sean hpw Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 ok, so, I have the locos, stock, layout, track building all under way, that just leaves the lovely odds and ends of detail to play with, so, a mix of scratch build and 3D printing for larger numbers of similar items. the first in mind is the large number of wooden packing crates used to transport lamps, some components for machinery and other parts, for these I have aimed at 30MM long, 17MM wide and 7MM tall, giving a large crate, there are two versions of this at the moment, one with out a lid, and one with its lid on, the final variation will have a separate lid. the open crate, the thickest wall is 1.4MM thick... the planks are 0.8, and the gaps between are 0.2MM wide and 0.2MM deep the closed version and another work in progess, a clip board in 4MM! test print for the crates should be here shortly... Thoughts so far people? Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Looks good. One thing I notice on your crates is that some of the faces are inverted. Sketchup uses white for an 'outside' face and the blue-grey colour for 'inside faces' (it calls them 'front' and 'back' but I find those names misleading). Having faces the wrong way around can cause problems with .stl files later because the printer doesn't know what's inside the solid and what's not. Some software is clever enough to make a sensible guess and correct it - Netfabb and meshlab can do this for you. However, if you can get it right at the design stage it will probably save you hassle later on. Before exporting from sketchup I go into the 'Styles' tab and change the colours to be bright red and green so that it's obvious if I've made a mistake. You can change a face by right clicking on it and choosing 'reverse face'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean hpw Posted December 8, 2013 Author Share Posted December 8, 2013 HI Rabs, thank you for that , I had forgotten to check the faces Anywho, following your well considered advice, i revised the faces... and Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawk Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 You should also remove all lines that are not necessary for the geometry. It seems that you have a lot of lines that are not needed. From experience I know that such lines can cause trouble during the export to .stl. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Hmm. So, those red faces should all be green. They may be 'inside' the crate but they aren't inside the solid material. If it's facing air it should be green and if it's facing solid material it should be red. Wherever you position the camera you should only be able to see one colour. All green if the camera is in 'air' and all red if you've moved inside the solid. Imagine 3d printing a house. If you stand in one of the rooms everything you can see would be green. If you stand outside the house everything you can see would be green. If you were inside the cavity walls you'd see red. And I agree with Hawk - using Sketchup's "soften/smooth edges" tool and ticking "coplanar faces" will do most of the work for you. Specifically all the little lines around the bottom of the slats which are all in the same plane could be removed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean hpw Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 AHHHH! It all makes sense now, cheers Rabs I add my background in 3D drawing and basic CAD is in art, so things like which way a face was didnt *usually* matter, as long as it was visually OK it did the job... Hawk, thanks for the advice, after about another half hour, we have this thoughts please Gents? Please forgive my sluggishness, this is a new field for me to be playing with, but its a huge amount of fun... oh, hear is an image of the .STL Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 That looks good now. Looking forward to seeing it printed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean hpw Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 I got a fleemail from Shapeways, it should be hear in a week Im looking forward to seeing how this works out... Thanks for the advice and help Rabs, I really appreciate it Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean hpw Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 So, now the base crate is sorted, it was relitively strait forward to get the other two versions finished and into STI format. the second type has a separate lid And the third is lidded.. And I have just noticed the slat work on the lid hasnt come through... damn... Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean hpw Posted December 22, 2013 Author Share Posted December 22, 2013 A little wait later, and a big box from shape ways arived, these are now avalible on shapeways... Thoughts gang? Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rammy Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 They look great Sean. Out of interest, how much do Shapeways charge for such a small model? Is there a minimum order charge for things like that or did you print several? The detail has come out really well. Not sure my reprap would have kept the plank details! Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean hpw Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 The model its self is not that bad just over three euroes, the handling and post was murder, taking the overall order to over £9! definatly one to order in bulk Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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