3D printing class 25 parts .... Also class 20,37, 2mm and 7mm wagons and 1/32 bogies

[Knuckles]

Kinda depends...unless they have improved which is how it looks. I helped to pilot the material but for me it did not workout.

 

Read through this thread...

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/109759-shapeways-high-detail-acrylate-hda/

Edited February 15, 2017 by Knuckles

[richard60098]

Just reading through and looking at your excellent designs again Simon, can't wait for the next update on the wagons.

 

Cheers.

[Chris Higgs]

I have recently had a 7mm version of the J70 printed as shown below (scaled up from the 4mm version).  As it was larger I've printed some of the parts like window frames and buffers separately, it also has complete skirts fitted.

 

 

The model has the same detail as the 4mm version scaled upto 7mm and printed in WSF instead of FUD - with the scale up and change of material not many thicknesses needed changing.

 

I have also drawn and ordered a 4mm class 04 as a complete bodyshell to fit on the Bachmann chassis (test printing in HDA) and scaled it up so it could be printed in 7mm.

 

 

 

 

I got a 7mm version of the grain conveyor printed in WSF to see what it looked like, picture below has some wire attached to represent the drive belt.

 

 

Carrying on from the conveyor I've drawn a newer conveyor (that should be useful for loading Polybulks) and an old style elevator.

 

 

 

 

I don't suppose there is any chance of trying the Class 04 in N gauge? Perhaps with the cow-catcher omitted. I've been meaning to do this loco myself to fit the Farish chassis, or with the etched version I designed for the 2mm Scale Association.

 

The J70 would be nice as well.

 

Chris Higgs

[SDuhig]

I've recently had a delivery from Shapeways including a 4mm class 04 tram printed in HDA.  This model show the good and bad points of HDA, the detail is as good if not better than FUD with out the problems of the support material. The side valances look much better than the separate FUD versions pictured on the Bachmann model (which also came in this order).  The cow catchers printed well and some parts are very smooth.  

 

 

 

 

 

The bad points of the model are the layers visible on the back of the cab and nose front which may be hard to remove without damaging the rivet detail.  The model also has some marks where it looks like the support material had been removed with a knife (including some marks on the bonnet top).  I will be interesting to see what the model looks like when it gets a coat of primer on it.

 

 

 

Another couple of prints arrived- 

 

A 4mm version of the FUD grain elevator- the lower version designed to sit on a platform.  (Brush type 4 - I can make either version available in 7mm - which type would you want?)

 

 

A 4mm version of the new style conveyor also arrived - printed in WSF - one issue with this version is that it wants to tip over so will need weight adding to the back/bottom.

 

 

I also got a 7mm old style elevator printed in 7mm to see what it looks like and what detail was visible.

 

 

 

Simon.

Fascinating. I searched for Drewry 04 in Shapeways but couldn't find it? Is it no longer available? Could you advise the suppliers name. Thank you.

 

Steven Duhig

stevenduhig@juno.com

[Robert Shrives]

Great work on the elevators - must have been " fun" to draw - I am in awe of the skills!  How goes ye olde 25 in 1/32 - any nearer a "sell able" model as it would make my summer to have one on the go !

 

Regards

Robert  

[Joseph_Pestell]

Just found this thread from a link on thread about 7mm Y25 bogies. Sensational stuff!

[Joseph_Pestell]

Just found this thread from a link on thread about 7mm Y25 bogies. Sensational stuff!

Have I missed it? There does not seem to be a link anywhere in this thread to Simon's Shapeway shop.

[simon br blue]

Great work on the elevators - must have been " fun" to draw - I am in awe of the skills!  How goes ye olde 25 in 1/32 - any nearer a "sell able" model as it would make my summer to have one on the go !

 

Regards

Robert  

 

Hi Robert,

 

Just having some problems with my laptop at the moment but hopefully get back onto the 25 bogies and chassis soon.

 

A little update on some 4mm prints.

 

I got a 4mm TTB co2 tank chassis printed in HDA, with the tank ends printed in WSF polished and the barrel made from some plastic waste pipe.

 

 

 

 

Another 4mm wagon printed was is the Tullis Russell PAA wagon, the chassis and lid is HDA (with the support material left on) and the hopper body was printed using 3d print hub and I think it was printed on a Formlabs form 2.

 

 

 

 

 

Another print from the same source is a 4mm HDA hopper and the picture below shows it next to a WSF polished version with the extra detail visible.

