Signal box window frames - Barnstaple Junction

[dessire_luvals]

Hi folks,

 

I have had no exposure to 3D printing but was wondering if it would be an option for producing the window frames for this signalbox in 4mm scale?

 

if yes, then please could you recommend a suitable printer please?

 

Thanks

 

Russell Davies

Edited December 20, 2020 by dessire_luvals
Missed words.

[KeithHC]

An interesting conundrum. I have just started in 3D design and printing one of my projects for after Christmas is doing Grange road/Rowfant box in 4mm. This will include the windows. At the moment I am considering do in the windows separate to the building so that they can be printed flat.

 

Keith

[jonhall]

I'd think laser cutting in the flat (or an etch) would be more suitable?

[Neil P]

Something like a Cameo cutter would work well if you're happy to make them out of card?

 

[bgman]

1 hour ago, jonhall said:

I'd think laser cutting in the flat (or an etch) would be more suitable?

 

15 minutes ago, Neil P said:

Something like a Cameo cutter would work well if you're happy to make them out of card?

 

 

Either would be suited for the windows, I use the Silhouette Cameo for most of these types of applications and find it an excellent tool.

[Michael Hodgson]

32 minutes ago, Neil P said:

Something like a Cameo cutter would work well if you're happy to make them out of card?

 

 

Thank you.  First time I heard of these.  It sounds a bit like the digital plotter on an ICL mainframe which I last programmed in 1969 and had forgotten all about!

 

Seems they're cheaper than decent 3D printers and I see there's an excellent thread here explaining them...

 

[Neil P]

28 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

 

 It sounds a bit like the digital plotter on an ICL mainframe which I last programmed in 1969 and had forgotten all about!

 

 

Yes - they're basically a plotter with a blade instead of a pen. They can cut very intricate detail if you have decent quality card (the smoother the better). I paid about £130 for mine (it was the Silhouette Portrait mode that's now discontinued).

For details like window frames, a filament-based 3D printer might struggle to get the level of detail you need. Resin-based printers would work, but they are a lot more hassle than a cutter like the Cameo. I guess it's worth thinking ahead to what else you might use them for.

[Pete the Elaner]

It was making windows which drew me into 3d printing. I always felt that filament printers produced a finish which was too 'stepped' but after seeing a friend's results with a resin printer, I decided that this would be a more suitable device.

I already have a laser cutter; a K40 based model which although 'budget' is about twice the cost of a resin printer & is just not the correct machine to make window frames how I wanted. I have never cut wood with it & at this scale, I expect its grain would be an issue. I have cut acrylic but anything under 2mm warps badly & the way the laser melts the plastic means you get chiselled cuts rather than right angles. It is fine for producing brickwork & tunnel arches but not the stepped effect I wanted for window frames.

I am very pleased with the results. I am now able to produce consistent windows, which was certainly not true when I was trying to cut them from plastruct strips.

The model I chose was an Anycubic Photon, but from what I have seen, the Elegoo Mars looks capable of similar results.

 

I have started to include window ledges with my prints (I didn't on my first 2 buildings, but this is part of the learning process  ).

I have attached a photo of one of them in the building in a wall of the building I am currently working on. For a sense of scale, the squares on the cutting board are cms.

Ignore the debris around it. These are just flakes of dust which will be washed off before painting & close up photos usually look very unflattering.

 

 

 

 

[dessire_luvals]

Thanks for the input. Will have a read over the coming days.