| jack c | 26 Apr 2010 11:41 a.m. PST |
what to do when you want a steam tank in your favourite scale (in my case 20mm) but nobody makes one? Easy, draw one in your favourite 3d CAD progamme and print it in 3d… have a look at my blog: plasticgeneral.blogspot.com the future of wargaming looks great….. jack |
| Spooner6 | 26 Apr 2010 11:54 a.m. PST |
That is really cool. So I will show my ignorance. Is the CAD image made into a mold, or is it laser etched/cut? Chris |
| elsyrsyn | 26 Apr 2010 12:00 p.m. PST |
Nope – it's 3d printed. link (Caveat – I've never dealt with this manufacturer, but I imagine they use the same type of process as the one I have dealt with). Doug |
John Leahy  | 26 Apr 2010 12:01 p.m. PST |
Wow, that is really nice! |
| elsyrsyn | 26 Apr 2010 12:08 p.m. PST |
3d printing is the cat's meow … it's just amazing to dream something, draw up a 3d model of it, email somebody the file (and a credit card authorization), then POW! a few days later, the actual object is in your hot little hand. Too cool. Doug |
Tgerritsen  | 26 Apr 2010 12:17 p.m. PST |
So which service did you use? Do you know which printer (physical printer model)? |
| nycjadie | 26 Apr 2010 12:41 p.m. PST |
Awesome! How much did it cost to print? |
| jack c | 26 Apr 2010 12:52 p.m. PST |
shapeways.com that's the company that printed my tank. It was pretty expensive, about $70 USD for the 3 pieces. I guess it can be cheaper if I hollow out the model (less material). but because it was all a little new an experimental for me I didn't bother. The volleygun you see on my blog was also printed in the white detail material and looks much better now. that model was about $5 USD jack |
| Mooseworks8 | 26 Apr 2010 1:21 p.m. PST |
So is it plastic, paper…? |
| kokigami | 26 Apr 2010 6:34 p.m. PST |
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| IronMike | 26 Apr 2010 8:11 p.m. PST |
Wow, that it officially AWESOME! I can't wait for the price of these things to drop so we can have one in every house, and wargamers can 'print' armies to their own specifications… |
| Zinkala | 26 Apr 2010 8:50 p.m. PST |
Me too. Along with the ability to print off one of a kind minis based on existing templates, mix and match details scale and size how you want and I'll be in heaven. I need to brush up on my CAD skills to get ready for this. |
| Cog Comp | 27 Apr 2010 3:08 a.m. PST |
Gee, I seem to recall a TMP Member a year or so ago who was saying that this sort of tech would be in the hands of the masses within 2 years…. Seems that he was cautious in his estimates… |
| Allen57 | 27 Apr 2010 5:36 a.m. PST |
Awesome technology. Just wish I could learn to use a 3d CAD program besides finding one I can afford. |
| jack c | 27 Apr 2010 8:50 a.m. PST |
Doug, wich manufacturer do you use? Allen57, you could use google sketchup, it's free, and fairly easy to use (for a 3d cad program that is…) sketchup.google.com jack |
| nycjadie | 27 Apr 2010 9:50 a.m. PST |
The printings are still pretty rough. You can see it in Jack's printing. I can't wait for them to get much crisper. |
| Lion in the Stars | 27 Apr 2010 12:23 p.m. PST |
Hrm… I guess I do need to learn how to use a CAD program. Got some starships I want to make. They're only going to be 3"-6" long in 1/3900 scale! From what I know, the detail limit is roughly 0.4 mm if you're going to cast copies. The printer can physically make smaller shapes (depending on the model of printer), but the casting process can't handle details any smaller than that. |
| Acharnement | 27 Apr 2010 7:08 p.m. PST |
3d printing! For real! Gulp. Too cool! |
| elsyrsyn | 28 Apr 2010 4:48 a.m. PST |
Jack – I used a place called 3darttopart.com, and I did the 3d modeling in an open source free-ware package called Wings 3D. Doug |
| Cog Comp | 29 Apr 2010 3:25 a.m. PST |
Lion, there are 3d Prototyping processes that can handle detail down to the micrometer scale. We use them at school in the engineering dept all the time, and where I used to work had mills that we capable of producing negative molds for injection casting that have details on the micrometer scale (that would be .001mm).. It is just that the scaling issues at that resolution are still more expensive. As with the cost of the equipment itself, the cost per .1mm resolution is falling at a rate of about $50 USD to $200 USD per year (depending upon the process). Extruded plastic being the slowest to come down due to limitations of the media… However, it is a geometric decline in price, so eventually, the price will come down very rapidly to a base for the technology, eventually to be replaced by a different technology (probably nanometer scale deposition) |
| Lion in the Stars | 29 Apr 2010 11:39 a.m. PST |
Good to know, Cog Comp, but the project I was thinking about was for production castings, so I'm still stuck with the limits of the casting process, not the printer's limits. My school has an art class for 3d modeling that may have access to an RP machine… if it does include access to a 3d printer, I'm definitely taking it. |
