3d Printed?

[sherbs]

I am not new to RC but am new to scale/crawler. I recently ordered a few items to put in my Gelande Cruiser and was surprised that the items were printed. I guess I am old school but they were trash, maybe from 10 feet away but up close just awful. Now the molded items I have are night and day better. Are there 3d item makers that are better than others or are they all about the same? Thanks!!

[Natedog]

3d printing varies greatly, depends on plastic type, print speed, printer quality, fill ratio (how much hollow spots), I've seen all types. Sorry to hear that you bought some that are less than stellar. Some styrene model putty, sanding and paint can fix the aesthetics, but not strength issues. I'd rather pay a bit more for nicely printed high quality parts.

[sherbs]

Originally Posted by Natedog

3d printing varies greatly, depends on plastic type, print speed, printer quality, fill ratio (how much hollow spots), I've seen all types. Sorry to hear that you bought some that are less than stellar. Some styrene model putty, sanding and paint can fix the aesthetics, but not strength issues. I'd rather pay a bit more for nicely printed high quality parts.

I agree 100% but with the seller there was not any mention of the fact the items were 3d printed and well as we all know sometimes pictures do not show all the details. Not worth it to raise a stink over a few bucks, in the trash they went. I will say RC4WD's you paint Jerry cans are nice quality and were purchased to replace the bad ones.

[JatoTheRipper]

What brand were they?

There are a lot of people out there 3D printing scale accessories and, honestly, most of them are garbage. They use either low quality printers or they set the quality low and the speed high so they can turn them out faster. But don't blame 3D printing. Blame the operators. FDM 3D printing, which is the method most people are using at this point, is not perfect, but it can be really good. You just can't expect the same quality as molded components. There are also different filament materials which affect quality.

Check out these grips I printed in wood filament. These are straight off of the printer. No post-processing has been performed.


Then compare these two skulls. The blue one was printed with slower speeds and thinner layers which makes it looks smoother.

[sherbs]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

What brand were they?

There are a lot of people out there 3D printing scale accessories and, honestly, most of them are garbage. They use either low quality printers or they set the quality low and the speed high so they can turn them out faster. But don't blame 3D printing. Blame the operators. FDM 3D printing, which is the method most people are using at this point, is not perfect, but it can be really good. You just can't expect the same quality as molded components. There are also different filament materials which affect quality.

Check out these grips I printed in wood filament. These are straight off of the printer. No post-processing has been performed.


Then compare these two skulls. The blue one was printed with slower speeds and thinner layers which makes it looks smoother.

If the cans had looked anything close to your examples I would have happy. They were closer to a honeycomb than a gas can.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by sherbs

If the cans had looked anything close to your examples I would have happy. They were closer to a honeycomb than a gas can.

Sadly, the crappy 3D printers out there give 3D printing a bad name.

[BigSki]

I gotta say, those wood filament pieces had me fooled at thinking they were carved on a CNC shopbot. Does the finished texture feel like TREX decking?

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by BigSki

I gotta say, those wood filament pieces had me fooled at thinking they were carved on a CNC shopbot. Does the finished texture feel like TREX decking?

I forget what Trex feels like. They feel more like wood than plastic IMO.

[VMGontheRocks]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

What brand were they?

There are a lot of people out there 3D printing scale accessories and, honestly, most of them are garbage. They use either low quality printers or they set the quality low and the speed high so they can turn them out faster. But don't blame 3D printing. Blame the operators. FDM 3D printing, which is the method most people are using at this point, is not perfect, but it can be really good. You just can't expect the same quality as molded components. There are also different filament materials which affect quality.

Check out these grips I printed in wood filament. These are straight off of the printer. No post-processing has been performed.


Then compare these two skulls. The blue one was printed with slower speeds and thinner layers which makes it looks smoother.
[img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3831/32649923603_b29394c174_c.jpg[img]

Those wood grips turned out fantastic!

Got any pictures of them stained?

[johnnyh66]

I was using Shapeways to print.
The quality is excellent but the cost is high... too high to sell these Bomber motors.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by VMGontheRocks

Those wood grips turned out fantastic!

Got any pictures of them stained?

Thanks! Not my model, but I did print them.

I have not stained them yet, but I bought black stain. I'm just waiting for a nice, warm day so I can stain them outside.

Originally Posted by johnnyh66

I was using Shapeways to print.
The quality is excellent but the cost is high... too high to sell these Bomber motors.

Shapeways is a rip off. I wish there were good alternatives.

[excabswap]

I just ordered an SR5 grill from shapeways.. hopefully they printed slowly and smoothly rather than fast..

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

[cpu77]

Johnyh66 that model is spot on. Thats obviously done with a high end SLA. Not a cheap FDM printer (Most people have). If only SLA material where as versatile as FDM. I do prototyping in FDM but in general I don't like the results. It is cheap though! Gets the idea across. The technology just isn't there yet.

[johnnyh66]

Yeah, I bought a FDM printer as soon as affordable consumer versions came out about 4 years ago... I was super excited becasue I can model about anything.
I sold the damn thing a few weeks after I got it... I saw right away the quality was not nearly what we want and figured I'd better unload it before it lost it's value.

[johnnyh66]

Originally Posted by excabswap

I just ordered an SR5 grill from shapeways.. hopefully they printed slowly and smoothly rather than fast..

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

I think you'll be fine.

[sherbs]

Ok another newbie question? In material cost what does the average small part cost to make, say a 1/10 scale cooler. I am going to guess the real cost is in the printer and set up time.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by johnnyh66

Yeah, I bought a FDM printer as soon as affordable consumer versions came out about 4 years ago... I was super excited becasue I can model about anything.
I sold the damn thing a few weeks after I got it... I saw right away the quality was not nearly what we want and figured I'd better unload it before it lost it's value.

3D printers have gotten better in those 4 years. Plus you can post process prints.

Print in ABS, give it an acetone bath, and most people won't know it was printed.

Or print PLA and coat it in epoxy.

Originally Posted by sherbs

Ok another newbie question? In material cost what does the average small part cost to make, say a 1/10 scale cooler. I am going to guess the real cost is in the printer and set up time.

A 1kg (2.2 pounds) roll that I buy averages around $30. It won't cost much to print a small cooler. The time comes from modeling and then setting up the printer so that it works well.

[sherbs]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

3D printers have gotten better in those 4 years. Plus you can post process prints.

Print in ABS, give it an acetone bath, and most people won't know it was printed.

Or print PLA and coat it in epoxy.


A 1kg (2.2 pounds) roll that I buy averages around $30. It won't cost much to print a small cooler. The time comes from modeling and then setting up the printer so that it works well.

That is less than I thought for a roll of material.

[badhoopty]

ive spent alot of youtube time watching sla related stuff. so cool.

ive tried out shapeways 3d printed parts for the old rc10 buggy. not at all serviceable for actual running unless you make no mistakes. i did read tho that soaking shapeways parts in thompson water seal does something that makes them a bit more resilient.

[MiteyF]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Sadly, the crappy 3D printers out there give 3D printing a bad name.

It's rarely the printer's fault. I got plenty of good quality prints off of a cheap kit printer I bought a year or so ago before I tore it apart. The FDM machines are very VERY simple machines. The software, firmware, and setup are the most important components to getting a high quality print. So long as it's tuned correctly, even the filament choice will have a greater effect on print quality than the printer itself.