to the group Jeremiah,

 

Originally I set it up for people to share their experiences and knowledge of 3D Printing and using the software to achieve that. As you might guess it takes quite some time to learn all these tasks and become proficient enough to produce models to the individuals liking. I realise that this may not be in everyones grasp but the group is here to support people trying to gain this experience.

 

As it can take quite some time to create an accurate model of a prototype it may prove rather expensive for you to commission your model but I am sure there are many talented people here that could assist and hopefully prepared to help you.

 

If not in the mean time I would suggest you look at Sketchup as it is free simple to use and has many online tutorials.

 

Regards

Tom

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Jeremiah,

 

Research is the key to getting it right.

 

My first suggestions would be to get some really good close-up photographs

of detail on the loco, including the bogies. Even better contact the builders, for

any scaled drawings they may issue. for modellers.

 

Be warned, getting to a finished item takes a long time, and can be expensive -

don't rush to get a print of the model until you have it right.

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Jeremiah,

 

Research is the key to getting it right.

 

My first suggestions would be to get some really good close-up photographs

of detail on the loco, including the bogies. Even better contact the builders, for

any scaled drawings they may issue. for modellers.

 

Be warned, getting to a finished item takes a long time, and can be expensive -

don't rush to get a print of the model until you have it right.

 

I think you misunderstood my original post. I needed just the cab, not the entire body (I'm using a Hornby Class 66 chasis and my body is going to be made of plasticard. I turned to 3D printing just because of the cab of this loco. Its the only (so-called) streamlined diesel loco of on the Indian Railways and the cab can't be made out of plasticard or balsa wood thanks to it's curves. I wanted a hollow cab to make interiors. As for the detail part - luckily for this loco there isn't much detail. As you can see clearly in the picture of the cab pretty much all the detail can be added on at a later stage (for eg. the grab rails near the marker lights and above the sand boxes. And the grills for the windows.) I'm not looking into too much detail. So my basic need is the cab which is roughly the size of the Class 58 cab.

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Here is a rough sketch of what I wanted. Remember it's not to scale and I had to make a few tweaks in order to fit a Hornby Chasis. The blackned areas are where it is to be cut out for the windows, head light and marker/tail light clusters which I will make seperately and slot in. This cab tapers in towards the front - so basically the rear is 3.6cm and the front narrows down to 3.0cm.

 

@ Dazzler Fan,

This is basically what I require only. Nothing more. I just need this cab made.

post-15929-0-41904400-1352008840_thumb.png

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Yes Johnny I know about them as I myself help them out (not with the modelling) as a source of infomation for Indian Railway stuff. I contacted them and asked them to provide Railworks with some Indian content - so yes I do know about them, they are infact creating the same loco I plan on modelling now. However on a happier note I have found someone to do my cab. Pete from PH Designs suggested I contact CWR and well they are free to do mine year which is when I'll be neeeding it.

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Sorry, wasn't aware of that but I was impressed with his stuff so I thought I'd give it a mention. Hope all goes well with the model.

 

Johnny

 

Yes I agree with you. He's got some amazing stuff. A lil good news also. CWR are busy at the moment so the time they are free coincides with my vacations and since they are busy most of the time I have asked Orient Rails to do the design of my cab. Fingers crossed I hope they help! The were others who offered to help but later turned it down. If Orient Rails designs it will also bring down the cost of my cab.

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I don't think plasticard can be bent into curves like that. And if it could it would never be durable enough. If I were modelling a WDP-4 then plasticard would be an ideal option because of it's shape. But I am working on a WDP-4B it has a lot of rounded edges and plasticard cannot be moulded in that form

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Plasticard certainly can be moulded into curves, witness the large number of aircraft models made from vacformed plastic. I agree that it would take rather more than a simple plunge mould, and perhaps could be better done if split into a number of parts - for example a front and left/right halves. This would allow the use of thicker sides without overstretch into the thinness you understandably want to avoid. Curved corners can also be produced by the use of hot water and amd convenient tube (or whatever) as a former.

 

The other possibility would be etched brass.

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Well for a person who is not experienced (like me) :dontknow: in moulding plasticard then I don't think I should even try. Brass would be to expensive. I initially considered brass for the entire loco. But it's expensive here and getting it cut into it's shape would mean more money or to buy cutting tools would still mean more money.

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Jeremiah

 

If cash is an issue then try to do the 3D design yourself. Given that you managed to draw the sketch image above (post 6) then I really don't think 3D design would be beyond you. Either Sketchup or Blender are free 3D packages that would be good starting points and have plenty of online tutorials of how to use them. Sketchup is more user friendly, but Blender is more powerful IMHO. Once you have got to grips with the basics then there is plenty of help and encouragement on here.

 

Cheers, Mike

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Thanks Mike. I downloaded sketchup just now. Will try my hands on it. I just have one question can I make a resin cab at home? Is it easy? I still have more options left.

1. Have it 3D printed

2. Mould it out of plasticard (I tried with thick card paper and it turned out well)

3. Mould it out of resin at home.

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To make a resin cab you need to make a master first. You can either make a master out of raw materials (eg plasticard, brass etc) or you can 3D print it.

 

So option 3 really needs you to have done option 1 or 2 first! If you are reasonably competent with a computer then I would 3D print it!

 

Hope it goes well.

 

Cheers, Mike

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Hello Mike and the others who have helped me in this.

I took Mikes advice and downloaded Sketchup. Without tutorials I fiddled about with it and I managed to model a WDP-4's cab. It is easier than a WDP-4B as it has less curves (actually the only curves it has are the lights) If you'll would like to see pictures I shall post them. I used my phone to quickly take a few snaps. It might look broad thats because I took a picture using my phone off my screen which is wide. I chose mm as my base so basically it's modelled on the scale drawings that I made.

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J, it would be easier to take a screen shot and upload here. Just use the reply at the bottom of the thread and click 'more reply options' button. I assume you are on a PC so press print screen and then open paint and save, if you are on a mac use command + shift + 3 (number 3 key) You will get much better quality from this.

 

Hope that helps.

Tom

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