Easy choice

IMHO a 3-D printer would be inferior to the commercial models such those used by Shapeways. For the money I’d get more out of a laser cutter. If your interests are small scale or custom parts then a less expensive 3-D printer may be fine but I still would consider sending these to a commercial outfit. 

A laser cutter would make creating multiple copies of structures possible as well as layered models as Rick Riemer has done for buildings, turntables, and passenger cars. Some creative thinking on his part. 

I would have to say laser

I’d need a little more space...

between my ears.  New learning curves required for both tools.  I might go with the cutter and hire out the 3D printing.  The 3D printing shops probably have much better equipment than I can afford.  This might give me better quality products in the long run.

Nick

Definitely the laser. I have

Definitely the laser. I have considered both and went that way, makes my modeling life a lot easier!

I have used both and vote

I have used both and vote laser easier learning curve and faster to actually cut

Laser

Based on the wonderful work that Michael Rose has done (and the potential for more!) with his laser I'd get a laser....but then I don't have to as Michael said he will laser out anything that I draw!

Laser cutter

Michael, which laser cutter do you use?

I think I

would be inclined to try three d printing, so many detail parts to make, many small items in HO, garbage cans, transformers, soda machines, etc, I would find more uses. Honestly, either one will be only used so long, like all our other tools, they're around when we need them.

Laser for me, too!

Plenty of the  details I need can be made from flat stock.

Also, the post-processing of 3Dprinted materials is a bit extensive....

That said - if your 3D product is used as a form to make a casting mold, you can rapidly reproduce castings... and leave the post-processing to a harder material.

Michael, which laser cutter

I use this one:  https://www.fslaser.com/Product/Hobby

I would go with a laser

That is more then a bit beyond my price range.  I think that is the issue with laser cutters anything much more then an  K40 class is beyond the finances of most hobbyists.

But from what I have seen the current 3D printers that do the best work with least cleanup cost even more.  So..

-Doug Meyer

When money is available

I have an M3D printer and I love it.

As soon as I have some money I will buy this 3 in 1.

https://www.snapmaker.com/product so cool!

Ideally both, but I vote Laser Cutter.

They're both useful tools, and I'd love to get my hands on either one of them.

That said, having done some research into both tools, the laser cutter has a MUCH EASIER learning curve! The real question is, "what do you want to make?" For me, the laser cutter would be easier to learn, as long as I remember to be careful detailing the locomotive cabs and such I want to make.

To be honest, I would rather have an industrial tooling cutter, like the ones used for scrapbooking, so I can run thin styrene sheet through it. Most laser cutters are limited in material useage.

what id buy

There's an order of magnitude

There's an order of magnitude difference in the price of a laser cutter that can deliver professional results, and a 3D printer that can do the same. Even the lower quality printers Shapeways uses run around $10,000. Better to just "rent" theirs when you need one and buy the laser. Letting a 3D printer sit idle is burning money. A tool like that needs to earn its keep, and it won't do that with a single 'hobby' customer.

Laser

Another laser vote here. The tech and price points are still improving rapidly on 3D printers. Laser cutters by contrast have been around quite a while now, so the technology is more mature and the prices are relatively lower.

Personally I would also prefer a laser cutter because it would be much more useful for where I'm at with layout construction: structure building.

consider other options

You may not need to buy anything. Look for a community college or maker shop where you can learn to use the tool without shelling out big bucks.

I think I read that....

Trainmasterm247 had access to some equipment and was willing to share it.

Nick

@amsick

Yes my highschool is doing custom work we can't do it for free but pricing should be pretty good, I do believe the OP is from over the pond though.

If you do go in the direction of a 3d printer I would vote one of the formlabs resin printers, they take more setup and cleanup but have really good results.

If I had to choose

I'd take the laser for many of the reasons mentioned above.  I got a recent flyer from a maker shop that started up here and it is intriguing as well - for less money you can be taught how to use it, then pay a fee to use it when you need it.  But, if you have plans to build almost everything like Michael Rose does, you'd likely be better served purchasing.  So how much do you plan to use it?

The other consideration is affordability - if you can afford a good laser cutter and it doesn't eat much into your main hobby budget, I'd probably just buy it, but if it was a stretch to get it, I'd go with a local maker shop and shapeways.

Actually...

I don't think I will buy either one. Aside from the fact that I have nowhere to put them, I can't justify the cost given the size and goal of my railroad. There won't be more than a dozen major structures on my 7 foot empire, and at least half of them are already built. Besides, the point of my railroad is to build a railroad. And that means construct it with my hands, not do a computer design and watch a robot do the work. To me it's a lot like the difference between getting really good at Garage Band and actually learning to play a musical instrument. I am not dissing the use of a computer in music production (if I thought that, boy was I in the wrong line of work), but mastering an instrument and performing with others is a completely different experience and ultimately more rewarding than staring at a computer screen. Cutting and fitting wood and styrene are experiences I find enjoyable, and I have no urge to become efficient in my hobby.

