Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[Pat Matthews]

Did I mention that you can 3D print brass?


Actually, you have waxes printed for lost wax (investment) casting. Not cheap, but sometimes you have a special part that just needs that little extra bit of love!


The pictures below show a pair of small deck mounted fire monitors from the 1940's, and some cabin-mounted vents. The parts were ordered from Shapeways in "raw brass", which means they don't polish them much, other than a quick tumble deburr. You can also order parts fully polished, even gold plated (!), but these parts are smooth enough to hand polish easily.


The fire monitors are left as bare brass- I assume the original was bare brass and bronze... but the vents were chromed, which I've simulated with simple nickel brush plating at home.


Detail is pretty darn fine... the plaster pattern will catch the finest details in the wax... look for the bolt heads on the fire monitor's flanges, and the crenellations on the lock knob...

[rmaddock]

 

Wow!

I need am anchor chair thingy for my boat....this could be a way to go if I could just figure out how to generate the 3D model.

I.e.: http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/41547/Davey---Co-Galvanised-Chain-Pipe--For-11mm-Chain-.html?referrer=FROOGLE&gclid=CPuHxsam4rwCFZHJtAodw3UAJg

Nice work though, and the detail is fantastic.

[Pat Matthews]

*Sigh*


Every time I bring up 3D Printing, I should repeat the rules:


1. Unless your wallet is well lined with cash, you need to have CAD capability to play this game. The cash would be handy to pay a CAD professional his professional wages for tens or hundreds of hours of design time, depending on the part complexity.
OK, maybe an hour or two for a part as simple as your chain pipe... I'll say 2 hours with STL file prep, and I charge $80 per hour. You might do better in India or China.


2. Do not even think of buying a 3D printer. Anything affordable (including all those well-hyped desk top jobbies) are WORTHLESS for making fine model parts. They are only novelties, toys. The machines we want to use cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Instead, you send your CAD file to someone (like Shapeways) who has already invested the capital and is looking for jobs to fill their high-end machines.


And a new rule:
3. 3D scanners are NOT at the Star Trek replicator stage yet (even though I've seen at least one shyster who would have investors think so...). Again, many hours are needed for scanning the part and then the file processing to make a usable print file.
See for example: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2082159&highlight=head#post27310102   ... and I'm still not done with this job! 
 




p.s.: If you need teeny-tiny stud link chain to go with your chain pipe, I can help!
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,43214.msg451070.html

[rmaddock]

Please don't sigh at me Pat....

I was not for a minute suggesting that I would do anything, nor hinting that you could do anything.  Merely marvelling and wondering in that way that gets us chaps into such hot water with our better halves.

I'm a technical sort of person, well aware of the complexities and expenses of such a thing.  But I can dream. Please? 

[Pat Matthews]

Now, one can also 3D print propellers, if the Prop Shop for example doesn't have exactly what one is after.


Here is a 2.5 inch diameter prop, a design from the 19-teens for small fishing boats in the San Francisco area. Drawn in CAD from the original maker's drawings. This one is poured in bronze, though brass is also available.


As shown, it only has whatever polishing Shapeways does for cleaning off the plaster mold... it would benefit from more. But I've gone ahead and machined the bore for a #10-32 thread.


Ah yes, the 1:8 scale single cylinder engine is coming along too, 3D printed in plastic, and completely from maker's drawings too.

[Pat Matthews]

One of the beauties of this process is that props can be scaled easily, and/or flipped (RH vs. LH)... with no need for new masters or molds.


Here's a special request, a smaller 2-1/4" version of the 2-1/2" original, with an opposite hand.