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WOW!. This looks so great!. Jose.

Which type of plastic did you use?

Nice idea, I may have to give this a try.  Assuming you used Shapeways to print these what type of plastic did you use?  Or do you print at home using your own machine?

I have the identical yard ladder for my lower staging yard and was planning to use the article you mention as a guide to set up the switch controls.  Nice to see someone else using it. 

Would other switch motors work with this system?  I have a pile or Rix switch motors and some NJ International motors as well as some Tortoise motors. 

Marc Simpson

Hi Marc,  I did not use

Hi Marc, 

I did not use Shapeways to print these, although I have used them in the past. If I were to use Shapeways, I would "pin" these together like a sprue in a plastic kit so that you only pay the setup fee once. Otherwise, you will pay a $2.50-$5 setup fee on each part. I have a local connection that has a 3D printer for my part printing needs.

As for the other switch machines- well, I know enough about electrical things to be dangerous. I would think you would need to know what the voltage is that is required to run your switch machines. Once you know that, you may need to add dropping resistors accordingly.

Wow

Okay that is way too cool, love the yard panel!

What font is that PC style?

That font looks really good for Penn Central, what is it?  Those labels look great.  

thanks,

Randy

Sweet!

Although a skeptic at first, I'm really warming up to this 3D printing thing!

-George

Warming up to 3D printing

Just a few comments based on our nearly two years of experience working with 3D printers... 

The term "rapid prototyper" is ANYTHING but accurate. All 3D printing machines, hobbyist and pro levels, alike take a VERY long time to produce a model. For example, we are currently producing an O Scale custom structure for a modeler. We have to split the building into two pieces to fit the build envelope of our machines. The tower we're doing for him consists of four sections: 2 for the main building, 2 for the roof. Each half of the main building takes 19 hours to produce and the roof sections take 7 hours each.

Add to this the unpredictability of the result of the ABS cooling and solidifying and we sometimes find that the piece is warped or that the based has pulled away from the print surface and ends up going into the recycle bin.

Modeling in 3D isn't exactly an intuitive process, either! It took me several months to get to the point where my models were coming out of the CAD software properly solid. Sometimes surfaces are generated backward and won't produce correctly. The software that drives our printing equipment shows us where there are problems in the STL file by painting the surface red and then we have to go back and fix the CAD work, sometimes this is a very time-consuming process.

Hobby level machines are notoriously unreliable, too! They require frequency maintenance and are easily knocked out of proper alignment simply by the process of running. While you can purchase a Makerbot type of machine, they will generally come to you as a kit that you must assemble, then calibrate, and experiment with until you get a perfectly square and vertical model. In short, this is definitely NOT plug and play technology yet.

The better machines out there come with what is still a pretty hefty price tag and most of these machines will only produce parts that are less than 4.75" in each dimension. The very inexpensive machines will generally only produce parts that are in the 2" to 3" size range!

So, there you go... 3D printing is great technology but it's still not quite an "every man's" process YET!

It's labor intensive and can be quite frustrating!!!

3D printing

I saw a 3D printer at the recent Amhurst model railroad show. cost = aprox. $1500. 00 That did not include the cost of the 3D cad software which is hundreds of $$$'s for a license. Way too costly for the casual hobbyest.

It is available to every man...

Shapeways makes it very affordable to the average modeler.  You can either draw up your own parts in SketchUp, which is free, or use existing files.  In most cases you will get a much better product than commercially available and for less money.  

Randy

...

It's fun listening people who have a limited exposure to the technology speak so knowingly...

While people are actually using it, successfully, without any of the issues cited by the pundits.

If you find yourself budgeting or releases like this:

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Rapido-HO-The-Canadian-Set-p/rpi-210002.htm

You too can afford a laser cutter, or a 3D printer...

OR

You can make Can-Do with the fine output by Model Shapeways, for a rate comparable to what a detail part would cost.

I have yet to have Solidworks

I have yet to have Solidworks output a faulty STL file. Sketchup....well that is another story. Most people that have bought machines for their own use cannot compete with Shapeways when it comes to quality. My company owns a $55k machine...Shapeways has $100k+ machines. There is a pretty big difference between the two machines, and neither one of them is a real option for the hobbyist to own themselves.

Randy, the font I used for

Randy, the font I used for the Penn Central style tags was Square 721 Bold Italic...its pretty close overall!

As for print time, it is pretty fast as long as your part is not big in the "Z" axis dimension. These tags were done in less than 30 minutes print time. 

The way to save money using Shapeways is to "pin" your parts together in a sprue like you see in a kit. The highest detail print material has a $5/per part setup charge regardless of size. So if you have 6 parts to print, you could pin them together and save $25.

I have yet to have

You're still bent on the idea that YOU have to own the Machine... Shapeways has already proven all you need is the design file, and you can get the parts made for a price in line what it would cost you to buy a detail part, if you could even buy that detail part in the first place.  At this moment, it/s the best fit, whereas you get the quality via access to the $100,000 machines without making the $100,000 purchase.  Best of both worlds in my mind.

