I’ve been thinking a lot lately of whether 3D printed plastic shells could help model railroading.
One particular application comes to mind. There were a lot of locomotives out there (diesel and steam) that shared very similar frames and wheelbases, of which one model may already be made. Could one application be interchangeable outer shells for different prototypes?
For example, there are a lot of 4-8-2 Mountain classes whose dimensions hovered around 73 inch drivers with a 19-20 ft driver wheelbase and 41-42 ft locomotive wheelbase. There are already two models extant of some of these Mountains (UP’s MT-1/2 and SP’s MT1-5); it seems just 3D printing out a boiler/cab and maybe valve gear could make for an easy job of kitbashing for another RR’s class (say, MoPac’s MT-73).
And that’s just one example-there’s plenty of other steam loco classes that share similar chassis characteristics, and it doesn’t even begin to get into the interchangeability of F or E units’ chassis, among so many other diesels. <
3D prints are not at all cheap and a print of a full size HO scale Diesel or steam engine body costs nearly as much as RTR model just for the print, not counting the endless hours of CAD work that has to go into the “drawings”
In the UK, Howver, 3D printing has spawned a number of cottage type business providing narrow gauge body kits to fit on commercially made drives. Mind you, these are tiny locomotives when compared to the standard gauge behemoths of US prototype.
Just to give you an idea of what is already on the market:
Is there a youtube video of locomotive shells being made by the traditional process? Somehow I imagine it’s dozens/hundreds? of units per hour My impression is that 3D printing is a much slower process. At least my sons’ 3D printer is a slow affair.
I wonder how different the CAD program really is for one vs the other? Somehow they have to translate a drawing of windows, rivets, fan and locker detail into the mold.
Good excuse for Stephen to send Cody on a field trip to China.
Consumer-grade melted filament printers don’t really have the resolution folks want for train models in HO or N scale. Cured resin printers are up to the task but expensive, which is why doing the CAD work and farming out the printing to services like Shapeways seems to be the way to go, at least for now.
On the other hand, there’s very few complex shapes involved, especially once you start getting a back catalog of components drawn (imagine a CAD Cannon and Co. or Details West) or locomotive families developed.
Its rolling stock, but no one makes Amtrak’s autoracks for the Autotrain. Armed with detailed photos, it would take a moderately skilled draftsman several hours of work…which is still way less time than it would take to actually print!
Like a lot of stuff we take more or less for granted these days, I suspect that 3D printers will at some point take a quantam leap.
I expect to see fast reasonably priced machines that use a thumb type drive that will allow X many copies before it erases itself. Having watched several things recently it appears that printing engine bodies, frames, and drives be easily accomplished. Print different “phases” of the same locomotive in the same run. Custom frame set up for various motors, one or two off bodies on rolling stock with add-ins, much like detail parts are purchased now.
I really expect to see this with things like plastic pipe fittings, valves, sprinklers, etc., as shipping and stocking inventory is expensive and having what you need, including parts that wouldn’t be stocked because of poor demand, printed while you wait would seem to be a reasonable thing down the road a bit.
Not going to happen tomorrow but if you look at how far cell phones have come and how we started using home computers with cassette and disk drives, nd the cost and speed of data storage, I don’t think this stuff will be all that long coming. Remember when home computer printing looked like it would stop at impact printers? 4 color ribbons? 8 1/2 X 11 color prints in an astounding 25 minutes? You get the drift.
Micro trains and Rapido both have decent videos on production of models. The “toolings” are several; blocks that are the sides, top and end of the shell. Neither gave the sense that there are multiple copies produced at the same time, but the Micro trains video gave the sense that one copy could be produced in seconds. Then the work begins to have a completed model.
Resin fits a middle ground. The tooling is less expensive, and a smaller production run in needed to make a break even point. That is why companies like Westerfield and Funaro make the kinds of model kits that they sell. They can not compete with mass produced plastic kits, but make kits of less common prototypes.
