2012 Wish List (But NOT What You Think)

[buffalo]

I just don't see it happening that way, dilbert. Take the three technologies that il Dottore mentioned in his OP, brass etching, laser cutting and 3D printing.

 

Etching has been around for a very long time and home etching has long been possible. I've used it for producing PC boards in the past but most modellers who want something etched prefer to prepare the artwork at home and get the etching done by professionals. Quite simply, the results are better and more reliable and the (messy chemical) technology is more at home in a (semi-)industrial environment.

 

Laser cutting has developed rapidly in the last few years but, again, it is a messy process requiring extraction of unpleasant fumes. The equipment is currently quite expensive, though within reach of relatively small companies. Again, home produced artwork sent to people who can offer a reliable service looks like being the best way forward.

 

3D printing is a little different in that the materials and by-products of the process are more amenable to domestic production, even if the equipment is still expensive. However, you seem to suggest that eventually we will see affordable printers for the home or office market. Will this really happen? Will affordable devices ever be of sufficient quality for what we need? I very much doubt it. I think it's reasonable to assume that most RMweb users own computers, and that the majority of these own a printer of some sort. How many of these own a printer that is capable of printing a photographic backscene in one piece? I think most of us would take our image files to print shop for this sort of work rather than thinking about buying a suitable printer. Again, how many RMweb users actually build models, as opposed to using RTR/RTP products? Just how many people (not just RMweb users) would be prepared to pay for a 3D printer that is only used once or twice a year, if that? I just don't think there is a market for the technology in the volume that would be needed to make the necessary quality affordable.

 

That said, I wouldn't mind having my own laser cutter, 3D printer, or CNC machine tools, but really they would just be expensive toys and I know I can achieve the same results by manual methods or by sending artwork to someone who can probably do the job better than I can hope to do. Maybe I'm unusal in that my modelling is something of an escape from technology. I've worked with computers for many years, including much 3D modelling, and I actually prefer to spend my modelling time doing something different, working with my hands.

 

Nick

[coachmann]

In my business, 3D technology would give me the coach roofs I need, which at present prevent me etching certain vehicles. But at my age its come too late to invest in and so I wish others would produce them!

[Guest dilbert]

3D printing is a little different in that the materials and by-products of the process are more amenable to domestic production, even if the equipment is still expensive. However, you seem to suggest that eventually we will see affordable printers for the home or office market. Will this really happen? Will affordable devices ever be of sufficient quality for what we need? I very much doubt it. I think it's reasonable to assume that most RMweb users own computers, and that the majority of these own a printer of some sort. How many of these own a printer that is capable of printing a photographic backscene in one piece? I think most of us would take our image files to print shop for this sort of work rather than thinking about buying a suitable printer. Again, how many RMweb users actually build models, as opposed to using RTR/RTP products? Just how many people (not just RMweb users) would be prepared to pay for a 3D printer that is only used once or twice a year, if that? I just don't think there is a market for the technology in the volume that would be needed to make the necessary quality affordable.

 

The emphasis of my post was 3D printing rather than laser cutting and CNC milling which is (at least I consider) more specialised.

 

My inkjet printer isn't capable of printing a huge photographic backscreen - it is capable of printing run of-the-mill documents, high quality photos and decal requirements that not only myself use, but the missus and the kids do as well in the pursuit of hobbies and interests. It is also a photocopier & document scanner. At some stage and I believe it will be sooner than later, 3D printers will gain 3D scanning capability which will open new horizons of usage.

 

The appeal of 3D printing covers multiple facets and interests, our hobby is a small part of this... dilbert

[Oldddudders]

Getting back to one of the other themes in iD's post, do I not recall in previous decades an organisation called West Coast Kit Centre, who offered the "all in one parcel" service that iD seeks? My recollection is that they would take, say, a Wills Finecast body kit, then add chassis, wheels, motor, gears etc. with options as necessary.

 

In the delicate area of 4mm gauge, my inference is that among kit-builders there is probably a higher proportion of EM/P4 workers than among the RTR brigade, so certainly options would be key to success.

[coachmann]

Getting back to one of the other themes in iD's post, do I not recall in previous decades an organisation called West Coast Kit Centre, who offered the "all in one parcel" service that iD seeks? My recollection is that they would take, say, a Wills Finecast body kit, then add chassis, wheels, motor, gears etc. with options as necessary.

They still do. I have their list in front of me. When I enquired about a complete loco kit only a few years ago it transpired I was talking to the same chap I used to paint locos for back in the early 1970s.....A long-established firm. In those far off days of West Coast Scale Models, we used to buy Romford lathe-turned wheels which were supplied on axle. We just had to make sure we assembled them the same way in the chassis.