06-10-2017, 02:01 AM
After much head scratching due to some incorrect instructions in the build manual, I've managed to get my 3D printer built, set up and working. I've still got a LOT to learn about it, but after a couple of attempts at calibrating it by printing an N Scale coal car (none of those worked, and I had to take some of the printer apart and put it back together to get things working), I've managed to print out the cab from an EMD SW1500.
I've got the files for the rest of the locomotive, and I'm planning on trying to build a working switcher from it, as it has so far cost me pennies for the printing material. If I can successfully do so, I'll have instantly justified the expenditure on getting the 3D printer!
![[Image: 35211063255_e4afe53d91_b.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4212/35211063255_e4afe53d91_b.jpg)
For the technologically inclined, I would most definitely recommend getting a 3D printer. I'm loving it already, and I've barely scratched the surface.
![[Image: 35170932526_7328766478_b.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4243/35170932526_7328766478_b.jpg)
![[Image: 35211062815_e1fffe703a_b.jpg]](https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4285/35211062815_e1fffe703a_b.jpg)
As you can see, there are currently some quite pronounced printing lines on the model, and some places will need filling in where the filament didn't extrude correctly. On top of this, the tops of the windows aren't great, as the heated material didn't cool fast enough to keep a rigid shape before it set. This is a known issue with printing in PLA on some of the cheaper printers, but there's a pretty simple fix - fit a shroud around the extruder heatsink that directs the cold air from the cooling fan down and onto the extruder nozzle, which will cool the material faster as it leaves the heated nozzle.
I don't think you can buy these shrouds yet, however the great thing about the 3D printing community is that they tend to just 3D print their own solutions! Someone on one of the forums for my model of printer designed and uploaded the files to 3D print your own shroud, so that's next on my list of things to print!
If I was excited about the possibilities of the printer BEFORE I got it, now I'm truly over the moon. Once I've got it figured out, I'm going to 3D print soooooo much stuff!
I've got the files for the rest of the locomotive, and I'm planning on trying to build a working switcher from it, as it has so far cost me pennies for the printing material. If I can successfully do so, I'll have instantly justified the expenditure on getting the 3D printer!
For the technologically inclined, I would most definitely recommend getting a 3D printer. I'm loving it already, and I've barely scratched the surface.
As you can see, there are currently some quite pronounced printing lines on the model, and some places will need filling in where the filament didn't extrude correctly. On top of this, the tops of the windows aren't great, as the heated material didn't cool fast enough to keep a rigid shape before it set. This is a known issue with printing in PLA on some of the cheaper printers, but there's a pretty simple fix - fit a shroud around the extruder heatsink that directs the cold air from the cooling fan down and onto the extruder nozzle, which will cool the material faster as it leaves the heated nozzle.
I don't think you can buy these shrouds yet, however the great thing about the 3D printing community is that they tend to just 3D print their own solutions! Someone on one of the forums for my model of printer designed and uploaded the files to 3D print your own shroud, so that's next on my list of things to print!
If I was excited about the possibilities of the printer BEFORE I got it, now I'm truly over the moon. Once I've got it figured out, I'm going to 3D print soooooo much stuff!