The Official 3D Printing Discussion Thread

[Erik Smith]

8 hours ago, Dave Van said:

Today in the mail I got a 1977 Mustang II coupe body. If you have been in the hobby long you may recall the first resin bodies. None I saw or bought were usable and ended up giving away or still in a box. 3D is currently at that stage. My Mustang II body is better than the first Gen resin and may  be better than some current resin. The body will need prep, the print lines are visible so it will need sanding and primer  before it can be built. But at first look I like it....and at $25 not a bad deal for a body not available in 1/25 any other way. I wonder what 3D will be in 5 years???

Yeah, think of where it was 5 years back. While I still see some with very visible layers or poorly printed products, I’ve also acquired some really fantastic, nice items - still needing a little clean up, but wayyyy better than some resin junk from eternity ago or 3D prints 5 years past. In 5 years? I envision a plethora of available items we’ve never, or will never see, from plastic, in 3D resin of very high quality. Seems now people are using very similar, if not the same, files to produce a lot of the items - as a more diverse market of 3D files becomes available that should change. 

[CabDriver]

I think, in some aspects, 3D printing is way ahead of regular resin casting…for example, I just printed these today:

Check those tiny linkages!  I bet you COULD do that in resin somehow…but I probably couldn’t…and it certainly wouldn’t be as quick and easy.

I think 3D printing is already AT the point of being as good or better than the majority of cast resin parts in the market today…but like resin casting, the people designing the masters and the people doing the casting (or printing, in this case) makes the difference.

[1930fordpickup]

52 minutes ago, CabDriver said:

I think 3D printing is already AT the point of being as good or better than the majority of cast resin parts in the market today…but like resin casting, the people designing the masters and the people doing the casting (or printing, in this case) makes the difference.

I agree with this .  Just as in resin casting there is a learning curve with 3d printing.  

As far as bodies go flat panels are one thing but curved body panels will be tricky because of the layers. In 5 years we will see. 

[MrObsessive]

Yesterday afternoon, I was in the one room in my house where I have all my unbuilt models stored still in moving boxes. I was trying to find the extra donor kit I was using for my Shelby before I moved. I did find it, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

As I was searching for it, I came across kits that I've had for quite some time------some of them were for "up and coming" projects where I'd need to either backdate, or use a body part or two to modify something else.

The thought occurred to me that indeed with 3D printing, someone like myself or others that have printers, the idea of "kitbashing" might have just become obsolete.

Example: One of the kits was an extra of RC2's '58 Plymouth. I remembered the reason I bought it was either to turn it into a corrected version of what it should be, and even more recently, turn it into a four door hardtop. Well, wouldn't you know it------I just happened to run across an .STL file for a '57 Plymouth Belvedere four door hardtop, and what would be many months of work just became unnecessary. 👍

Now granted, this isn't for everyone and a lot of folks will never get into 3D printing, but the possibilities are endless. Bodies (and other parts) of cars we'd never thought would see the light of day are in fact possible with this new tech.

So, in the case of the Plymouth if/when the time comes for me to start that project, I just saved probably six months worth of time by not having to correct/scratchbuild a body for a particular version of that car.

[MrObsessive]

Here's a perfect example of another file I got the other day. A car that for whatever reason, there's never been a full glue kit of it except for some very crude early '60's examples.

Now I don't think this will actually fit and finish printing in my printer without big issues. I was tweaking the settings somewhat and went past Phrozen's platform limit. Just the same, if I want a 1961-'62 Volvo P1800 with opening doors and all, I can now have one. 😁

[MeatMan]

3 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Here's a perfect example of another file I got the other day. A car that for whatever reason, there's never been a full glue kit of it except for some very crude early '60's examples.

Now I don't think this will actually fit and finish printing in my printer without big issues. I was tweaking the settings somewhat and went past Phrozen's platform limit. Just the same, if I want a 1961-'62 Volvo P1800 with opening doors and all, I can now have one. 😁

Nice looking body!

It's nice to be able to print an entire body w/o cutting it, but I'll have to wait until I to upgrade to a larger printer, but at least by then I'll have a better idea of what the heck I'm doing.

[MeatMan]

Switching to CAD design has allowed me to indulge my love of automobiles during times when I'm having trouble with a build like I am now with my Club DeMer.

Here is a prototype of a Y-block engine I'm working on. I like to use my FDM printer to print parts until I get them finalized, as its cheaper and cleaner than resin. My wife bought me the FDM when I first started talking about getting one and I still use it even though I have a small resin printer.

You can see that the oil pan is just a tad too long, so I'll tweak the design and shorten it up.

The supercharger is just glued there for effect, but it was tough to draw, and while it doesn't exactly match a 1:1, I'm happy with it. Thanks Sledsel for the link of the design for the intake hat. I changed it to front intake to work with the Paxton.

The front cover was no picnic either, and I really modeled it to be closer to an AMT kit front cover than the complex 1:1 cover.

Since these aren't primo designs, I may make the files available no cost.

Edited March 13, 2022 by MeatMan

[peteski]

On 3/12/2022 at 12:38 AM, CabDriver said:

I’ve been playing with Adobe Dimension lately for 3D design - I have it as part the suite of software I (have to) subscribe to and it does a nice job of doing some simple 3D modelling and modifying of existing parts.  Messed with this Jeep design on my lunch break yesterday…

 

…and then printed one this evening:

Need to tweak the some of the supports under the front fenders there to stop them disconnecting, but it’s definitely a usable first attempt.
I added a few thin sacrificial planes under the back of the body to help support it when printing - just some little 0.5mm thick strips to stop the back sagging that can be easily removed when I take it off the bed…worked out great!  You can see a little of what I’m talking about under the rear of the body here:

I don't have a printer but I'm still trying to learn things.

I'm curious why you need so many supports on the outside of the rear part of the body? If those are really needed, couldn't they be placed on the inside?

Also, like you mentioned, the support under the front fender did not do their job, but the horizontal part of the fender still partially printed.  Are *ALL* those supports really needed?

[CabDriver]

2 hours ago, peteski said:

I don't have a printer but I'm still trying to learn things.

I'm curious why you need so many supports on the outside of the rear part of the body? If those are really needed, couldn't they be placed on the inside?

Also, like you mentioned, the support under the front fender did not do their job, but the horizontal part of the fender still partially printed.  Are *ALL* those supports really needed?

Good questions dude!  Honestly? I’m kinda feeling my way through this stuff myself…

So, the upper side of the front fenders printed just great, but there was some waviness on the undersides where the material was sagging under it’s own weight.  That’s what I was hoping to avoid with those supports under there, and the tips where they connect to the body are so tiny that cleaning them up is really quick and easy so I added plenty.  

On the rear of the body. I was concerned about the same thing happening, or the thing getting wobbly or wavy not printing right…but there’s only so much space INSIDE the body because there’s a floor there.  I COULD have connected some braces to the floor and to the inside of the body, but I figured I’d rather just level out the outside in this case because it’ll be easier to get to.  Those little nubs where the braces attach are REALLY small, and a shape X-acto blade removes them really quickly.

All that said, yeah, it might not need that many, but I’d rather do a minute of clean-up on an extra brace than spend three hours waiting for the thing to print and it’s not usable.  Was just trying to give the machine the best shot at getting it right first time!

[peteski]

Thanks for the explanation Jim.  I know that some 3D printing setups come with software that automatically generates supports for the 3D object being printed. Have you ever tried that feature?  I also realize that there is a lot of experimentation required.  It is not exact science.  BTW, did you check that "Why 3D prints fail" video I posted while ago? I thought it was very informative (even for an armchair 3D guy like me)..

[CabDriver]

20 hours ago, peteski said:

Thanks for the explanation Jim.  I know that some 3D printing setups come with software that automatically generates supports for the 3D object being printed. Have you ever tried that feature?  I also realize that there is a lot of experimentation required.  It is not exact science.  BTW, did you check that "Why 3D prints fail" video I posted while ago? I thought it was very informative (even for an armchair 3D guy like me)..

I did watch that vid, yeah!  It was really helpful, thanks buddy!

The automatic supports feature is great in a LOT of cases, but not always.  For example, if you’re printing a tire, the software doesn’t know that it’d be easier to clear up a support nub from the sidewall or the middle, compared to putting them on the tread or right on the “FIRESTONE” lettering on the side or whatever.  It’s not smart enough to know which detail is really important and which part is going to be hidden, or easier to clean up.  So, sometimes you’ve got to outsmart the software and just line them up yourself 

That said, I thought of you this evening when I was playing with the files for a Kei truck print I’m going to be working on.  I let the software figure out the best spots for the supports and this is what it came up with:

In this case, it worked pretty well!  Didn’t put any of them anywhere TOO awful, supported that front end (which would likely sag during printing) and a bunch of interconnected ones running up the A-pillars and to the roof.  

