The Official 3D Printing Discussion Thread

[MrObsessive]

Months ago, I printed out a file I got of a 1967 Maserati Ghibli coupe. One of my favorite European cars from the '60's and the first effort wasn't too bad considering. Since that time, I figured out a way in Blender how to separate body parts from one another if the file was originally created that way (there's another more tedious why if it's not), and wanted to do another Maserati. This time with opening doors and hood.

Since I'm still using my small Phrozen Sonic Mini 4K, I needed to once again split the body in half with 3D Builder, and run the two halves at different times. The rear clip of the car I did first, but my better sense was telling me to put some sort of bracing between the roof and the rocker. I've had an issue in the past when the slicer detects too many "open area", it will not form the supports, despite them being in the preview screen before the model is sliced.

Here are pics of how the rear half turned out............

Very nice how it came out, and no issues with missing or halfway formed supports despite part of the doors being edited out. I noticed that the trunk would not separate when I was doing the original editing.....that's probably just as well as I can 'bout guarantee with that open area, there would have been an issue.

The next day, I moved on to the front half of the car, and here's where things got interesting. I had edited out the hood and saved that as a separate object, but my sense was telling me to try and put some kind of bracing(s) across the hood so the slicer can "see" what needs a support there, and not have an issue with either missing, or halfway done supports.

Well................here's the results of that. ?

Obviously, this front clip is trashed as there's no fixing it and I wasn't even going to attempt to try.

I tried it again, but this time I left the hood in place, and made extra bracing between the edited out doors, roof and rockers.

Much, much better this time and I'm stand by my thought that the open doors have some type of effect on how the supports will form, or lack thereof. When I first printed the front half with nothing edited out back in March, I had no issue whatsoever and I'm glad I added the extra bracing as a failed print certainly would have happened. I can see though that the supports stopped forming about where the top of the side bracing ended. I don't know if that's an issue with Chitubox's software or with Phrozen, but this has happened before with opening panels.

I got the two halves joined together, and I sprayed a very light light coat of primer over the join areas to cover the putty I used.

A MUCH, MUCH nicer result this time around!

I can always cut the hood out at a later time as there's a scored line in the underside which makes this easier to do. Since I have the hood separated as its own object, I can always print that out if need be if the cutout hood gets damaged in some way.

One thing I noticed is the difference in scale of the newer printed body. IIRC, the first body I ran straight from the vendor with no changes in scale. The latest body, I scaled the file out in the slicer as I have specs of the 1:1, and wanted this to be true 1/25. Notice the difference in size...........

I can always add trim for around the windows and roofline later on. Of course, I'll have to build door jambs for the body and doors, as well as make my own hinges. At some point, I'd cut out the trunk also. I'd brace the inside first however as the hinge retainers would need more real estate to rest on.

As the months have wore on since I got the printer, there's always something new I'm finding out. I hope in the not too distant future to get a second bigger and newer printer (same brand), and I'll be curious to find out if I'm still having the same issues with missing supports whenever there's any open areas edited out.

Edited June 7, 2022 by MrObsessive

[stinkybritches]

That looks great, Bill. Thanks for sharing your thought process on this.

[MrObsessive]

1 hour ago, stinkybritches said:

That looks great, Bill. Thanks for sharing your thought process on this.

Thanks Rob, and you're welcome! ?

[MeatMan]

For those interested in my free files, I've updated the Rotofaze distributor by adding the caps and capacitors.

Also, I drew up an Enderle barn door injector. Its not an exact replica but I'm happy about the result.

Both files should be available on my Cults site in a week or so as I haven't printed them yet. I always print my creations to catch any printing issues.

[Spex84]

Nice work Dennis! I modeled a pruned-with-scoops version of the Enderle barndoor a while back. It's just such a cool design! Haven't had many takers, but then again the Tony Nancy dragster kits have one and are still available online.

 

[MeatMan]

5 hours ago, Spex84 said:

Nice work Dennis! I modeled a pruned-with-scoops version of the Enderle barndoor a while back. It's just such a cool design! Haven't had many takers, but then again the Tony Nancy dragster kits have one and are still available online.

 

Thanks Chris. I don't recall seeing yours. I saw one on Shapeways that was never for sale but it wasn't from you. I typically don't offer files that are already out there.

[MeatMan]

A quick how-to for adding a logo to a drawing. I used the free app Meshmixer, but you can use Blender as well.

I made a drawing for a Model T bed to fit my C-cab to convert it to a pickup but I didn't have a way to add the Ford script so I downloaded a free file of a full sized coaster with the Ford logo from Cults.

I pulled the logo into Meshmixer and used the Plane Cut tool to cut away all of the surrounding drawing I didn't need.

Then used the Transform tool to resize it to fit the bed. The key is to have enough material to embed into the original file yet leave enough above the surface to show.

I next imported the bed into the drawing. The program will ask if you want it resized to fit, to which you should select No.

Again I used the Transform tool to move the logo to the appropriate position and moved it so only the text would show beyond the tailgate surface then select .

I then selected Accept to complete the operation.

In the Object Browser I selected both drawings using control/select. A list of options will appear on a panel. Select Combine to complete the operation.

[Spex84]

Awesome tip Dennis!

I used a similar method  in Blender to brute-force a "CHEVROLET" script for a tailgate a while back, starting with a black-and-white image of my desired script and using it as a mask to displace a heavily subdivided plane. It was cruder than your solution, but the technique could be used to create any script.

 

 

[MrObsessive]

Depending on the 3D model and how it was formatted, in Blender you can make it so that the model breaks up into many different parts. You can then pick out that script as a separate object, put it on a plane, and then raise up the scripts using the extrusion feature to whatever size you need.

Then you can convert the script to a .stl file, scale it in your printer (I'd make a number of them) as you'd want the "base" the script is on to be a few mm's thick. Once the scripts are finished printing, you can then take very thin cheap kitchen foil and then make an epoxy casting of that. Very carefully remove the scripts when the epoxy fully hardens, or simply carefully burnish around the foil, cut out the script, and you're all set.

At least this is how my crazy mind is working!  

[Mattilacken]

Made som cad files will se how they turn out when @Ghost_33 print them for me.

C1500 headlights:

Chassi parts with nuts.

Wheel with adjustable offset, Federal Tire mud terrain, and GMPP valve covers. Made in 1/16 scale for Revell's Baja chevy, need to make a grill for that one as well.

 

And a converted and modifyed part from an other fabricator i belive at Grabcad.

[peteski]

9 hours ago, Mattilacken said:

Made som cad files will se how they turn out when @Ghost_33 print them for me.

C1500 headlights:

Chassi parts with nuts.

The headlight reflectors  looks strange. Like they are "pixelated"?  How will that print out?

[Mattilacken]

4 hours ago, peteski said:

The headlight reflectors  looks strange. Like they are "pixelated"?  How will that print out?

Hum you are right. They are not pixelated but several curves in rhem.. might be to complex or what do you think? It’s to simulate as the real ones are.  Bettet pic but still looks os, might have to do with material and reflections in the program.:

Edited July 15, 2022 by Mattilacken

[peteski]

Oh, ok.  The other angles do show the surfaces better. As long as the surfaces are there, those should print correctly.  You probably assigned high reflectivity to surfaces of those reflectors, so when they are rendered on the computer screen they looks strange.

[MeatMan]

I had decided that I have more projects than time, so I told myself that I wouldn't buy any more kits or bodies, and I stuck to that.

What I didn't do was not pay to print one.

I came across this beauty on Cults for free. Its called a Holden Efijy. I fell in love with the clean lines and classic curves.

I cleaned the file up in Blender and Meshmixer (very little) to make it printable, then farmed out the printing to Cloudcraft for $27.50.

The results are truly impressive. the resin used resulted in a nice print with a bit of elasticity to it.

I'm including a pic of the 1:1 for those like me who had never seen the car before. Its on a stretched C5 chassis, mine will be a curbie though.

I'm in no rush to build it but I had to add it to the long list of somedays.

[crowe-t]

I sent some files to a guy to have printed in 3D resin.  Some of the parts I received feel sticky.  The parts all feel rubbery and are not hard like regular resin.  Is there something wrong?

[stinkybritches]

8 hours ago, crowe-t said:

I sent some files to a guy to have printed in 3D resin.  Some of the parts I received feel sticky.  The parts all feel rubbery and are not hard like regular resin.  Is there something wrong?

Usually this means the parts weren't cleaned and cured properly. At least that's my experience from printing stuff for myself. I would get some IPA and a toothbrush, preferably one you are not using for your teeth, and scrub it, rinse it, dry it thoroughly, and put it in a sunny window for 30 minutes or more. Repeat the process if it still feels sticky and soft. If it's not sticky, but still a little soft, leave it in the window and check it periodically. When it feels good to you remove it from the window. If it stays soft then it's likely to be bad resin or very flexible resin. Hope this helps.

[crowe-t]

7 minutes ago, stinkybritches said:

Usually this means the parts weren't cleaned and cured properly. At least that's my experience from printing stuff for myself. I would get some IPA and a toothbrush, preferably one you are not using for your teeth, and scrub it, rinse it, dry it thoroughly, and put it in a sunny window for 30 minutes or more. Repeat the process if it still feels sticky and soft. If it's not sticky, but still a little soft, leave it in the window and check it periodically. When it feels good to you remove it from the window. If it stays soft then it's likely to be bad resin or very flexible resin. Hope this helps.

Yes this is a big help.

[khier]

On 2/27/2022 at 11:58 AM, MrObsessive said:

I printed up these wire wheels from a file I got from a follower on FB. At first, the wheels would not cooperate as I kept getting either warped rims, or a number of the spokes wouldn't come out right.

I decided to position them in Chitubox at 90 degrees with light supports all around, except I wanted none touching the spokes. I think that's what the problem was earlier. Chitubox automatically wants to place some supports there, so I went in and deleted them where they were touching.

I went for broke and printed a dozen of them............they're in two different widths for the front and rear. These are the wheels I want to use on the 1/25 IMC kit '64 Ford GT40 which the 1:1 initially ran with wire wheels early on.

Here are some pics.................

A few wheels had a couple of "distressed" spokes..........

While the spoke might appear "curved", once they were cleaned off, dried, and then put in my UV curing box, they did straighten out.

I'm going to adjust the bottom exposure time just a bit more. Right now it's set at 25.000s/mm, but I'm going to drop it down to about 20/22. Too low of a setting, and the parts won't adhere to the build plate, but I hope that alleviates some of the "sticking" and "catching" on the FEP in the initial layers which causes issues early on with printing.

Oh! Almost forgot...............I originally printed a set of wheels with a shallower rim for the GT40. I mocked those up on the IMC model as shown below.

While those weren't bad, Walid Khier  of FB (the designer of the .STL file) had said he can make the file so that it has a larger rim which he did. Those are the wheels I just printed out and will eventually be used on this future WIP.

 

I am here also, Bill, not only on FB.

[iamsuperdan]

Had a weird discovery last night. 

So a few months ago, I printed this Dalek. Nice clean print, went well, hollowed it out, added internal supports. I guess I forgot a drain hole in the bottom. What I am assuming happened is that the uncured liquid resin that was left over inside, and maybe the fumes it was giving off (??) caused some pressure build up inside, and with some added heat (it's been quite warm here this past week) it just popped. Luckily, it wasn't on display, and was actually sitting in a little lid/tray thing, awaiting paint.

So of course, I immediately went to look and all the prints I could find to see if anything else was happening. So far, no.

Anyone else had this happen? 

[Kenmojr]

Sketchfab has a few cars. Some are free. They have both 3D scans of real cars captured via photogrammetry and models that are created completely from scratch in Blender, 3DMax, Maya or CAD apps. Most are downloadable in OBJ format or FBX. which can be converted in some 3D apps to STL.

This raw scan is on $9.99

Rusty Bakery Wagon (Raw Scan) - Buy Royalty Free 3D model by Renafox (@kryik1023) [e3f7073] (sketchfab.com)

[MeatMan]

On 8/19/2022 at 10:19 AM, iamsuperdan said:

Had a weird discovery last night. 

So a few months ago, I printed this Dalek. Nice clean print, went well, hollowed it out, added internal supports. I guess I forgot a drain hole in the bottom. What I am assuming happened is that the uncured liquid resin that was left over inside, and maybe the fumes it was giving off (??) caused some pressure build up inside, and with some added heat (it's been quite warm here this past week) it just popped. Luckily, it wasn't on display, and was actually sitting in a little lid/tray thing, awaiting paint.

So of course, I immediately went to look and all the prints I could find to see if anything else was happening. So far, no.

Anyone else had this happen?

Never had it happen but I've read that it is what could occur if you didn't leave a drain hole.

[Kenmojr]

Perhaps there should be a room or section - not sure which they are called here for "3D Printing, modeling and Computer Talk" as this is a very complicated and broad topic that also involves computer hardware, software, 3D modeling apps (3D Max, Blender, Lightwave, Silo3D, Cinema 4D, etc) vs CAD programs (Autocad, Turbocad, etc) vs Sculpting apps (Mudbox, Zbrush, 3DCoat), polygonal modeling vs nurbs & curves, graphic cards come into play as well as it seems most prefer Nvidia over AMD because of CUDA support, 3D scanners vs photogrammetry and which photogrammetry software (Meshroom, Reality 3D, MetaShape, 3D Zephyr, etc), what type of 3D printer FDM, SLP, etc.

I can see this thread going into multiple directions.

Just my 2 cents and sorry if I offended anyone, not my intent.

 

[Kenmojr]

I've been following Rod Halligan on Instagram and Youtube for a couple of years now.

He is an automotive designer who uses Blender and Rhino 3D

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/rod_halligan_1/

youtube

 

He used to have a lot of Blender youtube tutorials on modeling cars mostly Porches and Ferraris. But he also modeled hot rods and the Duesenberg Mormon Meteor, however he removed all his tutorials when Ferrari was opposed to Rod using the prancing horse logo on his 3D creations, Rod took down all the 3D modeling tutorials and left youtube. However he has recently returned but with no car modeling tutorials. Rod is a gifted 3D modeler.

 

I also  like Andy Luck who models cars in Blender  and a very talented 3D artist. I also follow him on Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/andy.luck3rdfeb/ and on youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcYqDLSZZVs_4Ng7_0Vsduw  where he has lots of car modeling tutorials. We are also friends on Facebook and chat regularly. He has been a wealth of information to me.

 

Andy is also a friend of the gent you owns AMF model cars.

https://www.instagram.com/amfmodelcars/?hl=en

 

[crowe-t]

I had sent some files of Sci-Fi ships from the 1980's TV show V to someone to print in resin and he did a terrible job.  The parts weren't cured so they were sticky and soft and warped.  I don't think the guy knew what he was doing.  I mentioned this in a post in this thread on August 9th.  I'd still like to have these printed in resin but I don't have the space for a printer in my apartment.  Is there anyone here who can help with this?    

[MeatMan]

On 8/25/2022 at 12:10 AM, crowe-t said:

I had sent some files of Sci-Fi ships from the 1980's TV show V to someone to print in resin and he did a terrible job.  The parts weren't cured so they were sticky and soft and warped.  I don't think the guy knew what he was doing.  I mentioned this in a post in this thread on August 9th.  I'd still like to have these printed in resin but I don't have the space for a printer in my apartment.  Is there anyone here who can help with this?    

Did you see my previous post about using Cloudcraft? They have guarantees and use a network of trusted printers, and can get quotes before sending your drawing.

If I need another body printed that's too big for my print bed I'd happily use them again.

https://craftcloud3d.com/upload