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Author: Subject: 3D printers
coyoteboy

posted on 9/11/21 at 06:21 PM Reply With Quote
Fusion360 offers a free limited license for hobby users. It used to be a lot less restrictive.

[Edited on 9/11/21 by coyoteboy]






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Mr Whippy

posted on 28/2/22 at 01:14 PM Reply With Quote
Phew that took a while... but it's almost finished. I did this model so I could learn to use my 3D printer better and is my first ever model ship . Turned out to be more a baptism of fire tbh and quite a bit of replacement parts for the printer were needed after many failed prints . Never mind it did it's job and I'm much better now and am already a 1/3rd through the hull of the next ship, that one being a 2m long Fletcher Class Destroyer.

So here it is, fully RC, 5kgs (with no ballast) and 1.6m long haven taken almost 4 months to get to this point. Files are available from CG Trader and if I was to do it again I'd have scaled it up by 125% as that would still have fitted on the printer.






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harmchar

posted on 28/2/22 at 03:51 PM Reply With Quote
That’s an absolute beauty. Will she float? Might see it down the Duthie Park if it does lol. Can’t believe some of the detail on it as well. Great job.
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Slimy38

posted on 28/2/22 at 04:19 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
Phew that took a while... but it's almost finished. I did this model so I could learn to use my 3D printer better and is my first ever model ship . Turned out to be more a baptism of fire tbh and quite a bit of replacement parts for the printer were needed after many failed prints . Never mind it did it's job and I'm much better now and am already a 1/3rd through the hull of the next ship, that one being a 2m long Fletcher Class Destroyer.

So here it is, fully RC, 5kgs (with no ballast) and 1.6m long haven taken almost 4 months to get to this point. Files are available from CG Trader and if I was to do it again I'd have scaled it up by 125% as that would still have fitted on the printer.



I hate to be 'that guy' especially as it does look pretty awesome, but I thought 3d prints aren't watertight? Or did you do something different to seal them?

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Mr Whippy

posted on 28/2/22 at 07:43 PM Reply With Quote
thanks for the comments

You are kinda right, the bare 3D prints are slightly porous. However this has had many layers of primer, paint and matt lacquer and is totally waterproof.

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Russell

posted on 1/3/22 at 09:34 AM Reply With Quote
Awesome! Much respect for the time and patience you've put into that!

What filament is it and did you have to rub down all the parts to get a smooth surface for painting?

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Mr Whippy

posted on 1/3/22 at 11:58 AM Reply With Quote
Cheers.

I used just basic black PLA filament from ReprapWorld on big 5kg rolls, as that's one of the cheapest ways of buying it and the prints come out very clean. I mount the spool on up on the wall on a home made bracket rather than the machine.

Only the hull needs sanding & filling between the joints and then gets a good thick coat of paint, most of the other parts come out super crisp. I used big tins of Halfords primers for the base colours, those little tins of enamel for the detailed stuff and then coat the lot in matt primer. The only glue use was 100ml bottles of CA from B&Q, stuff bonds really well. I used Tinkercad for designing a lot of extra details like the railings, battery tray, portholes, mast, antenna etc and still have a lot of small detail parts to add.

Once painted I went over it with Tamiya weathering master kit doing all the streaks of rust and muck, even dirty areas of the deck were people walk. Have to say that was one of the most fun parts of the build, then a light coat of lacquer to seal that on. One of my favorite parts is the anchor chains which I printed too, and they are real chains! I thought that was funny being able to make them

I now need to get some ballast and put it in my pond to get it floating right, so will probably weigh about 15-20kg once that's done oh my poor back!

Shorty I'm probably going to do a Youtube video (will be my first ever ) to review the model in detail and go through what it took to make and all the pit falls I found and how not to do the same lol

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Mr Whippy

posted on 31/3/22 at 07:02 AM Reply With Quote
A bit more lead ballast at the bow but was moored up in the pond the whole day and not a drop of water inside almost looks real.

Have now finished the hull of the next boat at 2m long


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Benzine

posted on 31/3/22 at 07:15 AM Reply With Quote
That's superb!
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David Jenkins

posted on 31/3/22 at 10:27 AM Reply With Quote
Amazing...

Photograph that in front of a suitable background and you'd swear it was a real ship.






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Russell

posted on 1/4/22 at 09:39 AM Reply With Quote
That's a spectacular result!

Have you got any recommendations for a good quality/value 3D printer? I was looking at the Ender 5 Pro.

I can't really say what my purchase criteria are because I don't know about 3D printers - I guess a moderate price and something with good user support and can achieve a decent quality output without excessive amounts of offputting trial and error. I don't have a specific build project in mind, I would just like to experiment at first and then go from there.

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David Jenkins

posted on 1/4/22 at 10:47 AM Reply With Quote
If you are a total newbie then it's best to go for the simplest kind of 3d printer, e.g. the Creality Ender 3. There are other makes with the same basic layout, which goes back to the original Prusa (also an excellent make, but much more expensive).

The best thing about these is that they're usually the cheapest, easiest to understand, and easiest to fix if something doesn't work as planned. The 3 planes of motion are separate and easy to comprehend, which makes fault-finding much less of a battle.. I have 2 more unconventional printers: one is the CoreXY type where 2 motors have to move in opposite directions just to get the printing head to go in a straight line, and the other is a delta that requires 3 motors working together to go in any direction! Each can be a total PITA when they decide to not work properly (it will always happen, eventually).