It actually put a BUNCH more in there than I did for my Jeep (although this has a roof, obviously) so it spotted the fact that this roof is relatively high with not enough ‘meat’ in the roof pillars to let it print perfectly on it’s own.  It’s clever stuff, even if it does need some human brainpower to produce actual useful parts sometimes 

[MeatMan]

Info for those using water washable resin. I had been using what was locally available from Microcenter which is eSun and Inland. The results were brittle parts that limited me to what I could print, so I decided to try something else, and while searching I came across a result for Phrozen water washable model gray resin. It was touted as non-brittle so I bought a bottle.

The result was great. I was finally able to print a pulley and belt setup that I designed for my Ardun head flathead engine and finally had success. the thin belt section was pliable enough that I was able to cut the support from it and not break the belt. I could see the flex in the part, but it didn't break as it had before. The pic below shows the Sun and Inland resin usually resulted. The pic is in white resin but I also tried grey but I didn't save any for pics. The second pic shows the assembly on the engine.

So although water washable resin is overall more brittle than alcohol washable resin, there are differences between water washable products.

Edited March 16, 2022 by MeatMan

[iamsuperdan]

1 hour ago, MeatMan said:

Info for those using water washable resin. I had been using what was locally available from Microcenter which is eSun and Inland. The results were brittle parts that limited me to what I could print, so I decided to try something else, and while searching I came across a result for Phrozen water washable model gray resin. It was touted as non-brittle so I bought a bottle.

The result was great. I was finally able to print a pulley and belt setup that I designed for my Ardun head flathead engine and finally had success. the thin belt section was pliable enough that I was able to cut the support from it and not break the belt. I could see the flex in the part, but it didn't break as it had before. The pic below shows the Sun and Inland resin usually resulted. The pic is in white resin but I also tried grey but I didn't save any for pics. The second pic shows the assembly on the engine.

So although water washable resin is overall more brittle than alcohol washable resin, there are differences between water washable products.

 

 

I've been using the Elegoo Water Washable resin. I've found the ceramic grey to be my preference. I tried the semi-transparent green, and that worked well, but was much more brittle. Had to do a few reprints with that. I think it's good for larger pieces, but if you have fine detail or thin parts, go with the non-transparent.

[CabDriver]

Amazon had a deal on their AnyCubic soy-based resin a couple of days ago so I grabbed some of that.  It’s NOT water washable (which I assumed it was) but is apparently lower odor. 

Has anyone used this one?

I mainly grabbed it because it was $25 rather than the usual $35 (and I’ll definitely use it…) but I’m not sure what the benefit of this stuff actually is aside from being less stinky…guess we’ll see!

[Mc72]

Hi everybody from Italy.

I'm new in this wonderful forum, and I'm trying to solve a design problem. I would print resin car models in small scale (1/72 or 1/48), starting from STL files available over the web. My problem is referred to the thickness of the roof, lateral sides, which shoul be at least 1mm to be resin printable. Do you have any address on how I'd approach the solution ?

Thanks

[MeatMan]

9 hours ago, Mc72 said:

Hi everybody from Italy.

I'm new in this wonderful forum, and I'm trying to solve a design problem. I would print resin car models in small scale (1/72 or 1/48), starting from STL files available over the web. My problem is referred to the thickness of the roof, lateral sides, which shoul be at least 1mm to be resin printable. Do you have any address on how I'd approach the solution ?

Thanks

Hi Stefano. I don't know the process, but it can be done in Blender.

There is at least one person in the forum that knows it to a better degree. Perhaps they can be of help.

If you don't have Blender it is a free download so just Google it. Good luck.