Companies like Shapeways are geared to making one-off models made to order from a large library of designs. The cost reflects this. Their 3D printers cost over $1 million each; that is how they get a finish that is acceptable to modelers, jewelers, etc. For instance, I just checked their library for HOn30. There are 442 items listed. HO scale has 24 thousand items. You probably will not find an HO F7 shell there, but you will find parts to convert an N scale steam locomotive to HOn30 - cabs, domes, pilots, tenders and the like
I think this has possibilities, but it’s too expensive. Also, for locomotives, I can’t tell from the pictures how acceptable the printed detail is versus separately added parts. I suspect that you will need some number of separate parts. Also the locomotive mechanism - frame, drivers, rods, motor, etc - will have to be purchased or built separately. Which makes this a kit in a time when RTR is king for locomotives and becoming so for rolling stock, structures, etc. And so may never become mainstream.
Like a lot of new technologies, this one has some real intriguing possibilities. It will be interesting to see how this develops for model railroading, especially as the costs come down and the process matures. But for the moment it is a niche area.
Hi there. In my opinion, 3D printing is likely to take more room in the hobby. I recently did a kitbash of a porter hon30 loco using a 3D print of the cab and boiler (from Shapeways). The level of detail is quite acceptable - and it can only improve in time. I see a lot of potential for detailed engine parts and buildings in the short term. My guess is that in less than a decade, many of us will have one at home and will be able to print from files downloaded from the Web. I actually can’t wait for that to happen… But this will not replace the RTR, as others have mentioned.
Having a 3D printer at home, I have finally been able to get the necessary resolution to make components for structures. I do not yet believe my home printer yet has the resolution to do detail parts. It is not as capable a printer as something like shapeways.
It has really helped in construction of many things on my layout, especially in the refinery I’m building. Ia currently building a cooling tower and the fab units at the top are cone shaped, a very difficult thing to model, however the 3D printed part was super easy to make on the printer. The other nice part is that styrene and ABS plastic will bond nicely to each other. I will post picture of said components once I get home.
I recently purchased some 1:87 scale figures from Shapeways to use for making molds for casting resin figures. The Shapeways 3D printed figures have worked out very good. My resin castings are far superior to the 1:87 scale figures available from the hobby manufacturers. By using a high quality master in a Silicone rubber mold the resin figures are almost perfect.
My son has access to a fairly expensive 3D printer, about $3000 and it’s resolution is much poorer than the Shapeways printed material. He also has a quality 3D scanner and it does a good job on 1:87 scale vehicles. The printer does a pretty good job printing vehicles from scans.
I’ve been into 2D CAD for 34 years and at 81 I haven’t been able to master the 3D version of CAD to the point of making a worthy 3D E7A locomotive shell. My son has been using 3D CAD since it became available and he can whip out almost anything easily so it is learnable but not by this 81 year old dingy.
I saw your pictures in another thread. You figures have pieces that I would think are hard to mold, like elbows sticking out away from the body, like loosely attached boomerangs. Are you making the molds with the figures head down? How do you avoid bubbles or air locks that would block the small detail?
I make two piece molds. I let the four hour Silicon rubber set for between 30 to 35 minutes before putting the master in the rubber. The figures float on top of the rubber. Using a tooth pick I rock the figures so that the arms and legs pick up some of the rubber.
After the Silicon has fully cured I check it very closely for rubber in the wrong places then pour the second half. I made 15 molds this week with two figure each.
Send me a PM Henry and I’ll sent you some pictures of the process. I don’t want to clobber this 3D printer thread.
here is one part that I 3D Printed for my Refinery. Any other method of making it would have been super difficult. It is the beige colored cone on top. It is vent fan housing for the cooling tower.
I am using Shapeways very intense for small add on parts like ditch lights etc. Larger parts with smooth surfaces are still a problem. Anyhow online ordering, printing in the Netherlands and mailing to Germany is far more pleasant than ordering brass parts etc. in the US, learn what is not on stock, pay a fortune for mailing, wait several weeks and visit the local customs office for pickup.
Shapeways used to need 2-3 weeks until they shipped. They improved that dramatically down to 2 days for my last order. Ordered Sunday, they shipped Tuesday and I got the parcel Thursday right at my door. Perfect service.
