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Personally I wouldn't use Blender. I'm not saying it is bad software. It is one of the most powerful modelling tools, but it is mainly focused on rendering and animation. And needs plenty of time to learn. Sketchup is good, free, but had few troubles with exporting to STL's (flipped triangles, open shells etc.) depending on complexity of the model. I think the best is Solidworks or alternatively Inventor. Both are parametric modelling packages which makes very easy to adjust/tweak your models. And this is the most essential feature from my point of view. Very useful when doing 3D prints and lot of changes during the process of prototyping is required. Fusion 360 is also great software, but not as complex and flexible as other two mentioned above. Hope that helps. Good luck.

The automatic support generators are useless for me. Maybe it works better if you have more solid models such as figures or some simple architecture. Also I found that the best software for me is B9Creator instead of supplied with Anycubic Photon software. It gives more flexibility and it is easier to manipulate. Another good thing in B9Creator is that I can save the work file and adjust the supports when I need. Very useful in prototype stage. Then I export the model with supports to STL and use Anycubic software for slicing only.

Hi monkeysarefun, The bench was printed on Anycubic Photon. It is great printer, however have some flaws. Never tried the famous Formlabs Form SLA printer, which has better resolution, bigger printing area but from other side consumables are more expensive. So, not worth hesitating, just open yours, play with it and have fun. The orientation of printing object is a matter of trial and error. The NER bench prints the best when oriented horizontally. Please see the picture below. Hope it helps.

Hi Kerry, I was thinking about it but once I saw the prices for STL's (ready for 3D printing) with a mark around $300 I thought that it is way too expensive for someone who wants to print it once or even few times. So I believe that better service from my side is to produce a cad model, store it and sell the prints at convenient price. Also before I release the item for selling it is checked throughout by printing prototypes few times to get a best results. Daniel

The bench is printed in one piece, so no assembly needed. The painting is made only for presentation purposes. The bench is offered unpainted. Also bear in mind the photo is made in macro scale so the sheen level is highly exaggerated. As well as any other imperfections. Below you can see the bench before gloss lacquer. Cheers, Daniel

Hello Anthony, I found your post recently and though I might help with your request. I have done some modelling and run a test print of the bench you might like. It is printed in OO scale. Please see the photos below and let me know what do you think. Primed: Painted: And with passenger passing by (not included Cheers, Daniel

Autodesk has a good offer on monthly and annual subscriptions. Might be worth checking link below. https://www.autodesk.com.au/products/inventor-lt-family/subscribe?plc=INVLT&term=1-YEAR&support=ADVANCED&quantity=1

Exactly. It does not matter what software you use as long as it allows to export to STL format. But I prefer more engineering software than Blender where I can set all dimensions very precisely which is sometimes crucial to get a correct print. Especially when we are talking about prints which are close to the printer limits. For example this one was very tricky to print: Vertical bars are 0.5mm in diameter.

Hi. It was printed on Anycubic Photon printer. It uses a liquid resin and solidifies with UV light. In some areas it has very slight stepping, but after spraying most of imperfections are not noticeable anymore. Like the small stepping near the top cap. Below is the photo of painted tank. Daniel

I have sent you a private message.

Hi Peter, I came across your post yesterday and though I can design it and print it just for try. Came out pretty nice. Please take a look. It is 1:50 scale (24x20x23mm).

We are a providing 3D printing, 3D modelling and rendering services. We own a resin printer and we are able to produce very detailed and high quality 3D prints ideal for any model scale. We are very friendly and helpful to develop your project exactly to your expectations. We can design and produce almost any element of scenery for your layout. Please visit our page: https://3dprintingcorner.co.uk/ www.facebook.com/3Dprintingcorner www.ebay.co.uk/usr/3dprintingcorner

Yes, the stepping on the vents is too noticeable to ignore so I'm thinking to separate it from main body and print vertically. All the slopes got the stepping. Also will try in higher resolution of layers. This one was printed at 50 microns. I can go down to 25 microns, so hoping to get better finish. The raised part of the roof is a printing artefact. I'm working on improve that part. As well as on frame front beams and bumpers which were to thin and failed to print.

Finally got the printer and spent about a month on learning how to use. It is definitely not a plug and play machine. After some adjusting and tweaking the printer itself there is a plenty of trial and error work on preparing the model, such as setting the orientation, supports and plenty of other factors which gives better or worse effects. My first try to print the fish van was only ok, but mostly because of the insufficient wall thickness and some details were to small. But that gave me knowledge of limits of this printer. The green resin supplied with printer works fine, but at the first look does not give very visible details. Primed with grey expose much more. Now I ordered grey resin and will see how it goes with it. Raw and primed I also experiment with some scenery items. Really great fun to see the tiny details.

Does anyone know the n gauge wheel sets supplier? I'm bit new to this hobby and can't find anything. 4mm and 7mm is plenty. I found wagons and coaches wheels in n gauge from Graham Farish but also I'm thinking to start another project where I will need 4ft diameter 10 spoke wheels for 0-6-0 loco. Appreciate any help.

Hi Richard, Many thanks for your offer. I assume you have FDM printer. I'm afraid that PLA or ABS has to many disadvantages for n-gauge. I'm looking for DLP or SLA technology. Form2 printer would be ideal, but it is too expensive. Luckily there are some alternatives from China already. I just need to read a bit about it to avoid buying a pig in a poke.

I will see how the things are going, but definitely need to do test prints to tweak and adjust the project if required. As a first I will probably use some service (Shapeways, iMaterialise etc.) but I'm after the own printer eventually. This is an early stage development, so buffers, brake gears and other details will be added later on. Will see how the test prints turn out.

Hi everyone, I have been working on the N gauge 15t fish van while ago and though I would share with you guys. It was a job ordered by someone but not completed then. I was thinking if anyone would be interested if I develop it to the stage where I can offer on the market. Nothing big, maybe some small batch 3d printed. I might be an owner of the 3d printer soon with decent quality of print. It all depends on demand, so this is the question to all of you. I'm open to all of your suggestion, thoughts and requests. I can also consider in designing and producing other types of wagons, coaches, accessories or even locos in different scales. I'm currently working on O gauge Coal Hopper HUO 24.5t, but cannot post it here as it is a specific order for one of my clients. Anyway, I appreciate any feedback from you. Pictures below: