Caroline N by mbp521 - Scale 1:64 - Mississippi River Towboat

[mbp521]

10 hours ago, Cathead said:

So glad to see you're still dabbling away at this! Life has been keeping me away from modeling, too. Love the look of what you've done lately.

Thank you Eric! Dabbling away is a perfect way of putting it, it’s definitely been a slow process, but I am making headway. 
 

I really hadn’t planned on getting into 3D printing either, but like I said in my post, it was way more cost effective to get a printer and build the pieces myself than ordering them online. The printer was less than $500 and the filament is dirt cheap, a 1000g spool runs about $14 and goes a long way. The grand kids get a kick out of it as well. I think so far we’ve printed several dragons and numerous fidget toys for them. 
 

-Brian

[FriedClams]

Good to see an update, Brian - very nice work.

 

I've always wanted a miniature lath and milling machine and if I had those, I would be wearing them out from use.  I see them simply as tools to advance one's vision and quality of the model.  They provide the freedom to create parts that one might otherwise decide to pass on, because they are either too difficult or next to impossible to create without them.  I do enjoy the process of attempting to make parts by "hand", but if I had machine tools there would be a great deal of brass details on my models.  I see 3D printing and laser cutting in the same way.  Used skillfully, they can enhance and improve the project.  If I had these tools, I would use them unapologetically.  Though I haven't spent much time creating parts in solid modeling software, I find it isn't slam dunk easy and complex parts take time to create.  So, it isn't a free lunch by any means - just a different skill set.

 

I was wondering - did your printer come with solid modeling software or are you using something like FreeCad?  Good luck on your foray into this technology, sounds like fun.

 

Gary   

[mbp521]

Thank you Gary! 

 

My grandfather always told me, “why pay someone to do something for you when you can do it yourself cheaper”, and I have lived by these words most of my life. I do know my limitations and there have been times where I just have to get someone else to do it. It’s not for lack of trying, but it would be cheaper in the long run for fear of screwing it up and having to redo the project. 
 

I took these words into consideration when ordering the printer, now I can build the parts myself and not have to pay someone else for them.
 

4 hours ago, FriedClams said:

I was wondering - did your printer come with solid modeling software or are you using something like FreeCad?  Good luck on your foray into this technology, sounds like fun.

I’ve been in the technology field for almost 30 years and have been using CAD software for almost the entire time. Many of the software packages these devices use are based on CAD so the learning curve is fairly easy. Most of them come with a free version that is simplistic and scaled down for the standard user. There are other programs out there that are more robust and allow for much better renderings and manipulation of the project you are working on, but I’ve found the free ones get the job done for what I need. Not to mention the better programs are stupid expensive.
 

My 3D printer is a Bambu Labs P1S and came with its proprietary software Bambu Studio, but like many of the other programs out there it uses the standard file types, and there are several sites out there that have free files that you can upload to the device, and you can scale them to the size you need as well as make alterations to them. Somewhat like my laser engraver/cutter, there were a few days of beating my head on the table trying to figure it all out but it didn’t take too much time before I was off and running. 
 

-Brian

[FriedClams]

Thanks for the info, Brian.  Before retirement, I used AutoCad for decades in electrical design and documentation, but I no longer have access to it.  Now I use an older version of DesignCad.  But for 3D part creation for printing, I prefer solid modeling over surface modeling, so I've been looking at some of those programs.

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

On 10/1/2024 at 4:00 AM, mbp521 said:

So I did the next best thing, we invested in a 3D printer. 

Brian, certainly a valid method, but how easy is it to create the programmes you need for the parts you are printing.