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Hi, In the confusing world of 3D printing, I was wondering if anyone has printed a 1/25 scale body on a 3d-printer? Has anyone done it here and can it be done with a hobbyist  FDM or resin type printer, lets say for under 500 bucks.  If not what are the limitations? Also what is the type of printer of choice for our hobby i.e. a  FDM Plastic shooter or resin shooter?  I see lots of people doing model car parts and other intricate toys and such with much more detail than a model car body, yet the web is devoid of any real 3-d printed model car pictures other than some small toys. does anyone have a website were I can look at what hobbyists are doing?   Happy holidays to everyone!!  John

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Where do I begin? I have a college degree with a B.S.in Business Administration. My majors were in accounting and economics. My g.p.a. in accounting was 3.5 and economics was 3.8. I have been a small business accountant with my own practice for going on 30 years. I've built my first 2 3d printers. One being an f.d.m. machine and the other was a resin printer. I know this technology very well. When I see people opting for price, I think of this quote.

193364994_jonathanruskinonprice.png.5354bfbad2a5c224a0dbfdd6f41c72a8.png

A sub $500.00 resin printer is just that. Cheap. As in dime store cheap. F.d.m is totally out of the question because of the lack of detail.

Moving on to your for 3d printed bodies, I offer these.

1935 Delehaye 135 f&f roadster.

20181130_183836.jpg.d8352012dbc8e1edc05c3cc3d17c72f8.jpg

My LaSalle 1935 convertable coupe build w.i.p. build test prints.

20191118_095319.jpg.dd2d4f220f58b47991cf994356939970.jpg20191118_095240.jpg.d9e48a2a03ce738d2d53c2d0bc0b45e5.jpg20190513_163319.jpg.64884cbd977178b887f80f8617a06768.jpg

 

These were printed on my Phrozen XL printer with an 8.5 inch lcd screen. It cost me $1253.00. 

You don't see many prints like this because: Lack of file and knowledge of how to make the files printable. The propensity of model car builders to be cheap.

I would suggest that if you are anywhere close to me in Florida, that you might take a ride and view the results for yourself.

Edited by my66s55
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Until the layering of material can be done in such a way that fine detail can be represented without the layering being noticed, I don't see it being of great value to model car builders right now.  That is not to say it won't be since all of these kinds of things tend to get refined over time.  I have had truck tires 3D printed with excellent results but you sort of want a rough surface on such as that anyway.  The plastic is very hard and difficult to sand.  Smoothing it out so that it could be painted like a plastic mold injected car body would take a lot of time and effort.  Just my 2 ? worth.?

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I can only assume that your experience is with Shapeways. Resin prints done on a home 3d printer are very sand-able and are totally lacking in in layer lines. Again. It's the lack of knowledge that prevents you from understanding. If you want proof, message me your address and I will send it to you.

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13 minutes ago, my66s55 said:

I can only assume that your experience is with Shapeways. Resin prints done on a home 3d printer are very sand-able and are totally lacking in in layer lines. Again. It's the lack of knowledge that prevents you from understanding. If you want proof, message me your address and I will send it to you.

Doug, better lit, clearer images of your products would help immensely. I know you know your stuff, so no question there, but are the fenders of the LaSalle above perfectly smooth requiring no sanding to make them smooth? Honestly, I can't tell from your images.

I have seen some of Randy Ditton(?)'s items, and they are the closest thing I've seen to an injection molded model parts in terms of smoothness and proper surface texture as bare parts, but that has been the rare exception. I know Charley has a great eye for detail, and it shows in his own work creating parts, so I agree with him.

I won't argue that cheap, low quality printers will give poor results, and I have no problem paying what I feel is a fair price for an accurate, properly textured (or smooth) part. I just have yet to see very many parts like that.

There are multiple topics already discussing 3D printing here on the forum, too, so plenty of reading for the O.P.:

 

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29 minutes ago, Casey said:

Doug, better lit, clearer images of your products would help immensely. I know you know your stuff, so no question there, but are the fenders of the LaSalle above perfectly smooth requiring no sanding to make them smooth? Honestly, I can't tell from your images.

