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3D printed parts - FAQ's

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I thought I would post here some of the things I have learned to help those who wanted to get started in creating their own 3D printed parts. I will also provide more insight into the sort of parts out there and how they can be used on your builds. I am going to refer to shapeways.com website a lot as they have a lot of info and they are my printer service of choice.

Please feel free to add to this thread with more questions and answers of your own.

Question: What printer do you use?

Answer: I use a number of different printers depending on the type of parts I need. Here is a breakdown of the 3 main printers & materials I use:

1. SLS Nylon Polymer printer (known as Strong and Flexible on shapeways). When the parts are designed correctly this printer creates parts that are tough enough to use for roll cages, wheels and suspensions arms. In order to get a good finish I highly recommend the Strong, flexible and polished finish - this is where the parts are given a post print process of being put in a media drum to give smooth matt finish. Whilst you can get these parts in a number of colours I prefer to get the parts in white with the "polished" finish and then paint for the smoothest finish. Also to note here is the the Nylon Polymer is tough, but it is also porous, so it needs to be sealed with paint if you are going to put the parts near water. I have found painting with Tamiya TS paint works really well. Here is a link to the material on shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/materials/strong-and-flexible-plastic

2. MJM Multijet Modeling printer (known as Frosted (ultra) detail plastic. This printer and material gives super fine details, almost no step marks at all and is the closest in terms of finish to traditional injection molded plastic parts. It is however fragile and expensive. I typically only use this material for small details that can not be created in the strong and flexible material above.

Here is a link to the material on shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/materials/frosted-detail-plastic

3. Full colour sandstone. This one is amazing as you can actually print full mulit-colour designs. I use this for my driver figures so you no longer need to paint. The limitation however is that the material is very brittle and has a very textured feel. Not good for smooth surfaces, but looks good for cloth and skin.

Here is a link to the material on shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/materials/full-color-sandstone

Question: What CAD program do you use?

Answer: I use Rhino for mechanical parts like car bodies and engines and for organic sculpted items like drivers I use ZBrush. There are a number of great CAD programs, some free. So long as you can export as a .STL file format they can be used to make 3D prints.

Question: How do you learn CAD?

Answer: The absolute best way is to get a CAD program, then practice by following the great tutorials on YouTube. I have been on many courses over the years, but there is no substitute for putting in the hours. Start with simple shapes and then keep pushing yourself to make ever more complex forms.

Question: Do you make design customs parts to order?

Answer: No, but the good news is there are a number of people on the Shapeways forums that do. If you have an idea for a new design, you can find a CAD designer and hire them to create it for you. Check out the designers for hire section in the Shapeways.com forums.

Question: How strong are the parts?

Answer: I tired to outline that above. But if its strength you need, the strong & flexible nylon Polymer can withstand some abuse if designed correctly. I have seen Origineelreclamebord (TC member) use it for suspension arms for a full on front wheel drive race buggy with great results: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=119525&id=22450

Question: What paint can I use?

Answer: Frosted (ultra) detail plastic can be painted just like regular plastic parts and needs minimal priming and sanding to get a great finish. Strong, Flexible & polished needs some care to get the best results. As I mentioned it is porous in its raw state, so I find I get the best results following these steps:

1. Seal the material by hand painting with Tamiya TS paint.

2. 2-3 coats of fine primer BEFORE sanding

3. Sand with 1200, take care to only sand back the primer. The nylon material does not sand well and becomes "rough" if sanded driectly.

4. Final coat of fine primer, sand lightly with 1500.

For my engine parts I found just hand painting with Tamiya TS paints and then giving the parts a light paint wash gets good results to simulate cast aluminum.

Question: Why are the parts so expensive?

Answer: Right now 3D printing is still a relatively new technology and because the parts are made in low volumes you can not currently get the economy's of scale that come with mass production. As the technology becomes more widespread, we will see prices of both printers and material come down.

If you have a question, post it here and I or others can try to answer it.

James.

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