I've got some ideas for 3D items like people and trees, but I'm pretty sure the Shapeways route will always cost out best for my needs.

pqe

Get the 3D Printer: more projects that need identical parts

I'd get the 3d printer, preferably one (like the FormLabs machines) that can print HO detail parts.

Both 3d printers and laser cutters are for small scale production.  If you only need one part, you can make it by hand faster than you can draw it and make it.  3d printers and laser cutters are best when you need to make several of the same part, and don't mind spending the time to figure out a design, tweak it through multiple iterations, and finally make all you need.

For the laser cutter, that means you need to make a bunch of projects requiring multiple parts made from flat sheets.  Perhaps you want to make a structure kit or car sides.  However, odds are your layout only needs one of any particular structure design, so the laser cutter implies you're making more for other folks.  A laser cutter might make more sense for car sides or for structural parts (switch machine mount, for example).  I've just found it hard to justify a laser cutter just because I don't have enough projects to make with it.

A good 3d printer can make lots of duplicates of parts for the layout: HO figures, detail parts (crates on loading docks, custom vents for passenger cars, SP-style telephone booths, dummy dwarf semaphore signals).  It can also make smaller mounts (servo mount for semaphore signal, support ring for switch machine fascia control).  I've made HO freight cars.  I could make real cars (if I could get the shape right.)

I haven't been tracking the quality of FDM ("squirt-out-plastic-noodle") printers lately, but I believe they're never going to be good enough for HO detail figures.  The layers of plastic also aren't as tightly stuck together, so they're not always good for parts that need structural strength.

I've been using the original Form One printer from Formlabs for a few years now, and it's an essential part of my model building.  It's had its temperamental moments, but it's been wonderful for detail parts. I've also been able to mass-produce HO gondolas on it.  The printer cost is the big restriction - it costs the same as a decent used car.  However, the material cost (15c / cubic centimeter, or about $3 for a freight car) isn't so bad.  Having the 3d printer at home is also much more fun than sending off to Shapeways.  It's easy to quickly run off a part that I need as part of a project (bolsters for passenger car underframes), and very easy to look at a new part, figure out what doesn't look right, tweak the design, and run a new part within hours.

Photos of some of my projects here:

http://vasonabranch.blogspot.com/search/label/3d%20printing

Robert

Get the 3D Printer: more projects that need identical parts

I'd get the 3d printer, preferably one (like the FormLabs machines) that can print HO detail parts.

Both 3d printers and laser cutters are for small scale production.  If you only need one part, you can make it by hand faster than you can draw it and make it.  3d printers and laser cutters are best when you need to make several of the same part, and don't mind spending the time to figure out a design, tweak it through multiple iterations, and finally make all you need.

For the laser cutter, that means you need to make a bunch of projects requiring multiple parts made from flat sheets.  Perhaps you want to make a structure kit or car sides.  However, odds are your layout only needs one of any particular structure design, so the laser cutter implies you're making more for other folks.  A laser cutter might make more sense for car sides or for structural parts (switch machine mount, for example).  I've just found it hard to justify a laser cutter just because I don't have enough projects to make with it.

A good 3d printer can make lots of duplicates of parts for the layout: HO figures, detail parts (crates on loading docks, custom vents for passenger cars, SP-style telephone booths, dummy dwarf semaphore signals).  It can also make smaller mounts (servo mount for semaphore signal, support ring for switch machine fascia control).  I've made HO freight cars.  I could make real cars (if I could get the shape right.)

I haven't been tracking the quality of FDM ("squirt-out-plastic-noodle") printers lately, but I believe they're never going to be good enough for HO detail figures.  The layers of plastic also aren't as tightly stuck together, so they're not always good for parts that need structural strength.

I've been using the original Form One printer from Formlabs for a few years now, and it's an essential part of my model building.  It's had its temperamental moments, but it's been wonderful for detail parts. I've also been able to mass-produce HO gondolas on it.  The printer cost is the big restriction - it costs the same as a decent used car.  However, the material cost (15c / cubic centimeter, or about $3 for a freight car) isn't so bad.  Having the 3d printer at home is also much more fun than sending off to Shapeways.  It's easy to quickly run off a part that I need as part of a project (bolsters for passenger car underframes), and very easy to look at a new part, figure out what doesn't look right, tweak the design, and run a new part within hours.

Photos of some of my projects here:

http://vasonabranch.blogspot.com/search/label/3d%20printing

Robert

I think budget is a big

I think budget is a big question.

At $500 or less I would guess one of the home 3D printers as I don’t think a laser in that range would do the job.

$500 to $1000 is a bit of a toss up.  But by the time you hit $1000 to $3000 ($3500 was the FS laser some had) then I think the Laser is the better option. .

of course I an unconvinced that $1000 plus for either of these is truly justified unless you are using it a LOT or you just have a couple grand to blow on your hobby that you don’t have to justify,

-Doug M