Hi Guys Good luck with this Darrell. This stuff is beyond me, but I'm glad guys like you are trying this new medium for us.
As mentioned on this list, probably a year ago (I can't remember by whom) Rene' Gourley did up some double arch bar truck frames in S scale. Although they are too early for anything we are modelling, members of the S Scale Workshop bought up a bunch of them for evaluation. These were printed in the white flexible material and look pretty neat with code 88 wheel sets in them. They look like they'd hold up under reasonable usage. In case you missed it, the March RMC has a couple of articles on 3-D printing, including one by Rene' on how he constructed a combine using the material. Coincidentally, Rene' was already booked and recorded as a guest on our podcast coming up at the end of this month. He'll be talking with me about 3-D printing on The Model Railway Show (themodelrailwayshow.com) Jim Martin ________________________________ From: Darrell <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 9:52:33 PM Subject: {S-Scale List} Re: Missouri Car and Foundry truck Bill, It is my intent to use the RP items as end use parts. There are several materials available with differing characteristics. The one with the finest detail level that is still affordable is the "Frosted Ultra Detail", which is a UV curable acrylic. I have some other trucks made with this material, and while I would not subject them to the stresses a brass truck would handle, I think they are durable enough for reasonable use. Were I to subject them to mega-miles on a layout I would probably consider using bushings as you did with your trucks, and that is easy enough to do. "Perfect for small high detailed models like miniatures, model trains, computer generated characters and alike due to the fine quality of the finish, thin walls of 0.5mm in Frosted Detail and 0.3mm in Frosted Ultra High Detail, in both settings we can achieve feature details of 0.1mm. The material is quite strong, slightly flexible and heat resistant up to 80/176 degrees C/F." .... from Shapeways While I am planning on using this material for trucks, I would think twice before using it on "modern" equipment. My 1885 cars are sized like HO cars, being 36' and shorter for the most part. Your 80' cars will have over twice the weight per truck. I think the greatest potential use for RP (3D printing) is in "static" details, and this does include detail parts for cars. Stake pockets, Reefer hatches, Steam domes, and the occasional one-of Tender side or Loco pilot. Plus the ever needful odd size window frame for that scratch build project. Can't find the right headlight casting, but you have a pic and dimensions? Make your own! I see a LOT of potential here. My latest (free) Google SketchUp converts a SKP file to a STL file which is usable by Shapeways. No more messing around with Netfabb or MeshLab for the conversion, however MeshLab is useful for compound curves that can not be done on the free SketchUp. Bill, you are experienced with this CAD stuff. Get yourself a Shapeways account and let's see what you can come up with! You could even make a couple bucks along the way with a shop. Darrell