[CabDriver]

I downloaded my first entire 3D-printable kit this week - there’s a bunch of them out there, but one of these kept catching my eye:

Not in my usual wheelhouse - I just think it’s cute!  Started working through printing the files…body is the biggest part so I’ll do that this weekend, but been plugging away when I’ve had a spare couple of hours at getting the whole kit printed:

[CabDriver]

Oh, and philosophical question for the contest modelers, that occurred to me today…if you download a kit and print it, and build it like any regular kit, would it be eligible for the box-stock class?  🤔🤔🤔

[MrObsessive]

Tried my hand at this the last couple days.........now I need to shore up those thin rocker panels with built up door jambs! 🤯

This is a 1961-'63 Volvo P1800. I originally saw this file on Cults3d, but it was taken down. I tracked down the STL file maker on FB, and he gladly sold me the file. I ran it through Blender to smooth things out, sliced the body in half with 3D builder, and ran the halves on different days. It's got other parts printed also, but they did come out a little oversized in relation to the door/trunk openings. That's not a bad thing as I can "size those down" to keep huge gaps/shut lines at bay.

Here are a few pics....................

One of the doors ended up with print lines.........I can fill those in and smooth those out with some body putty.

I've no idea when this will be a full-fledged WIP, but I once owned a '65MY of this car and it does tickle me to FINALLY have this in scale, although I do have an old resin. The body lines on this one however do look better and I've got tons of pics of this car to do a bunch of detail inside and out.

[iamsuperdan]

13 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Tried my hand at this the last couple days.........now I need to shore up those thin rocker panels with built up door jambs! 🤯

This is a 1961-'63 Volvo P1800. I originally saw this file on Cults3d, but it was taken down. I tracked down the STL file maker on FB, and he gladly sold me the file. I ran it through Blender to smooth things out, sliced the body in half with 3D builder, and ran the halves on different days. It's got other parts printed also, but they did come out a little oversized in relation to the door/trunk openings. That's not a bad thing as I can "size those down" to keep huge gaps/shut lines at bay.

Here are a few pics....................

 

That turned out great!

I definitely need to DL a program to cut files in half. I have a few things that are too large for the print area.

[MrObsessive]

19 minutes ago, iamsuperdan said:

That turned out great!

I definitely need to DL a program to cut files in half. I have a few things that are too large for the print area.

If you have Windows 8 or 10 on your PC, you should have 3D builder already loaded in your program files. I have 11 and I had to download it as Microsoft in their infinite wisdom got rid of it. Pretty easy to use, and there are quick vids out there to make the best use of it.

[1930fordpickup]

Bill that came out great. I missed a chance to buy a shell of this car in the early 90's.  Clean car but no engine or trans.  Kick myself about once a year about that.  I should let it go I guess. LOL

 

[MrObsessive]

5 hours ago, 1930fordpickup said:

Bill that came out great. I missed a chance to buy a shell of this car in the early 90's.  Clean car but no engine or trans.  Kick myself about once a year about that.  I should let it go I guess. LOL

If we had known each other and lived in each other's area back then, I could have sold you mine. I let mine go due to the rear end failing. It was one of those cases where I kept hearing noises, to the point that I took it to the Volvo dealer, and they told me the seals in the differential were bad and it would cost something like $1500 (in 1992) to rebuild it.

I balked at that as I hardly paid that much for the entire car, so I ended up selling it to a Volvo collector here in the area, as he a whole warehouse full of 'em. The engine was tight and leaked no oil, it had a good trans/clutch (with electric OD no less), I had recently before that put a new fuel pump on, and the car was solid with some very light surface rust underneath.

I hated to let it go, but I already had my '69 AMX still, and that would soon go by the wayside later that year as I was about to be stationed down in Ft. Jackson, SC and I couldn't take the car with me.

I'd love to have another P1800, but prices for those are OUTTA SIGHT now, so a model that I make on my own is I guess the next best thing. 😁

[MeatMan]

On 3/22/2022 at 8:01 PM, MrObsessive said:

Tried my hand at this the last couple days.........now I need to shore up those thin rocker panels with built up door jambs! 🤯

This is a 1961-'63 Volvo P1800. I originally saw this file on Cults3d, but it was taken down. I tracked down the STL file maker on FB, and he gladly sold me the file. I ran it through Blender to smooth things out, sliced the body in half with 3D builder, and ran the halves on different days. It's got other parts printed also, but they did come out a little oversized in relation to the door/trunk openings. That's not a bad thing as I can "size those down" to keep huge gaps/shut lines at bay.

Nicely done! Looks like a nice project.

[crowe-t]

I need to have an STL file printed in resin.  Can anyone recommend an online 3D printing service?