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Please, bookmark OGR 3D Forum for quick and easy access to & information about OGR's 3D Printing site.   There are now 167 ready-to-print projects in the OGR 3D catalog.  Many thanks to David (David Nissen) and Val (VHubbard) for their most recent contributions!

Enjoy!

dennis

Last edited by Dennis-LaRock
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@Kelunaboy posted:

is there a special challenge with figures? 

People and organic shapes are tricky in a lot of the software used to make the designs you see in that library. Lamp posts, machines, and even most locomotives are easier because of their lines or straight or circular. Humans tend to have tricky lines that would take a long time to draw in common CAD programs like Solidworks, AutoDesk, etc. I think Rhino and Fusion 360 do "organic" shapes but I'm not exactly sure myself.

Having a 3D scanner would be the other option but some of us don't have a 3D scanner (yet!).

Aggregating all of these 3D printing initiatives and making them available in this OGR forum was a brilliant idea. It is certainly a lean into the future where we can expect 3D printing will play an ever expanding role in making spare parts and custom scenic features. It has become painfully obvious over the past two years that we cannot count on manufacturers to produce and maintain inventory on all spares.  While many of us may never own a 3D printer, I see a future where we may buy parts from a small business specializing in 3D manufacturing and sales. Congratulations to Dennis and all involved in this endeavor.

Last edited by Bruce Brown
@Bruce Brown posted:

...While most of us will never own a 3D printer...

You might be surprised at the cost of 3D Printers these days. Like all emerging technology, the cost has come down substantially. HERE is a page of 3D printers, priced from $189 to almost $13,000. 3D printers in the $300 to $600 price range will work fine for making nicely detailed O scale items.

This link to the 3d Printers page comes from the 3D Printing 101 page in the OGR 3D Catalog site.

@BillYo414 posted:

People and organic shapes are tricky in a lot of the software used to make the designs you see in that library. Lamp posts, machines, and even most locomotives are easier because of their lines or straight or circular. Humans tend to have tricky lines that would take a long time to draw in common CAD programs like Solidworks, AutoDesk, etc. I think Rhino and Fusion 360 do "organic" shapes but I'm not exactly sure myself.

Having a 3D scanner would be the other option but some of us don't have a 3D scanner (yet!).

They're actually surprisingly easy to make with a program such as the free Makehuman (there are also similar commercial programs). Creating poses for them is a bit more challenging, but certainly easier than creating a person from scratch. Their poses can easily be edited in the free Blender 3D software.

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These are a dining car staff I created in "Makehuman" (tray, hat and frying pan created in 3D program and added to figures).

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More figures I created in Makehuman and then printed. Cheap Chinese purchased figures in box for comparison.

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These are Makehuman figures I printed and then painted...

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@Magicland posted:

They're actually surprisingly easy to make with a program such as the free Makehuman (there are also similar commercial programs). Creating poses for them is a bit more challenging, but certainly easier than creating a person from scratch. Their poses can easily be edited in the free Blender 3D software.



These are a dining car staff I created in "Makehuman" (tray, hat and frying pan created in 3D program and added to figures).



More figures I created in Makehuman and then printed. Cheap Chinese purchased figures in box for comparison.



These are Makehuman figures I printed and then painted...

Magicland thanks for post, those figures look good!  Questions:

Is your workflow roughly Makehuman > Blender?

Looks like resin printer, which one are you using?

@Kelunaboy posted:

Magicland thanks for post, those figures look good!  Questions:

Is your workflow roughly Makehuman > Blender?

Looks like resin printer, which one are you using?

I only use blender if I need to create a new pose, as it allows you to edit the skeleton rigging. Different poses can be selected in Makehuman, so once you've got ones you like, you're good to go.

Typical workflow:

1) Select what type person I want in Makehuman (male, female, race, size, etc...)

2) Dress them in Makehuman (there's a wide variety of outfits available for download, though many seem to be fetish related). I model mid 40's to mid 50's, so men in business suits, women in dresses, men in work clothes, etc...

3) Select pose in Makehuman

4) Save as a 3D object.

5) Either load into slicer for printing, or any 3D modeling program to add non-Makehuman accessories.

I've got a Qidi Tech Shadow 5.5s that I've had for a couple of years, upgraded to a mono screen. Works great for smaller stuff and prototyping. I don't think they're (Qidi) making resin printers anymore. If I were going to replace it I'd probably go with an Elegoo Mars 2 Pro or Mars 3. If I were starting out, I'd look for something a bit more versatile (ie., with a larger build volume, probably from Elegoo's Saturn range). I've also got an Elegoo Jupiter, which is great for printing larger O scale items.

@BillYo414 posted:

@Magicland well that's great!! I didn't know such a thing existed. I suspect my FDM would struggle to print them but this opens up a lot of doors!

Elegoo Mars 2 Pro is $169 direct from them (ie., you may find better pricing). It's a good "entry level" SLA printer, and less than the cost of a used engine! It'll print up to 5"x3"x6" high, which is great for smaller or detail items.  At least 9 figures, recumbent, more if you stand them up (with resin, print time is the same no matter how many items you print at a time, but larger height = more print time). I'm sure other brands have similar pricing. Things to watch for are a monochrome screen (older tech had color screens which took a lot longer to print).

@BillYo414 posted:

I appreciate the helpful words @Magicland. I would need an SLA printer with a large volume. Am I right to assume that more print volume costs more money?

That's correct. And, of course, larger printers can present additional problems because larger objects create more of a strain on printed supports. Many people find it's better to start on something smaller to "learn the ropes" of resin printing prior to moving up. There's also the issues of cleaning and curing larger prints which can be problematic unless some forethought has been given to those items. Anycubic makes good printers too, as long as you don't need support, which can be sub-optimal.

Elegoo's Saturn 2 (8.6x4.8x9.8 print size) can be had for under $600, as can the Anycubic Photon M3 plus (7.8 x 4.8 x 9.6 print size) though it's print size is smaller and is only 6K compared to the Elegoo's 8K. Both resolutions are probably fine, especially coming from FDM. Bigger than that, and you're generally talking over $1K. No problem if you have some experience and can justify the cost, but a lot to shell out for a beginner.

Last edited by Magicland

I personally would recommend AnyCubic over Elegoo @BillYo414 .

I appreciate the suggestion! I would definitely do a ton of research on my own before jumping into any brand to be fair. I just don't know much about the brands out there so hearing some more is helpful.

@Magicland posted:

Many people find it's better to start on something smaller to "learn the ropes" of resin printing prior to moving up.

I'm no stranger to putting the pedal to the floor and then figuring out steering and braking later but point well taken. I won't be able to get a printer for at least a year I suspect. We'll see what happens. I appreciate the thoughts! Very helpful and insightful!

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...8#164588232362290778



Printers are improving all the time which made it a bit of a learning curve before selecting the one I now use.   At first I was really interested in the quality of resin printers but the more I read about the hazards I decided to go PLA.   Then the question of which brand/model, yuk there is so much to choose from.   Eventually based on YouTube reviews I settled on the new Elegoo Neptune 3 (less than $200 and has auto-leveling) , I'm quite pleased.   The setup was just as easy as advertised and using  advice I found on here, the online Tinkercad got me going fast.   I've printed some tools and non-train related hardware parts, a few scene items for N-scale, but the real project is creating girders, rails, and open grid decks for an O-scale bridge project.

Once I start putting things together I'll add my files to the catalog.   

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