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3D printers and Craft cutters Scenery and structures
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New member 4 posts Steve H New member 4 posts
Steve H

I now own a 3d printer and a craft cutter. Ive been looking around the web and found a few sites that had stuff for model railroading, and maybe I just haven't found it yet, but what would be nice is a place where we all could share info, tips, tricks and files.  Ive printed a few other folks files and made a few myself.  I think MRH is the place to post that kind of stuff, but Im not too sure about how or where on the site to do that?

Steve H
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ChiloquinRuss Frequent poster 872 posts
ChiloquinRuss

Thingiverse

Most CNC and 3d printer stuff is displayed and stored over on Thingiverse.  At least that is what I have used for the last couple of years.  Russ

https://www.thingiverse.com/
http://trainmtn.org/tmrr/index.shtml  Worlds largest outdoor hobby railroad 1/8th scale 37 miles of track on 2,200 acres
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mark_h_charles Regular poster 439 posts
mark_h_charles

What about Thing I Verse

There are some usable things on thingiverse.com.

Very diverse -- from nicely done freight cars to rough objects appropriate for scenery. I'm printing some older highway vehicles, for example, that will end up in a rail-served  junk yard.

Mark Charles
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Steve H New member 4 posts
Steve H

3d printing

Yeah, Ive printed a few pieces from Thingiverse, but it would be nice to have a place on a dedicated rail site like MRH.  I think it would grow this part of the hobby faster and with a higher quality. 

Steve H
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BoulderCreek Regular poster 269 posts
BoulderCreek

Great Idea

That's a great idea Steve, I too own a craft cutter and 3D printer. 

I find for the 3D printer I mostly make my own designs using a free online design program called TinkerCad, their website is https://www.tinkercad.com/ and it's great for designing basic things however with some patience and persistence you can build some very interesting shapes.

So far I've made things like culverts, 55 gallon drums, tomb stones, water tanks, cinder blocks, name plates, construction barriers, fences and large sewerage pipes.... to name a few  You're basically only limited by your imagination. All made on TinkerCad.

%20stuff.png 

I find ABS plastic much easier to work with... in terms of sanding and finishing, it's actually much harder to print if you don't have a suitable printer. Unfortunately PLA doesn't sand well however it's very forgiving and prints well most times.

I think if MRH added a new section to their Goodies tab for submitting 3D printing designs and craft cutting designs it would help a lot of people who have those tools and are looking for things to print, plus with the price of 3D printers dropping and the quality improving all the time they will become more and more common especially for modelers 

It's a good time to be a modeler 

Cheers
Luke Towan
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ChiloquinRuss Frequent poster 872 posts
ChiloquinRuss

Cubify Invent

I tried TinkerCad and had some success but once I found Invent I have been more than happy.  It's not a freeby but at $49 it is certainly worth it.  The parent company makes those mega dollar 3d printers and a line of personal printers.  They needed software for their $500 printer so they put a new face on some of their mega software.  Anyhow, it is very fast, easy, intuitive and a lot of fun.  Russ

https://prod.cubify.com/support/invent/videos

 

 

 

 

 

 
http://trainmtn.org/tmrr/index.shtml  Worlds largest outdoor hobby railroad 1/8th scale 37 miles of track on 2,200 acres
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