I have wondered about and somewhat expected at some point something like Bill's recent comments about 3D created parts possibly that could be cause for a model contest judges dilemma. Did I really MAKE the items, as compared to what I used to do to make master patterns by machining brass parts and soldering them together?
What do you think? Is it cheating - not like the old school masters like Frank cobbling out needed parts etc? Has the NMRA made new contest rules or contest categories dealing with the 3D processes? In terms of difficulty they both have their challenges. The physical machining takes some practice. But the learning curve for Solidworks is **massive** even to my "medium beginner" level. So, at least for me I thought Solidworks was initially more difficult than machining but mostly easier now that I know it. I absolutely can design things more accurately (to within thousandths of an inch) than I could before. Doing machining is pretty straightforward. You just have to learn control of the machine and not remove more material than you want! In terms of making things, comparing machining and 3D printing are truly exact opposites of each other. Machining is removing everything from the base raw material that you don't want. 3D printing is ADDING just what you WANT without waste. In reference to changing the names on the pickle cars I have (1 Frank built & 1 was not) perhaps the fix is to just make new cars! Attached is a photo of a test pickle barrel I just did. There is not much I can do in Solidworks to reasonable satisfaction in under 5 minutes but that is about right here. I don't there is anyone here that can grab some styrene sheets and come up with this barrel in 5 minutes. Conversely it won't cost you big time to get it printed! Thank You, Bill Lane Modeling the Mighty Pennsy & PRSL in 1957 in S Scale since 1987 See my finished models at: <http://www.lanestrains.com/> http://www.lanestrains.com Look at what has been made in PRR in S Scale! See my layout progress at: <http://www.lanestrains.com/My_Layout.htm> http://www.lanestrains.com/My_Layout.htm Custom Train Parts Design <http://www.lanestrains.com/SolidWorks_Modeling.htm> http://www.lanestrains.com/SolidWorks_Modeling.htm PRR Builders Photos Bought, Sold & Traded (Trading is MUCH preferred) <http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRphotos.xls> http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRphotos.xls ***Join the PRR T&HS*** The other members are not ALL like me! <http://www.prrths.com/> http://www.prrths.com <http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRTHS_Application.pdf> http://www.lanestrains.com/PRRTHS_Application.pdf Join the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society It's FREE to join! <http://www.prslhs.com/> http://www.prslhs.com Preserving The Memory Of The PRSL
