Totally doable, with some qualifiers....

I don’t have first-hand experience with projects like this, but I dabble in 3D printing and have seen people do similar projects in other communities I’m in (the one that comes to mind is someone who printed an Amtrak Cascades trainset). It’s certainly possible, but I’d caution against looking at it as a “shortcut” when compared to traditional scratch building.  Not trying to talk you out of it, just want to make sure you consider everything involved, since there are skills involved even if they’re different. Some advice in no particular order  

You will probably want a liquid resin printer for a project like this, these have higher resolution for details than “FDM” printers that use plastic filament. The resin is smelly, and can be messy, depending on your workshop situation (basement/garage vs spare bedroom), that might be a deal breaker.  I don’t own one (yet), but I’ve seen the Elgoo Mars series and Anycubic Photon series recommended as good entry level options.   

A 3D printer is a pricy tool/toy. They’re certainly more affordable than they used to be, but you’ll likely still be spending $200-300 for a decent entry-level model. If you see yourself continuing to use it (and you definitely will be able to find excuses to print things), then that can be seen as an investment, similar to an airbrush setup. For a one off project though, it may be a bit much. 

You’ll also need a 3D model in order to print. You might get lucky and find someone who’s already created one and put it online, but if not you’ll need to do it yourself (or pay someone to). Even if you do find an existing model, you’ll likely need to modify it to fit your mechanism. If you have 3D computer modeling experience already, you’ll be good to go, but if not you’ll need to learn. I won’t comment on whether it’s easier or harder than “old school” scratch building, it’s just different. There are free and well-documented software packages out there (like Blender) so if you’re willing to learn you definitely can, but it’s not something that comes easily to everyone, and it’s certainly something you’d need to practice. 

3d printing

I am now on my second 3d printer,  this one is larger with two independent heads which I want to use for breakaway or dissolvable support material.

It’s a bit of an art to play with materials and try different settings until you find what works.

I’m trying to learn how to do design with Fusion 360 but it’s a steep curve.  You may also be able to adapt sketch up models.

I really want to print bodies for modern Light Rail Vehicles and figure out to power them without visible motors. I feel that modern light rail is underrepresented in HO scale and I really want to model it.

thingiverse has a lot of models and they are all free.

I found a Tram model on Thingiverse in O scale I’ve been able to scale down and print in HO.  But no idea how to put a drive into it.

Mike

3d printing

I am now on my second 3d printer,  this one is larger with two independent heads which I want to use for breakaway or dissolvable support material.

It’s a bit of an art to play with materials and try different settings until you find what works.

I’m trying to learn how to do design with Fusion 360 but it’s a steep curve.  You may also be able to adapt sketch up models.

I really want to print bodies for modern Light Rail Vehicles and figure out to power them without visible motors. I feel that modern light rail is underrepresented in HO scale and I really want to model it.

thingiverse has a lot of models and they are all free.

I found a Tram model on Thingiverse in O scale I’ve been able to scale down and print in HO.  But no idea how to put a drive into it.

Mike

Fusion360

@Mike,

My 3D printer arrived today and I've been following along with the following Fusion360 tutorial series. You might find these videos helpful:  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYIv_mZyktYJF_mvr1onbBOGLYuHXyN9X

Yaron, thanks for the link...................................

This of course leads to the question of what printer you purchased. 

I started watching this series, as I'm hoping to see what "tricks"  "3D Drawing for Model Railways" uses.  This series was not out there when I started back in June 2020.  I've been a big fan of Lars Christiansen, but he isn't focused on Model Railways, he is targeting industrial design.  That said, the basics are the same regardless of what we are designing.  Might want to check it out also as Lars has a HUGE following.  Here is the first in the series.  After I designed my first part, I went back and redid the tutorial, and drew the items along with the video to cement it in my aging feeble brain. 

Here is where I am currently at. This was the prototype, and now I am making six "production" cars for myself and close friends.  The off-white stuff is 3D printed, the grey and tan colored stuff is Tichy Train Group parts.  The pure white strapping is Evergreen Plastic strip stock. 

It took me from June 2020 thru October 2020 doing other projects to get my skills to the point that I felt I was ready to tackle this project.   I started designing this part in early Nov 2020, and had the design largely complete by mid-December 2020.  I was doing test prints along the way.  For the last month, I've been experimenting with my small (o,25mm) nozzle and reduced print speeds to get very high quality prints (for an FFF printer at least). 

If I can figure this stuff out, anybody can. 

Regards,

Jerry

Thank you for all your help

Thank you for all your help and suggestions.

I think perhaps I didn't make myself very clear, I'm not interested in purchasing a 3-D printer I was asking if there was anyone I could work with to produce the shell, I have detailed plans for the motorcar that would help.

Thank you so much for all your advice!

Craig

@Jerry @Craig

Jerry,

Thanks for the link to Lars' Youtube channel. I'll be checking him out. The channel I recommended started just in the last month or so and I liked the simple, no nonsense presentation and the lack of inundating someone with different ways of doing something in the same lesson. Like, yes, I understand you likely can copy something instead of drawing it 4 times or even use a duplication feature, but lets show the basics in a short lesson first.

