3-D printing

[Simon Cornes]

I would like to get an Airfix  1/48th Sea Vixen nose wheel printed to 1/32 scale. Does anyone know who can do such a thing? Do you think it would be very expensive?

Thanks

 

Simon

[Simon Cornes]

Just discovered an 18mm wheel will cost me £80 !! Well we know what the answer to that one is!! I will be making one out of card and tube!! Clearly the technology is not yet available to your 'average' modeler!

 

Simon

[Crankycraftsman]

Hey Simon

  The problem is it is not a easy process. First off you need a computer, thats going to cost you around a $700 - $1,200 US. Second you need the proper software that will run anywhere from $500 - $15,000 US, yeah thats right quality software ain't cheap! Now comes the long tedious part learning how to use the software.     I'm a retired Automotive/Aircraft Design Engineer. I worked on a drafting board for nearly 25 years then spent the last 12 years on various CADD systems Catia, Unigraphics, Solid Edge and NX 5. These systems cost many thousands of dollars. Third you have to have a 3D printer. there are cheap ones that run a few hundred to the professional ones that are many thousands of dollars. 

 This is why it isn't necessarily the best way to create parts for models, unless you have the time, money and effort to do it, but then when would you find time to model...lol

Ron G 

[Simon Cornes]

Hi Ron

Thanks for the reply. I guess you only get what you pay for! I think we expect that 3-D printing is going to make life easier for us. It is becoming clearer to me that traditional model making skills are really the best way forward for most things! 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Graham Boak]

If you are looking for a one-off design (which you were) then the problems are as above.  If you are lucky enough to want something that someone else has already produced then it is a lot cheaper.  You are then faced with the problems of ridges/layering etc that will need removing without breaking the fragile part.  That doesn't mean the technology is not a great aid to some modellers, for some models, just nor for you this time.

 

 

[Schwarz-Brot]

It is another tool, like a higher end small milling machine or lathe. It takes a professional background or lots of dedication to master those tools. 3d-printing adds the software layer to the process - digital design is not for everyone.

 

While I agree with most things Ron said I have to say he is not right in every aspect. These days there are some gread CAD-packages out there to be used for free. Ron, if you have experience with Inventor you will find most of its functions hidden in Fusion360 for free. As an active (private) user I can also say that it runs just fine with any half-decent Windows-PC. Beefy machines are only needed for really complex designs.

 

A cad professional ain't cheap. I know because I am one... Making freeformed designs is especially hard if they have to follow a real-life example. If you could hire me for that kind of work I'd cost you around 80 to 100 € per hour. Most of it would stay within the company, of course. And then I cannot reproduce freeform bodies very well, just classic parametric designs. Adding to that, most dimensions are not really known if there are no blueprints available but would have to be guessed from pictures - there it gets really tough and therefore even more expensive.

 

The basic shape of a wheel takes about two minutes to design. Figuring out the details I cannot even estimate. Then optimizing for printing the model might get cut up into several pieces, details might be "optimized" to out of scale dimensions to be able to reproduce... this can be an endless rabbithole if you really want to go that route.