Less expensive but good software.

I spoke with my brother about this. We too saw the printer at the show. He currently has prototype masters made for his spin-casting system using Shapeways which he said is about the best around. He uses these to create the impressions for his rubber molds he then uses for pewter castings.

The software ranges in the $80 per year to $400 to purchase, depending upon the package. There are trade-offs as usual with some being better than others.

Hash Animation Master --- $80 per year subscription. http://www.hash.com/index.php?&reload

This is an older program originally developed for animating 3d models. Their model creator can produce more organic models, meaning smooth curves and surfaces. The interface isn't exactly intuitive.

3D-Coat --- $379. http://3d-coat.com/

A true solid modeler which would be akin to modeling in clay. This can be used to carve out solid objects and has been used for statues and other things in that nature rather than lofted thin objects such as stairways or fences. My brother uses this for carving coins and medallions.

MOI 3d --- $295 http://moi3d.com/

This is another solid modeler and was developed by the same guy that wrote Rhino and other very expensive 3D Modeling program. This is a very powerful package that is relatively easy to use. It has a very intuitive interface and has some things built in to help with the modeling process. The program offers great dimensional precision which is important for modeling real world objects.

Daz Studio's Hexagon --- Free http://www.daz3d.com/?&utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=DAZ-General&utm_campaign=Search-US-Branded&utm_content=homepage

Hexagon is a 2D/3D modeler where shapes are drawn then lofted and is more like a traditional CAD program with a precise dimensional system which is important for 3D models of real world objects. The program is somewhat easy to use, but the cost is great - meaning Free!

The thing is, as was explained to me by my brother as I researched this before I posted here, any program can be used that will generate an STL file. Finding one that is both easy to use and has a degree of precision is important for us.

Having said this we have to consider the cost of output. The model output can be expensive if it isn't planned, as mentioned above. We want to ensure that our models are efficiently designed so to not cost more than it was worth building in the first place. Having a printer in house sounds like a great idea, but right now we need to weigh in the cost of the printer plus the time. Is it worth all the work to make something when it could be easily purchased or output by someone else.

The other issue too which comes to mind here, is we can't have multiple outputs of models due to errors. You want to make sure the output is correct the first time since it's not just a waste of time, but money also. It's like buying expensive wood. You need to measure a gazillion times before cutting.

John

  You're still bent on the

I think you misinterpreted what I was saying...I am saying the exact same thing you are saying...its not cost effective to own your own machine if you want decent quality parts. I would much rather spend the money for a high quality part from Shapeways, than to deal with the headaches of the "makerbot" class of machine. 

a few comments to comments

Jim has it right, but it is not that hard.  You just have to want to do it.

another answer/comment

Printed a couple nights ago

About 3 hours and 30 minutes of print time, but printed all in one piece.  A little odd, but based on a prototype

Use 3D design software NOT CAD

I use Cubify Invent $49, works like a dream.  The output is very printable. CAD software is not the answer for 3D printing.  CAD software does not produce printable object, you must finish off the object with additional pieces of software usually.  That is why I really Invent.    As far as taking hours and hours to design something that is rubbish.  You must understand the limitations of any machine and design accordingly.  3D printing will never give you details that injection molding will give so why try and design in those kinds of details.  Here is a pix of about 4 hours of design work and an equal amount of time to print.  I'd say it was a respectable amount of goodies in just 8 hours.  Russ

First pass at an ON30 boiler for a critter:  About 2 hours design and just a tad over an hour to print, all in one piece, and hollow inside for motor, DCC, etc,.  Will use an HO mechanism.

Overcomplication

I beg to differ.  I've been using Sketchup, with a plugin to allow it to export STL files, and I have had no need for additional programs.  I draw something, check to see that it's a single closed manifold (Sketchup will tell you the volume, if it is), export the STL, and upload it to Shapeways.  It really is that simple.

I suspect that a lot of the reason to use additional software has to do with automation - there are programs which will automatically find and/or fix errors you've made.  My attitude is that it's better to not make the error in the first place.  So far, I have had only one order rejected by Shapeways, and that was because of a small section which was too thin for the material I ordered, rather than a problem with the file.  I have yet to have Sketchup output a bad STL or to have any other software-related problem.

well I for one

like what JodyG has come up with.  I would never have thought of fascia objects from a 3D printer, although I have considered using Shapeways to build levers (like Humpyards' levers only beefier) for my manual throws.  Just not sure of the strength of the materials they have to throw a Blue Point (which in turn throws a non-hinged code 70 turnout).  As a 3D mini-control panel and dial plate- that's a great idea!  Might be cheaper ways to do the same, without numbers on the dial, but nice to see it done.  Very professional-looking!

Magic carpets

"And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers, ride their father's magic carpet made of steel..."

I believe you misquote Steve Goodman  -  it should be "magic carpet made of STEAM"

Death to diseasels,

Steve