Many of the cheaper ones come as kits, and these days most of the big names are very well packed and easy to assemble - if you can build and run a Locost then these are a doddle as long as you take your time and keep your brain in gear. If you can afford the extra cost, get one with a heated print bed - it makes life easier.

You will also need software to create your designs, software to reduce your design into something printable (slicer), plus software that talks to your printer and controls its temperatures and movement. Each varies in cost from free through to bleedin' expensive - almost all of mine is free. The downside of free is that you usually have to sort out your own problems and issues, although there are various forums where advice can be found.

Don't be tempted by the newer resin printers - they're messy, smelly and expensive to run. The final quality is brilliant, but print size is very limited and the models need special treatment after printing, such as washing in IPA and then exposure to UV light to fully harden them. Too much hassle for me!






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Mr Whippy

posted on 1/4/22 at 11:58 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Russell
That's a spectacular result!

Have you got any recommendations for a good quality/value 3D printer? I was looking at the Ender 5 Pro.

I can't really say what my purchase criteria are because I don't know about 3D printers - I guess a moderate price and something with good user support and can achieve a decent quality output without excessive amounts of offputting trial and error. I don't have a specific build project in mind, I would just like to experiment at first and then go from there.


The printer I used for the boat is a Creality cr10s pro v2, that is a rather expensive machine at about £450, it is big and works ok but is not perfect by a long way and is good at breaking down. I bought my kids a Creatity Ender 3 Pro at £170 and although smaller I'd say it was much better value. I use Cura for the slicer as that's free and works very well and the setups for my machines was spot on.

They are kinda specialist machines and are really only suitable if you are -

1) Ideally a model builder
2) Very patent
3) Good at fixing broken machines
4) Happy to start small and work your way up
5) Not in a rush
6) Have somewhere to put the machine where the noise and smell is not an issue

People do say they are slow but I have never built so many models in such a short amount of time, I do wonder how many I will have this time next year and just where I am going to store them all.

[Edited on 1/4/22 by Mr Whippy]

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b14wrc

posted on 4/4/22 at 06:12 PM Reply With Quote
I bought Creality CR10S pro a couple of years ago now and done loads of prototype work on it for the locost, you will have seen a bit recently on my mid engined (now) 2.4 20vt.

Latest work below:



The print didn’t come out as well as usual - I suspect the batch of filament and a nozzle change needed. I printed this with a 0.8mm nozzle and a layer height of 0.5mm, total time for the two halves around 16hours. The neat trick I have just mastered is you can locally change the properties of a single model, really helpful for a structural part like this. The aim is to get the wheels on and lower the locost to the ground next weekend. THIS IS MOCK UP BEFORE YOU ASK, but I know a less reinforced earlier version supported the engine and gearbox, 220kg, so with out the motor in, I think I’ll achieve my goal of getting it on its wheels and “rolling” it for the first time.

I would highly recommend to anyone getting a printer, it’s a must have piece of kit, and I recommend Creality. I’ve had a really good luck with mine, I have modified it a bit to get it to run better and believe the V2 spec of the CR10S has a lot of the upgrades you want. I think you need to prepare yourself for a certain level of experimentation, it’s just the number of variable both the machine and software can change, materials vary a lot too.... so just be prepared to spend an amount of time setting it up. Over the last few years I’ve really hammered mine and replaced bits as I went, most extreme print was in ABS and 90 hours, it printed fine at 250deg C for most of the week!

I love your boat, Well done on that.

I did a warhammer Tank last winter, think I could have printed it with a finer nozzle but on a standard 0.4mm the actual printed lines are pretty hard to see once painted:



It isn’t finished, I wanted to put decals on it and paint it for snow use like a German tiger tank....

Rob





20vt powered rear engined locost

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Russell

posted on 4/4/22 at 07:02 PM Reply With Quote
That's really interesting info, thanks very much for the insights guys.

How do you deal with the print lines to make a finished piece, is it a case of light sanding and painting?

Also, I read PLA can soften and lose shape on a hot day. What filament is best for durability say for example to make dashboard parts?

Sorry for the multiple queries but you've got me very interested in this. I've seen CR10S Pro V2 for £429.00, which is do-able.

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David Jenkins

posted on 4/4/22 at 07:19 PM Reply With Quote
PLA will sag on a hot day, and it also gets weaker as it ages (it is supposed to be biodegradable - open to debate).

ABS is one of the most durable of the common filaments, but it's a PITA to print as it can warp and split during the printing process unless you've got a heated print chamber - added cost and complexity.

PETG is a reasonably good compromise - relatively easy to print, although it's best to print slowly with it, otherwise it leaves strings everywhere. It's also reasonably durable, with a higher 'glass transition temperature' (where it starts to get weak) than PLA, but still lower than ABS. The only down-side for me is that I've found it hard to get a good surface finish.

One alternative to make the part in PLA then use that to make a mould for casting - you can then chose a very durable material such as resin. I've even seen PLA prints used to make metal moulds in a similar way to lost wax casting, as it can be burned out of the mould material before pouring the metal.






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Russell

posted on 5/4/22 at 11:01 AM Reply With Quote
Interesting feedback and ideas there David, many thanks. I like the idea of cleaning up the 3D print and resin casting from a mould :-)

I'll take the plunge with a decent quality printer and start experimenting.

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b14wrc

posted on 5/4/22 at 11:27 AM Reply With Quote
On the tank I just sanded it down a washed it with Acetone. For my locost parts I’ve just left them as are as it’s prototype work.





20vt powered rear engined locost

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