 

 

 

Another project that I've been working on is motorising the 7mm shunting tractor.  I designed a gearbox for the tractor and fitted it to the motor and controls from a radio controlled car.  The gearbox slows the tractor down to a reasonable speed and gives it a bit more pushing power.

 

 

 

 

 

[simon br blue]

Also got clip of the tractor in action.

 

http://vid135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/simon_br_blue/IMG_6476_zpsa4tkq6rk.mp4

 

 

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q137/simon_br_blue/th_IMG_6476_zpsa4tkq6rk.mp4

 

 

[Penrhos1920]

Brilliant.

 

I thought Shapeways HDA was always black? Your PAA is brown.

 

When you used 3D Hubs did you find that you paid the price that was originally quoted or did it go up?

[simon br blue]

Brilliant.

 

I thought Shapeways HDA was always black? Your PAA is brown.

 

When you used 3D Hubs did you find that you paid the price that was originally quoted or did it go up?

 

The material is black, I think it looks brown as it was taken indoors at night.

 

Time for an update with a new material.  Shapeways have started a trial with a new HP strong and flexible material.  I ordered some models as a test to see what the new material was like.

 

The first model was a 4mm Y6 tram,

 

 

The model has printed well with the detail visible. The model was drawn up for printing in either FUD or HDA but it came out well in HPSF.

 

 

The cowcatchers are strong enough not to break easily.  The close up shows the roughness of the material.  To me the material looks like a finer version of WSF.  The grey speckled colour of the material makes it look more rougher than it is.  The material feels smoother than WSF - more like polished WSF.

 

The picture below shows 4mm models in 3 different materials together - Y6 in HPSF, J70 in FUD (after a coat of primer) and the class 04 in HDA.

 

 

Also test printed was a set of 7mm wagon buffers.  These are the same as previously printed in WSF and FUD, they again look like a finer polished version of SWF.  The opposite buffer heads to those pictured have the same layering as visible on WSF prints.  Also in the picture is  a 5inch gauge class 37 brake cylinder.  This was printed in the HPSF black material (same as the grey but dyed black).  This looks smoother/ cleaner than the grey material but feels slightly rougher - I assume they clean/process the model before its dyed to remove any powder from the surface.

 

 

The final part printed in the order was a 4mm PHA wagon chassis. The model was drawn up to be printed in FUD or HDA but slightly thicker than their minimum thickness's to avoid print rejections but again the print has come out strong enough, the print is more detailed than the WSF chassis printed previously.  At the same time I ordered the same chassis in HDA but the model was rejected as they said there was a problem providing support for the printing process.

 

 

The final picture shows a line-up of 4mm PHA wagons.

 

left to right -

 

1 WSF chassis with WSF hopper,

2 WSF polished chassis with FUD hopper,

3 FUD chassis with home cast resin hopper,

4 HPSF chassis and Formlabs form 2 grey resin hopper.

 

 

I'll hopefully get time to give the Y6 a coat of primer to see what it looks like painted - if it stops raining tomorrow.  I'll also try ordering something in 7mm in HPSF to see what it looks like .

[dj_crisp]

Hi!

 

I just stumbled on this thread from a Google search for class 37 fuel/water tanks... but I can't view the photo bucket pictures. Is this something that's been drawn up??

 

Cheers

Will

[Kylestrome]

Hi!

 

I just stumbled on this thread from a Google search for class 37 fuel/water tanks... but I can't view the photo bucket pictures. Is this something that's been drawn up??

 

Cheers

Will

 

Unfortunately, the missing photos are a result of Photobucket's changed 'business' model.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Kylestrome

[Knuckles]

Photobucket should be exploded. They wrecked a 10 year thread of mine with nearly 80 pages and countless blog posts. Plus they have killed the internet and wrecked everything with their actions. Should be illegal.

[dj_crisp]

Indeed! Loads of good photos that have gone missing.... never used photobucket... never will now. Hopefully flickr srays around

Indeed! Loads of good photos that have gone missing.... never used photobucket... never will now. Hopefully flickr stays around

[simon br blue]

Time for an update.

 

Firstly with the Photobucket changes all the old photos have gone.  If there are any particular photos you would like to see I can add them again but I don't think I'll go through and add all the old ones back on again.  New photos will be on Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/49976725@N08/

 

Regarding the 37 fuel tanks, they were drawn up to 1/32 scale so wouldn't be printable easily in smaller scales.

