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1935 LaSalle convertible coupe - 3d printed at home Aug. 30


my66s55

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This is a project that has been underway for a couple of years. I,at first, started a coupe version of this model in 1:24 scale about 4 years ago. Everything was fine except I couldn't create the 2 front fenders the mirror image of each other. After following the development of the open source fdm printers, I decided to take the plunge in November of 2012 and started to build my own desktop machine. Having just the machine was not enough. I had to teach myself how to to draw, create if you would, a usable, accurate and 3d printable stl file.This I did and by late summer, early fall 2013, the machine was operational. The next 3 to 4 months were spent learning the best orientation etc for the part to give the best result. Scaling. How to fix and properly set up the machine. This past fall, after following the next version in desk top printing, I decided to build a second printer which would be needed to complete my goal. Any of you who have seen my posts, knows what this machine will do. The following are jpegs of the stl files of the parts I have already created. I will follow them up later with the result of the printing and if requested, some pphotos of the exact creation process. This project is 60 plus % complete. Any questions, feel free to ask. snapshot01_zpswajhizcj.png

Edited by my66s55
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Yes! Exactly what I have been predicting is now happening!

Won't be long before a 3-D printer will be as common on our workbenches as a Dremel tool or an X-acto knife.

To me the big issue is the creation of the art for the models.

I have fully mastered 2D artwork that I use with my laser cutter to cut parts for models. I even sold a few at one time.

When 3D printers started to hit the market I got some 3D software and tried to 'draw' some VERY simple parts.......I failed.

If I had spent more time....maybe....but the time it would take means less time with my classic cars, models and trains that eat all my time now.

Some will and have mastered it very well.....but I do not think the average guy will master creating artwork AS WE KNOW IT TODAY.

That too will change someday.

Laser cut model......

cashboxnet-vi.jpg

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Yes! Exactly what I have been predicting is now happening!

Won't be long before a 3-D printer will be as common on our workbenches as a Dremel tool or an X-acto knife.

It will be more like the number of guys who own a lathe today. When Augie Hiscano did his tour of model shows, a lot of guys bought Sherline lathes. And like exercise equipment, there are no doubt a lot of very low mileage units out there! Guys bought them with no appreciation of the learning curve.

To me the big issue is the creation of the art for the models.

I have fully mastered 2D artwork that I use with my laser cutter to cut parts for models. I even sold a few at one time.

When 3D printers started to hit the market I got some 3D software and tried to 'draw' some VERY simple parts.......I failed.

If I had spent more time....maybe....but the time it would take means less time with my classic cars, models and trains that eat all my time now.

Some will and have mastered it very well.....but I do not think the average guy will master creating artwork AS WE KNOW IT TODAY.

That too will change someday.

Bingo! Everyone who is involved with 3D printing today is pretty much a professional 3D CAD modeler. It's a profession with skills that have been learned and honed over many years. It's not something the average modeler will sit down at one evening and magically pop out parts.

I sat through a whole afternoon forum on 3D printing at GSL. It was fascinating and the time flew by! But again the art is guys who do the 3D modeling professionally. The guys doing the printing actually built their own 3D printers and it's a business unto itself to build and program these.

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Hi Dough,

You are setting the bar really high, but at the same time paving the road ahead for us by sharing your project. The time you have spent is beggining to pay off and for the rendering of the 3D image you just post I can not wait to see the finished product.

Thanks for sharing,

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Okay. People have had their say about what they think or have experienced on this technology. I want to keep this on track and use it for informational purposes to show what can and can't be done, at least what I have been able to accomplish. This model is in 1:18 scale. There is a reason it's in that scale and anyone wants to know why, I will tell if asked. The parts printed on the fdm machine are made of hips plastic. I started with the frame.

snapshot00_zpsymn5sq0x.png

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Can we please see images of the body for this car?I am wondering if you will be able to print the basic body shell in one piece or if it will have to be done as separate panels due to it's complexity.Knowing nothing about this tech I wonder if the parts as printed will be smooth or require a lot of work to become paint ready.

I have seen a few fairly nice pieces but also seen images of very rough parts that resembled rough sawn lumber that were going to need a lot of work to be presentable.