Which 3D printer did I buy? After much contemplating I ended up buying an FDM 3D printer first: the Creality Ender-3 v2 to be exact. I feel for now it will help me print items that: a) don't require too much detail, butb) do require decent strength (like ABS), and c) my kids can use for their non-train related interests as well. For detail work I will want to get a Anycubic Photon Mono X or similar next.

Your tank car work looks great. I hope my stuff will end up looking as good.

@Craig,

So do you want to create the 3D model yourself and have someone else print it for you, or do you want to outsource the creation of the 3D model as well? With the latter, unless the person you find is interested in printing a few models for themselves or can re-use/monetize the CAD drawing in some form, the cost of converting the 2D drawing into a 3D CAD model can be quite expensive.

print sizes

What scale are you modelling? 

I too am interested in 3d printing car bodies, but what holds me back right now is print bed size. I'd like to be able to print HO scale passenger equipment, and only a couple of the resin printers can go big enough. 

I imagine unless you are in N scale (or smaller) your ACF motocar looks like it would be about a foot long, and I don't see resin printers that big. 

So what is possible?

Some printers have height as their greatest dimension. Can car shells be printed standing on their ends?

Can a car shell be printed in pieces and joined together with acceptable results? Not just ends, sides, and roof like a kit, but split the sides into two or more panel parts that you glue together later?

@eastwind

Good evening all

My printer is an Anycubic Mono SE and it prints happily to .020 inch.   I print my subway cars in symmetrical parts and bond together. Each half is about 5 inches,  the width of the build plate.     

There’s the idea:

John

Lets see if we can't get this thread back to the OP's request...

Craig wrote:

No, you made yourself quite clear, what you are experiencing is known as "thread drift".  Happens a lot.  I contributed to it.

I'll take it that you haven't had any takers yet for your project, correct?  If you have not, I'm not surprised.  This project is a lot of work for somebody to take on, so unless they really want what you want, they are not prepared to invest the sizeable amount of hours needed to bring a project like this to completion. 

Have a look at the thread I linked below, and you should get an idea of the size of the task at hand.   While you say that your "scratchbuilding skills are not good enough", what about your kitbashing skills, and your ability to adapt an existing drive to a designed shell?  That is a necessary step in the design process for anybody that is going to design the shell. Is doing the drive modifications within your skill set?  Do you know where the attachment points will be for the shell to the modified drive?   The thread below is in the same vein as what you are looking to accomplish, and dcforbes lays it out in very good detail:

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/31188

You might try contacting dcforbes off list, and find out how many hours he invested in his project.  Multiply that amount by $15.00 / hour (probably the lowest possible rate you will find), and you should have a good idea of the minimum cost (optimistic) for you to accomplish this project by securing outside services.

If you are looking for somebody to handle this project cradle to grave, you may reach out to the Association of Professional Modelbuilders at:

https://www.modelmakers.org/

They can hook you up with likely candidates that you can solicit bids from.  This would give you an indication of the high end (pessimistic) cost to do this project. 

I got curious about this particular railcar while writing this post, and I found a web link for Railway Classics, who evidently solicited interest on this car.  Notice it is "on hold", which to me indicates that you are chasing after a piece of MP&E with limited interest:

https://www.railwayclassics.com/ACF01.htm

Since you are an avid Missouri and Arkansas railroad fan, perhaps you could reach out to the historical society and see if anybody is chasing after the same end goal as you.  I didn't find any historical society with a web search, but I don't know if they were a subsidiary of a larger railroad.

If you do the leg work to determine approximate cost, you will have more insight on why people are investing the time and effort to become familiar with 3D design software.  It is usually the only way to reach our goals within the budget of the vast majority of modelers.   Once you have the 3D model, you can probably find somebody to print it for you, but you will probably find that dcforbes went the best route by going with Shapeways.

Good luck on your quest.  

Regards,

Jerry

Thank you Jerry for the great

Thank you Jerry for the great advice! I now have a much better idea of the project and I have a few starting points.

Thank you so much!

Craig

Professional 3D Printer Here

Hi Craig, 

I know this thread is a bit old but I wanted to let you know about my services. I do custom design and printing, and I specialize in weird diesels and doodlebugs. You can take a look at some of my work on my website: firstpersonscalemodels.com

I would need some more photos to get started (preferably a set of plans as well) but I already have a Bachmann Doodlebug in my personal collection, so it will be easy for me to design a shell that will fit. 

If you're interested I'd ask you to reach out through my website and we can get started. 

-Zach

Wow, that is some great work Zach

I hope you and the thread originator can get together a bring his project to fruition.

Regards,

Jerry

IT'S DONE!

Thanks to Zach at firstpersonscalemodels.com I have a shell to my favorite piece of railroad equipment.

working with Zach was a pleasure, his communication was first rate and I am very satisfied with the final product, I would highly recommend him and his services to anyone needing that special one of a kind car that will never be produced by anyone else. Now on to detailing and painting, I've painted lots of plastic and a little bit of brass but never resin, is there any special prep or tips anyone can share with me?

Thanks again Zach!