 

Wisbech and Upwell prints.

 

As a test for  HDA I re sized and thickened the J70 for N gauge (without the boiler).  I came out OK but will need a clean up with a knife before painting.  Pictured with its big brothers 2mm HDA, 4mm FUD and 7mm WSF.

 

J70 Trams 2mm, 4mm, and 7mm

 

J70 tram 2mm

 

 

The other 4mm Tramway print is GER no. 16 brake.  This was printed in HDA and took a couple of goes to get printed as Shapeways kept rejecting thin walls or wires.  The model does show some slight layering on the end - I'll have to see what it looks like when its painted.

 

W&U no.16 4mm

 

W&U no.16 4mm

 

W&U no.16 4mm

 

 

A final tramway picture with a 4mm Y6 and coaches no.16, no.6 and no.18

 

W&U Tram set 4mm

 

 

A new item of rolling stock I've drawn recently is a Presflo wagon in 1/32.  I was asked to draw a hopper for another modeller and was provided with some drawings and photos so once the hopper was drawn I carried on and did the rest of the wagon.  So far I've test printed part of the chassis in HPSF as a test and included some parts to see what clearance is like for working sprung buffers and suspension.  The buffer test works with a HPSF head with a WSF base, for some reason with all HPSF the clearance isn't enough and in WSF the spring failed during printing/ cleaning.  The chassis looks OK and the suspension works, the only problem is the original springs printed are to stiff and won't compress enough with the weight of the wagon.  The hopper was printed in PLA by a fellow modeller and will need a bit of tidying up on the top as this was covered with support material as the it was printed upside down to avoid needing a lot of support material (I was going to get a PLA print from Shapeways but they wouldn't print it as the wouldn't be able to remove the support material from inside the model - even though the model didn't need any support material inside).  I think the next print would be best done without the top being printed and adding it from Plasticard.  I've had a top hatch/walkway printed in HPSF and this worked well with the detail of the hatch fixings printing well.

 

presflo 30 6

 

1/32 Presflo Hopper

 

Presflo Sprung Buffer 1/32

 

Presflo Sprung Buffer 1/32

 

1/32 Presflo chassis test print

 

1/32 Presflo chassis test print

 

1/32 presflo hopper

 

Presflo hatch 1/32

[Knuckles]

Loving your J70's. Like...all of them. I model in 00, P4, N and the teeniest bit of 0 but I am in two minds whether to scrap 0 and jump up to Gauge 1. My heart wants to but I only have a 17.5' length and about 2' width space for a layout in that gauge. Also 1/32 vs 1/29 vs 10mm confuses me. Any advice on the scale in general??

 

I'd like to see your 04 HDA print again as that was pretty amazing and I'm hoping one day you'd allow us to buy it off of you. Mavis for the win.

 

I have tried working leaf springs in 4mm by scratch building the leaves from phospher bronze and bodging them to some Bill Bedford spring units on a wagon. It worked but due to my uneven building it rides like a Rhinacockadonkey. Will be going for another attempt with 3Dp at some point.

 

Loving your updates. Your spring integrated with the buffer is an idea I never saw before. Makes sense if it can be durable.

Edited September 13, 2017 by Knuckles

[Chris Higgs]

Can we please please have the J70 made available in N or 2mm? In FUD if HDA isn't fine enough. If you do I'll design an etched chassis to go with it.

 

Similarly for the 04 with Wisbech cowcatcher etc.

 

Chris 

[Corbs]

Do you have any plans to release the W&U coaches on Shapeways Simon?

[simon br blue]

Time for another update.

 

First up I've rescaled the 04 tram down to 2mm and printed it in HDA.  I Just had to make some of the walls thicker and change the cowcatchers to allow it to be printed.

 

 

 

 

 

Another W&U item I had printed in 2mm was a J70 tram in HPSF grey, this was the same as the HDA version but thought I'd try HPSF to see what it printed like - it will need a coat of primer to see what it really looks like.

 

 

 

 

The next W&U 2mm print is a pair of bogie coaches printed in HDA and HPSF.  These needed quite a bit of work to thicken them and make them printable.  Also printed was a couple of bogies - one problem now will be to find some small wheels for the bogies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is a 7mm bogie - a Gloucester bogie used under sealion wagons,  This was printed in HPSF black.