I have seen some of Randy Ditton(?)'s items, and they are the closest thing I've seen to an injection molded model parts in terms of smoothness and proper surface texture as bare parts, but that has been the rare exception. I know Charley has a great eye for detail, and it shows in his own work creating parts, so I agree with him.

I won't argue that cheap, low quality printers will give poor results, and I have no problem paying what I feel is a fair price for an accurate, properly textured (or smooth) part. I just have yet to see very many parts like that.

There are multiple topics already discussing 3D printing here on the forum, too, so plenty of reading for the O.P.:

 

It is now November 2019. The world of 3d printing changes rapidly. sanding finished parts? Your kidding, right. It's all up to the person doing the printing and there knowledge. Period.

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14 hours ago, Chariots of Fire said:

Until the layering of material can be done in such a way that fine detail can be represented without the layering being noticed, I don't see it being of great value to model car builders right now.  That is not to say it won't be since all of these kinds of things tend to get refined over time.  I have had truck tires 3D printed with excellent results but you sort of want a rough surface on such as that anyway.  The plastic is very hard and difficult to sand.  Smoothing it out so that it could be painted like a plastic mold injected car body would take a lot of time and effort.  Just my 2 ? worth.?

I agree....what will happen is loss of detail/sharpness of parts by trying to sand around the details that everyone swears is THE BEST....whats the point?....you are creating more work for yourself, and are losing the realism of finishes. I think theres some kind of blindness in our hobby, that says things like PE, metal parts, and 3D printed parts are the most realistic simply because their already real metal, or the newest technologies. There are HUNDREDS of modellers out there that can create killer realism WITHOUT using the fancy stuff. I use as little PE , and "Special" stuff as i can these days.  So, i'm with you, its not ready for all of us yet, but lets be truthful about it. 

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On 11/18/2019 at 11:39 AM, Chariots of Fire said:

Until the layering of material can be done in such a way that fine detail can be represented without the layering being noticed, I don't see it being of great value to model car builders right now.  That is not to say it won't be since all of these kinds of things tend to get refined over time.  I have had truck tires 3D printed with excellent results but you sort of want a rough surface on such as that anyway.  The plastic is very hard and difficult to sand.  Smoothing it out so that it could be painted like a plastic mold injected car body would take a lot of time and effort.  Just my 2 ? worth.?

Stop using Shapeways. The right printer in the right hands will produce what you want.

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  •  

I agree....what will happen is loss of detail/sharpness of parts by trying to sand around the details that everyone swears is THE BEST....whats the point?....you are creating more work for yourself, and are losing the realism of finishes. I think there's some kind of blindness in our hobby, that says things like PE, metal parts, and 3D printed parts are the most realistic simply because their already real metal, or the newest technologies. There are HUNDREDS of modelers out there that can create killer realism WITHOUT using the fancy stuff. I use as little PE , and "Special" stuff as i can these days.  So, i'm with you, its not ready for all of us yet, but lets be truthful about it. 

You keep harping on this, but your ignorance is totally unbelievable. If I really know my stuff as Casey has said, then I know how to make the lines disappear.

 I have document the procedure in one of my previous threads. Maybe Casey can find it.

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47 minutes ago, my66s55 said:
  •  

I agree....what will happen is loss of detail/sharpness of parts by trying to sand around the details that everyone swears is THE BEST....whats the point?....you are creating more work for yourself, and are losing the realism of finishes. I think there's some kind of blindness in our hobby, that says things like PE, metal parts, and 3D printed parts are the most realistic simply because their already real metal, or the newest technologies. There are HUNDREDS of modelers out there that can create killer realism WITHOUT using the fancy stuff. I use as little PE , and "Special" stuff as i can these days.  So, i'm with you, its not ready for all of us yet, but lets be truthful about it. 

You keep harping on this, but your ignorance is totally unbelievable. If I really know my stuff as Casey has said, then I know how to make the lines disappear.

 I have document the procedure in one of my previous threads. Maybe Casey can find it.

one could say the same about your LOAHR.  period.

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On 11/18/2019 at 11:17 AM, my66s55 said:

Where do I begin? I have a college degree with a B.S.in Business Administration. My majors were in accounting and economics. My g.p.a. in accounting was 3.5 and economics was 3.8. I have been a small business accountant with my own practice for going on 30 years. I've built my first 2 3d printers. One being an f.d.m. machine and the other was a resin printer. I know this technology very well. When I see people opting for price, I think of this quote.