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How long did it take to 3d print all the chassis pieces?

This is a tough one. If I had the same files that made these chassis parts and printed with the same nozzle diameter at the same layer height and the same speed, I would guess about 8 hours. Part of the print process is the heating up and cooling down of the heated bed. It takes time to heat up to 180 degrees to print and then cool back down to room temp to remove the part from the bed. Each frame rail took 1 hr and 15 minutes just for the printing. The first frame rails I printed came out like this and were totally a waste.DSCN1877_zpsucnkxkso.jpg

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This type 3d printer uses filament plastic. There are different types of plastic and as I mentioned earlier, I use h.i.p.s. The pellets are used by a d.i.y. person who has a machine to melt them down and produce the filament.

Can we please see images of the body for this car?I am wondering if you will be able to print the basic body shell in one piece or if it will have to be done as separate panels due to it's complexity.Knowing nothing about this tech I wonder if the parts as printed will be smooth or require a lot of work to become paint ready.
I have seen a few fairly nice pieces but also seen images of very rough parts that resembled rough sawn lumber that were going to need a lot of work to be presentable.

Here is the composite of the stl. files usedto print various body parts.Yes, you have to smooth the printed parts from this type printer.

35%20lasalle%20body%20build%20file_zpsof

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Very cool. Tons of work, though! I don't think the average person truly understands that to 3d print a car like this, it essentially has to be built twice--once using a 3d modelling program (which can take months or years to learn) and again when the parts are printed. And home hobbyist-grade parts are rough/require a lot of finishing. Maybe in 10 years we'll be able to print higher detail at home.

The other trick is that many free 3d models online are built as shells, maybe intended for video games etc, and take a collossal amount of work to build into meshes that will result in printable STL files. I considered trying to get the '30 ford coupe I built in 3D printed...but it is a game model and re-building it for printing would take many hours....and probably cost me $500 or more at the detail level I consider acceptable.

So good on ya for tackling such an involved and cutting-edge project!

Edited by Spex84
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Very cool. Tons of work, though! I don't think the average person truly understands that to 3d print a car like this, it essentially has to be built twice--once using a 3d modelling program (which can take months or years to learn) and again when the parts are printed. And home hobbyist-grade parts are rough/require a lot of finishing. Maybe in 10 years we'll be able to print higher detail at home.

The other trick is that many free 3d models online are built as shells, maybe intended for video games etc, and take a collossal amount of work to build into meshes that will result in printable STL files. I considered trying to get the '30 ford coupe I built in 3D printed...but it is a game model and re-building it for printing would take many hours....and probably cost me $500 or more at the detail level I consider acceptable.

So good on ya for tackling such an involved and cutting-edge project!

Welcome to the forum Chris. I would tend to agree with you on most of your post. The part about 10 years to get to a point of high detail usable parts is not correct. It's already here. My second printer that I finished building and did my first prints on this past Christmas Day is a dlp uv resin curing photolithic machine. At that time, I made this post "3d printed LS engine block." look it up. It's in the general section. I have since made improvements to the machine and it keeps getting better. If you stay tuned to this post, I will get to the front suspension and I believe you will be suitably impressed as i'm going to show the two printing process results side by side.

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Looking forward to it!

I just checked your LS engine thread and I am, in fact, impressed. Both by the apparent quality (it's a little hard to tell from photos) and by the relatively low materials cost of the machine you've built. Looks like the era I've been anticipating is actually here, now! It's all in the method--the dip UV photolithic system is miles better than the crude 3D printing I attempted back in 2006/7 or so.

Last year I spec'd out what a 1/25 Jeep XJ cheroke might cost from Shapeways, and even with splitting the body into pieces and packing them in order to reduce total volume, the quoted price (in superfine detail) was eye-opening.

This is exciting stuff.

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20150517_100912_zpsnojykcnh.jpgI spent a good deal of yesterday printing and finishing the radiator coweling in order to show what it takes to get a finished part From an fdm filament machine.

Printing the parts: 20150517_095845_zpspfeaapdl.jpg

And then what it looks like from the bottom with the support material still attached. It has to be sanded down to totally remove this added material.20150517_121958_zpsxidkltnq.jpg

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