 

 

 

 

 

Using the previous bogie I made a 4mm version of the Gloucester Bogie used under the UKF Palvans.  I printed got this printed in both HPSF black and HDA and made them as a direct fit onto the Lima chassis.  Also visible on the 2nd photo is the sideframe that fits onto the Lima body to make the version with extra chassis bracing printed in HPSF grey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst drawing the 4mm bogie for the Lima wagon I decided to have a go at the BSC motion Axle bogie as fitted to the Lima ARC and Yeoman wagons.  This was printed in HPSF black, Again at the same time I drew up the chassis underframe parts missing from the Lima wagon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the order  I also got some new springs for the 1/32 scale presflo wagon.   These were thinner and fatter than the originals and allow the chassis to sit at the normal ride height with the weight of the hopper on top.  I'm still not completely happy with these as the gaps between leaf springs are too large.

 

 

 

[simon br blue]

Copied from the Aldi printer thread, I have finally purchased a printer of my own.  Set it up this evening and did a test print, only issue I had was the memory card didn't have any files, manuals or test pieces loaded on it.

 

I downloaded Cura and got the profile details from the Balco website and changed settings as required from the defaults.

 

Decided to do a quick test print and chose to rescale a PHA self discharge hopper to 2mm.  Pictures of the result below.  I was very happy with the print as it was done to see how the printer worked.  When I originally ordered the printer I was thinking it would be good enough to print 7mm hoppers and then hopefully a 4mm hopper but this print makes me think the that 2mm hoppers maybe possible/usable.

 

Balco printer set up.

 

Aldi Balco printer by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

First test print

 

First print Balco printer by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

First print as removed

 

2mm PHA hopper test by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

2mm hopper with support material partly removed

 

2mm PHA hopper test support material by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

Cleaned up test print - zoomed in on camera phone making it look wavey

 

2mm PHA hopper test finished by simon br blue, on Flickr

[simon br blue]

Another big gap between update but I've been busy.

After buying the Balco printer I was hoping the new HP printer from Shapeways would give some good opportunities for the drawings I'd drawn for it recently but the day Shapeways made the HPSF materials available for general sale they doubled the price.  This was very disappointing after Shapeways touted this new printer as a step forward in terms of price and material properties so I made the decision to buy another printer.  After looking around  I decided on the Formlabs Form 2, I spend some time looking on EBay until I managed to buy a 2nd hand machine.

First pic shows the 2 printers together, a similar size but the Balco has a bigger build platform.

 Form Labs Form 2 and Balco printers by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

The 2 printers use different software to produce the cutting files, in both cases  I use the software that comes with the machines.  Balco uses Cura and the Form2 uses Preform.  Below are a couple of pictures of the programs, both are relatively easy to use but Preform takes more time to set up as inevitably needs manual supports adding and changing to make it printable but on the up side it does show you the problem areas.  Both of the software shows you the time and volume of material required for the print.

 

PHA hopper Cura by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

cura supports by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

 

25.3 cab preform by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

 

When I first started using the Form2  I had a problem with the base of the print not adhering to the build platform but the problem turned out to be a worn out resin tank, luckily the printer came with a spare platform (and various resins).  So far I've only printed using the grey resin but when this is used up I'll go onto the black resin.

The first couple of models printed in the Form 2 were 4mm PHA hoppers and chassis and class 25.3 cab.  Also when I set the printer up if I have any spare space I try to fill it up with a PTA 4mm bogie. 

 

When the printer has finished the part needs to be removed from the build platform and then washed in IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) to remove uncured resin and then hardened using UV light.

 

Pic below shows the parts fresh out of the printer with the parts on the build platform with uncured resin on them.

 

Form 2 grey resin print by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

Next the parts are cleaned in the IPA using the Formlabs wash station.

 

Part cleaning in IPA by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

After this they need to be hardened/final cure using UV light, looking online it can be done with natural light or UV lamps - I've tried both and purchased some UV LED lights on EBay.  Both seem to work ok but I've now purchased a UV nail polish setup to speed up the process.  Formlabs recommend removing the support material before exposing to UV light but it seems to work well for me by curing the top, then removing the support and then curing the bottom.

Curing by natural light on the window sill.

 

Test print of parts Form2 by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

Curing using UV LEDs.