193364994_jonathanruskinonprice.png.5354bfbad2a5c224a0dbfdd6f41c72a8.png

A sub $500.00 resin printer is just that. Cheap. As in dime store cheap. F.d.m is totally out of the question because of the lack of detail.

Moving on to your for 3d printed bodies, I offer these.

1935 Delehaye 135 f&f roadster.

20181130_183836.jpg.d8352012dbc8e1edc05c3cc3d17c72f8.jpg

My LaSalle 1935 convertable coupe build w.i.p. build test prints.

20191118_095319.jpg.dd2d4f220f58b47991cf994356939970.jpg20191118_095240.jpg.d9e48a2a03ce738d2d53c2d0bc0b45e5.jpg20190513_163319.jpg.64884cbd977178b887f80f8617a06768.jpg

 

These were printed on my Phrozen XL printer with an 8.5 inch lcd screen. It cost me $1253.00. 

You don't see many prints like this because: Lack of file and knowledge of how to make the files printable. The propensity of model car builders to be cheap.

I would suggest that if you are anywhere close to me in Florida, that you might take a ride and view the results for yourself.

One would have to, those photos are VERY fuzzy....those cameras from the 70's cant show proper detail.....ESPECIALLY if you're trying to prove a detail point.

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2 hours ago, my66s55 said:

Stop using Shapeways. The right printer in the right hands will produce what you want.

Never were truer words spoken.

The work shown below was done by Pico Elgin almost 2 years ago. The technology has progressed since then.

image.png.c7d4672b89dd01ffab52a8fbaad30447.png

This is the same resin print after one light coat of primer and a light sanding with 600 grit paper. Easy finish work to get it slick...and again...the tech has improved since then.

image.png.ffa8bffaaf17d1d12a1ea3193e8976df.png

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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3 hours ago, my66s55 said:

Stop using Shapeways. The right printer in the right hands will produce what you want.

You dont have to look any further than Fireball Modelworks to see how good 3D printing can be (amazing actually).  Yes, the parts he sells are resin castings, but they started as 3D modeled and printed pieces.  Some people that proclaim resin casts as better than anything else seem to forget ALL resin casts started as something else - plastic kit parts, hand shaped metal, 3D prints, etc.

And yes, you can also get some amazing results with hand crafting in plastic, metal, or other materials (Steven Guthmiller's work is a shining example) but I just see 3D prints as another source for something I cant do myself.  And it IS possible to get some good pieces from Shapeways - it all depends on the source creator, the material and its intended use.

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6 hours ago, my66s55 said:
  •  I have document the procedure in one of my previous threads. Maybe Casey can find it.

That's what I was referring to, Doug, though anyone interested in reading it can use the pinned search topic to find it without too much trouble. I think it may have been at least two years ago or so?

I'm not out to question your skill and knowledge regarding 3D printing. I have my own standards regarding what I find acceptable in terms of quality and accuracy, so I can only speak for myself when I see something which I feel is a quality product.

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As Doug stated above,  the 3D resin printing field changes quickly !

I will post here my latest  weber carbs as an example of what is possible now. They represent a big improvement over the carbs we were printing just months ago.

The detail in the idle adjustment screws, throttle linkage and the rod connecting the two barrels is possible now.  I think this kind of fine detail is where 3D printing excels compared to plastic injection. 

Tried to take decent photos but these are small parts:)   

Randy

 

 

 

Carb with Bolts (1).JPG

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IMG_9464_LI.jpg

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IMG_9730.JPG

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IMG_9738.JPG

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1 hour ago, Randy D said:

Hopefully in time for Christmas :)

Randy

Great news there - I have been watching the site for both the Borrani's and the Weber carbs.  (The updated ones look great!)

So beside that, how about that motor I'm seeing underneath those Webers?

 

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Fantastic accomplishments Randy. If only I had the ability to photo small parts as well as you. I'm working on and am very close to the next step. The completion of a complete multi part 3d printed model car. A holy grail of mine . The 1935 LaSalle. It's extremely close to reality. Oh, and forget the lines. They don't exist.?

Edited by my66s55
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