3D Printing in India..... Disappointed!

[Multiple identity account 2]

Hi,

I was recently commissioned to design a few Indian HO scale models for a group who have managed to purchase a 3D printer. Given the opportunity that the first few where to be free of cost I quickly put together two of the easiest and simple (by physical appearance) wagons i.e. a BFNS and BFR/BRH flat wagon.

Looking at the many complex model Shapeways can do I was very upset with the results from the ones here. In the images below you can see my original design for the 2 wagons. After that is the images of the test sample which was just horrible. Furthermore I was forced to make many changes that did affect the model. I wasn't allowed to add any detail on the underframe and was asked to design them separately and have them glued. I now decided to just stick to Shapeways.

What do you guys think of it?

PROS and CONS of 3D printers in India:-

Pros:-
- (NONE AT ALL)

Cons:-
- Charges are made upon the time taken to print the model
- No official website to upload model (owner claims that he mass produces for UK customers, no proof shown)
- Cannot even print 1mm detail. (Shapeways can do 0.3 on the surface and 0.5 normally)
- Models are not UV treated
- All models should be completely flat at the bottom (not at all happy with that)
- More expensive than Shapeways
- No choice of material
- Only accepts STL files
- Printer cannot even print models that are similar to an HO scale Class 66.

J
 

[billbedford]

The first rule of 3D printing is that all printer are not created equal.

 

If you want to match the quality of Shapeways FUD you will have to find someone who is willing to run your stuff on a ProJet 300 or 3500. But I suspect that even if you find some one in India, Shapeways is still going to be cheaper.

[Marbelup]

Based on the final photo, it appears they have used an FDM printer, so the results will never be brilliant if you want to reproduce fine details.

 

Shapeways FUD may not be suitable for your HO bogie wagons, depending on their length vs. the max print size. You may also want to consider I.Materialise Prime Gray material as print size is larger than FUD. Another option is to rotate the STL file 45 degrees (about vertical axis) to fit in print bounding box. IM allow this, not sure about Shapeways.

[black5f]

Hi

What it looks like here to me (bottom pic) is the support material has been removed by hand. The support material on an ABS print is very hard to remove neatly by hand. More expensive machines have a soluble support material. Usually the part is washed in chemicals to do this and it's left very clean, this means a washing station, they are expensive as well. Any body producing ABS prints should really have a wash / finishing station.

 

Tom