very nice -- best wishes

The Ice Building print looks very nice! best wishes for a speedy recovery from your surgery.

John, Very nice 3D printed

John,

Very nice 3D printed building!  

Regarding your recovery from back surgery, I just had TLIF surgery (spinal fusion, L-4 to S-1) in early November, so I can relate.  A word of advice:  don't rush things in your recovery.  They say recovery from spinal fusion surgery takes 6 months to fully heal.  So, even if you are feeling pretty good, don't overdo it - follow your physical therapy guidelines.  I have run across two people that didn't heed that advice and had to undergo surgery again to "fix" whatever happened.  

Al Carter

John, That's a great looking

John,

That's a great looking building.  You've helped convince me to add a 3d printer to my modeling tool box.  What printer are you using?

I had spinal fusion in 2010, Anterior diskectomy w/fusion C4 through C7.  I hope yopur surgery is as effective as mine was.

Jeff White

Alma, IL

Best wishes John, hope

Best wishes John, hope everything goes well and you have a full recovery. I have been reduced in activity due to a knee so I understand your desire to get back to normal. I was also able to get my surgery in just before Christmas so I am spending the nasty weather getting better.

" You've helped convince me

    Can these home version printers print parts without the roughness that Shapeways parts have? How much does it cost to print a building ( material and electricity, etc. ) compared to building with styrene or other sheet material and commercial windows ,doors,etc? I guess there's a trade off of time spent on the computer learning how and drawing up plans versus time spent on a workbench cutting parts by hand,does anyone know the comparative total hours required? ......DaveB

Union Ice

I’ve been following along on your projects and look forward to seeing this one come together as well. You certainly make it look easy! 

Surgery to reattach severed flexor tendons in my right hand this last week has created challenges for using the computer and even the mouse but I’m determined to keep trying.  Good luck on your recovery as well.

3D vs conventional

While 3D is cool, I wonder how long it took to draw up and print the building vs. making it conventionally from styrene?  With such a simple shape, minimal openings and windows, it probably could be made from styrene in a  hour or two, for less than $5 worth of parts.

Advantage of 3D printing

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/29947

I use the printer to its advantages, and design for the process.

As I can't afford a top of the line SLA or SLS machine, I have to adapt to the limits of my filament printer.

    Can these home version

Well, let's not be silly, shall we? A home printer for under $1000 is simply not going to give the results of a $10,000-plus professional printer. A filament printer can't even approach the results of a laser-fused powder, much less the kind of print you can get in FUD (Frosted Ultra Detail), FED (Frosted Extreme Detail), or the new UV/oxygen resins.

If you're getting "rough" parts from Shapeways, then you're using the cheapest and lowest resolution materials. Try upping your game to FUD or FED plastics, or even High Definition Acrylate.

These are N scale versions of the Oscar and Piker cars that used to be available in HO and O scale from Walthers, printed in FUD from Shapeways. That's a half-inch grid on the mat.That's as-delivered from Shapeways - I haven't even cleaned them yet. Still, you can click on the photos to enlarge them, and you can see they're anything but "rough".

I'm fairly adept with the Sketchup software I use, but it still took the better part of two days to ready all three versions of these cars for printing. The difference is, if I want MORE than one of each, I simply press a button, I don't have to build each one from scratch.

Yes, the software has a learning curve. So does modeling. In both cases, you simply have to commit to doing it. I took drafting classes in high school, so I've been working with the concepts of 3-D modeling for over 45 years now. I've been modeling of one kind or another for a little longer than that, even.

Thanks

Charles, Thanks for your comments.....John

Thanks 2

Al,

Thanks for the advice.....John

My 3D Printer

Jeff,

I have an XYZ Printing da Vinci mini 3D printer.  I've got over 800 print hours on the original extruder and it is still running good.  I got mine in January 2017 from B&H Photo in NYC (no sales tax & free shipping) for less than $300. There are other low cost printers that probably would work but this one was fully assembled and just took a usb cable (or wifi) to get it running.

As for the surgery, I will have to take it easy for a while (which is tough to do).....John

Thanks 3

Hi Rob.

I agree about taking it easy and hopefully the surgery will fix my disk problem (it was pressing on the sciatic nerve).  Meanwhile, I will work on some of the scenery items (mainly buildings & bridges) that can be done with my computer & printer......John

Quality of 3D Printing

Dave,

My printer uses PLA and will not ever have the quality of a Shapeways print or even a home 3D printer that costs a few thousand dollars.  A lot of the ultra detail, I believe, requires FUD (if I have the acronym right) or frosted ultra detail.  That would cost more than it costs me to print for N-scale.  The PLA that I use costs me $0.115 per meter. The ice house print (building sections & roof sections plus brim to hold it in place) took 86.3 meters of PLA or roughly $10 worth of material. As for electricity, I haven't any way of pricing that out.  The printer runs on power similar to a regular printer.  I have never been able to effectively use styrene to build anything like what I have been able to do with the 3D printer so I really cannot answer that question.....John 

Thanks 4

Neil, I appreciate your comments.  Hope your recovery goes good too....John

P.S.  At least you are warm in Hawaii...we are really having a winter this year in Central Texas.....

3D vs Other ways

Dave,

I would absolutely agree with your premise .... I am styrene building challenged and cannot get the same results as with the way that I am doing it.  My first project using the 3D printer was the stock feed lot that took some time but was a lot easier for me to do than trying to glue together hair width styrene as N-scale fencing.  It is easier for me to design in my computer using the simple design program, test printing a piece, and then proceeding from there....John

3D Printing

Michael,

I agree with you wholeheartedly.  My original project, the stock feed lot, paid for the printer as it would have cost more than the printer cost to buy enough kits to do the 5-1/2 foot long model.  Doing it in styrene was a non-starter for me due to the small size that would have been required for the N-scale fencing.....John

Home vs Shapeways

I agree.

I still LOVE...

... that Oscar and Piker!

Currently I have a nice collection of Oscars and Pikers from different years (some built... some still in kit form... one Piker is "O" scale, even!) and I'm planning to do a whole write up on the history of those little cars (Walthers has been very helpful in tracking down some stories, and anecdotes as to their how and why, and I even managed to find a 1:1 scale Oscar that may have been a custom build as a small office... still trying to track down where the photo came from)

Who knew 3D printing could produce such amazing models, especially that small!

"My printer uses PLA and will

Hi John, Thanks for the info. Do you have to smooth off your printed parts to avoid a sand paper appearance?  I've built some shapeways freight cars and had problems with their roughness. The FUD costs about $40 for a small car which is too much in my opinion....DaveB

Print Quality

Dave,

Thanks for you additional comments/questions. I use vinyl spackling to fill in any gaps when joining multiple sections of buildings and sand them with Emory boards. Edges of buildings do require a small bit of sanding as well as roof sections.  As for sanding the entire building to get a real smooth finish, no I do not since this is N-scale and it is good enough for my home layout. The build of the Union Station project used the techniques described above, and as I recall cost me less than $90.  Sure it isn't FUD quality but the building is good enough for me, was affordable, and fits exactly in the space allocated.....John