 

UV LED curing test by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

Experimenting with the orientation of the prints has shown up the benefits and limitations of the printer,  Formlabs recommend tilting the models and looking at Shapeways  HDA prints that I had printed with the support material still attached showed about 35 degrees worked.  I did a test with 25 cabs in 3 positions and the tilting back at 35 degrees worked best and prevented the layering being visible (Most of my prints are done at the lower resolution of 0.1mm but it could go down to 0.025mm).  The pic below shows some of the 25 cabs with different orientation. 

 

4mm class 25.3 cabs by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

Below is a pic showing the 25 cab with 35 degrees tilt which prevents layering on the roof or front, it also shows a close up of the support material.

 

25.3 4mm cab by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

The PTA bogie was printed previously in HPSF black but I've printed several in the Formlabs grey resin.

 

As drawn in Blender.

 

PTA bogie 4mm by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

One bogie as printed and another with a coat of primer applied.

4mm PTA bogie by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

 

Bogie unpainted with wheels and bearings added

4mm PTA bogie by simon br blue, on Flickr

[Richard_A]

Does this mean the class 25 cabs might become available?

[Barry W]

Hi Simon, it is good to see progress on the class 25 cabs as I too am still in the market for some and this version looks promising, it will be interesting to see it painted. Will there be a 25/1 with plated nose doors to follow? It would be nice to have a consistent look between the two variations.

Cheers Barry

[simon br blue]

Hi Barry,

 

Hopefully the 25 cabs will be ready soon, I'm still wondering if its best to make them available through Shapeways or print them myself.  I keep making changes to the cab drawing and am on about version 20.  Latest print is pictured below with a Bachmann body.

 

4mm 25.3 cab by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

I have updated the parts for the 25.1 cab and as can be seen in the picture below they can be added and removed to the 25.3 file.

 

4mm Class 25 cab changes by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

I've recently drew a 7mm 16t mineral chassis to fit onto the Lima body.   The only problem is that the Lima body scales up to about a 10' wheelbase.  The picture below shows the scaled chassis lengthened to fit the Lima body.  It was printed in WSF polished and was given a quick coat of primer and then a black topcoat.  Looking into 16t minerals I found that there were some later builds vac braked with a 10'  wheelbase so I've modified the brakes to reflect this and will do another print with my next Shapeways order.

 

7mm Lima chassis print by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

After finishing the chassis for the Lima body I drew a correct scale body and then scaled this up to 1/32 scale.   The picture below shows the model in Blender.  I have Printed the body on my Balco printer and will order a chassis from Shapeways.

 

1to32 16t mineral bearing hole by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

Drawing the 1/32 mineral wagon made me thin aobut another 1/32 wagon I wanted to draw, this was a VAA van.  I started by modifying the OCA chassis I'd previously drawn and then drew the body.  Due to the size of the body I split it into separate parts to allow it to fit on the printer bed.  Below is a render of the wagon.

 

VAA van render by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

I did a couple of test prints for the parts and found the end came out very well, the roof which I printed vertically on end was ok but had some uneven surfaces and the sides rinted ok but the first version as pictured below had scale size rivets which didn't print very well, the most recent test had slightly larger rivets which came out ok but each rivet seems to get linked to the next part with a wisp of filament which need removing after printing (which was boring and time consuming).  The shell is just placed together with the sides and roof having just had a quick goat of grey primer.

 

1/32 VAA body test by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

1/32 VAA body test by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

A couple of 7mm wagons I'd previously drawn but not had printed were a BIS PAA sand truck and a TTA molasses tank.  the chassis on both wagons was printed in WSF, the PAA hopper was printed in 2 parts on the Balco printer and the door operating details and bottom doors were printed in my Form2.   The molasses tank used the Balco printer for one end of the barrel and the Form2 for the more detailed end and top hatches, the barrel is a 50mm plastic pipe and the access ladder and walkway are WSF (the walkway need some mesh adding to finish it off).

 

7mm BIS PAA wagon by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

7mm TTA molasses tank by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

The final pictures for this update are of a couple of tests I drew and printed on my printers.  The design is the same but the Form2 grey print is half the size of the white Balco print.  Both came out reasonably well and were printed on the 0.1mm setting.   Noticeable on the Balco print is the wisps of material that can trail to the next part of  the print which was a problem with the rivets on the VAA van doors.

 

Test print Balco by simon br blue, on Flickr

 

Test print Form 2 by simon br blue, on Flickr