Hows the lay of the lands when it comes to Märklin HO (or other types) and 3D printing things?

I've been playing with printing, well, anything possible, and selling it for a reasonable price. The realm of 3D printing is only limited by your imagination, and ofc! the size of your 3D printer!
My 3D printer print capacity is 235mmx235mmx250mm but printing larger things only requires a bit of assembly and glue of a kind.
The outcome, is almost as precise as you want it- but small parts less than 1x1cm is more difficoult to make.

Anyways - what's your thoughts on the subject? Worth persuing? or a dud?.... ^^

-The maker-

A lot of people are doing it, and I have seen single mold complete ho scale coach bodies. Does a more expensive printer do that? Different resins are available as well.

An English gentleman on one of the German Railways forums is doing the complete body of a German era II/III timber sided van design for a 3D printer.
He has not yet printed it and he will use the chassis/wheels from a RTR model.



It will be interesting to see the result.
That design will probably take hours and hours to print.

If you are interested, this is the forum:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/...railways-of-germany-f13/
Search for butterwagen.

Kimball

I've had a basic 3D printer for a couple of years and have used it to create a range of things for my layout and other interests. I'll pass on my impressions for those that might be tempted to give 3D printing a try.

I've got an entry level Ender 3 printer with the following basic specs -



It looks like this -



It is really quite useful and I've created level crossings, buffer stops, coupler pockets and some basic scenery items but using it to create a piece of rolling stock good enough to run on my layout is beyond my ability and, I think, probably beyond the capability of this basic machine - at least without some major changes. I just can't get the surface finish and fine detail I would be happy with - then it needs painting.

Hopefully there are some experts out there on this forum who can provide solid advice on the type of machine and material that might produce an acceptable item so others can buy something that they're not disappointed in.

I'll also note that it takes a bit of skill and aptitude to master the creation of a complex 3D model with fine detail on a computer, then slice that design to produce the commands to control the printer, and to then have all the many printer settings just right to get a good product.

I don't mean to discourage anyone from giving 3D printing a try - but a budget machine might be a disappointment.

The image below shows the best finish I have been able to achieve on a carriage for shot glasses - with bogies taken from a 4473.

A friend of mine, here in Ely, does some fantastic 3D printing, and he designs
stuff himself. Go to his Facebook page and see!

https://www.facebook.com/mailisomodels/

Please mention me if you contact him. His name is Les.

You cant just take pictures of your house and turn them into a good looking 3d model sadly! :( I've tried that with larger objects than fits my scanning matt - and it turned out bulky and wonkey :(
To make a model of your home printable, best way is to actually 3D scan it - and a handheld 3D scanner is really not cheap! :S hehe...
2nd -more do'able option, is to model you house in a 3d program yourself. Do a test in Windows 3D builder - its not superb and havnet got any real texture features- but the raw house can be modelled just fine, it doesnt matter if its solid or not- that can be fixed in the pre-printing process.

But as others also mention - the FDM printers as the Ender 3 shown in a post, dont print tiny details as cars - or street sweepers, in great details - and windows in cars are next to impossible to print as it dont stand a chance of getting transparant. but transparant plastic sheets can be heated into the body after printing to resemble the car windows.

If you want to make stuff like the Z scale things - you NEED a resin printer - the detail lvl is simply to great for a FDM printer. The resin printers however - emits hazardous fumes when printing, so the absolutely need a vented enviroment when printing, I've seen examples of ppl entering a resin print room without masks -and ending up on the ICU... xD


FDM printers have come a long way since the Ender series though! the CR6-SE I have, can do more details than Ender 3 can, because of a upgraded spring free print bed that prevents shakings when the printer changes direction, it matters not when printing less detailed things, but the greater the detail, the slower you must print to prevent "tremors" might end up visible in the final print.

A really good thing about FDM printers, is the price - they're not that expensive- the Ender 3 Pro or max - both has been updated to new standards - but remains a less than 300€ printer.
In the other FDM end - is the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon - a brand new 3D printer on the marked - PACKED with goodies! and a wee bigger price.... 1800-2000€... But, it offers 4 colour printing, and utterly insane print speeds!

Could talk for hours of pro's and lack of con's for 3D printing things... but, I've also got to work a bit today hehe...
As a end comment, once you've printed something - you gotta paint it ofc!
I printed a tiny Ticket to Ride train set for our board game - and my daughter asked if she could paint the test print i made with nail polish... it actually ended up looking like a tiny prof factory paint job! and painting buildings with an air brush - ends up great as well. so painting 3d prints, isnt a problem at all :)


-the Maker

Do not know if I agree with price. Probablly if you include printer price(part of) new FEP occasionally, cleaner, procure wheels etc. but for the resin itself price should be less. Also you would need to procure the model. But then you can print a whole los of choosen design.
I am good at 3d modelling(part of my job) but details is timeconsumig. I have both an extruder printer and resinprinter. Th resin for detailed small prints(my signal project) the extruder for buildings that needs to be glued together from printed parts. Main thing for me. It is fun
And my buildings are unique except for originals in a small german town from which I made the models
Regards and they will need coating
Thor
IMG_6725.png (8,635kb) downloaded 29 time(s).

Hey Thor.

I admit that the price's are a semi-qualified guess, as I usually dont deal in €'s :) - but the price I'm usually working with is Filament price + power consumption of the printer during print. I've tested what my CR6-SE uses during a hour of printing and that's what i base price's on when people ask me, or I tell such as here.
When that's said - the type of Cura is told to use, obviously changes price as well! and when I sliced the wagon - it was set to us a silky cobber filament and not the filament I'd use when making something that's to be painted xD

The price with my standard filament "Prima Creator Easy Print in white" when including a bit for power consumption, is around 3-5€.
You are 100% correct about the resin beeing best for details ofc - but FDM printers is overall best to start out with- and they're not as problematic to use as they dont require the model to be UV-cured after printing, the standard nozzle size of a FDM printer is 0.4mm but, you can buy a nozzle with a 0.2mm hole and use, but that almost increase the print time by 4... so, more details = MUCH more print time, when printing on FDM at least.
And you'll still never beat a Resin printer in detail level hehe xD If I'm not mistaken, there are some Resin printers out now, in a afordable price range, that both prints and can cure models after print is done. But, I've not put much attention in the Resin printing ways.

-The Maker-

Agree with both of you. Must admit I newer thought of the energy cost at all. In Norway most electrical power comes from hydro-electric plants or wind power plants. When installed power is at low cost…

HAHAHA! you're SOOOO correct on that one mate! xD
If in doubt if you can afford - Märklin AIN'T your choice! :S

I kick my self in the butt every day for giving away my Märklin as 15year old - would've been over 1000€'s worth of trains, rails and buildings today! :'( Stupid stupid me back then! :S
About the power price's - I live in Denmark - and the kw/h aint cheap here sadly hehe- for those that don't have a power tester to check it with, my CR6-SE uses largely the same as a gaming computer while running, almost double in heatup period, but thats only 2 or 3 mins :) its around 160-180w for the duration of printing ^^

-Gotta get me a Resin at some point though!-

-The Maker-