Modelrailroad quality printing
Ladies/Gents,
I am thinking of buying the MK3S. Firstly or mainly to print 3D parts/buildings/models for H0 (1:87) railroading.
I did see 1 or maybe 2 items on this forum concerning H0 printing.
Still, my big question before buying is: is the printing quality ' fine' enough, detailed enough to actually use for 1:87 sceneries ?
Is there anyone of you that has some pictures of 1:87 models printed with a prusa printer. Maybe the printer is not expensive, but it still is a lot of money.So I would not mind being a bit more certain that I can actually use it for its purpose 😀
Hope to hear from you.
Thanks,
Roos
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
Printed at 0.1mm layers, 0.4mm nozzle. PLA.
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
He,
HO is such a big scale 😊 . we chose the MK3S for its fine print for our 1/160 scale models
PLA EVO (3Donline) , 0.15/0.20 nozzles (trianglelab) , 0.08 layers with Cura 4.0.0 " adaptive layers"
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
I can print 1:100 scale (15mm) vehicles without too much fuss. Figures are definitely more work, but scenery and vehicles are definitely doable.
The model on the left was printed with a 0.25mm nozzle, the one on the right a 0.40mm nozzle. The tracks were printed laying down. You can see the difference the nozzle size makes for detail. You want a nozzle small enough to be able to print the small details you want, but not so small as to slow the print down to ridiculous times.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
The tracks were printed laying down.
Do you mean the tracks and wheels were printed separately and added to the body?
i3 Mk3 [aug 2018] upgrade>>> i3MK3/S+[Dec 2023]
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
Yes, in this case they were printed separately and face-up. A finer nozzle will give you better detail along the horizontal plane, so I oriented the treads upwards to get the detail to print. Finer layer heights will give you better detail along the vertical. Finding the right mix to get the detail you want without needlessly slowing down is half the fun.
Here are a couple of prints done standing with supports. I think they were done at 0.15mm layer height, but I'm not sure. The tread and wheel details are decent, but nowhere near as crisp.
[*sigh* Forum doesn't like images suddenly. Here's the image link.]
If you're going to be post-processing and painting, don't get too hung up on tiny details. Those prints were done the 1st month I had my Mk3 and I was comparing the results with metal miniatures I used to game with. Even my worst quality is better than most of the metal I paid dearly for a few years earlier! Wish I'd had my Prusa when I was regularly gaming with my boys.
Just took a look, and it looks like a lot of people are doing 3D prints for HO railroading.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
What you can do is develop your model and have a sample printed by another model rail that does has a PRUSA Printer for your evaluation. I attended the last East Penn Traction Club meet in Allentown, PA and there were 2 clinics on 3D Printing. The one clinic was put on by the current president and he was printing streets, tracks, and much more for his HO traction layout and he had a modular layout there to demo his work. The 2nd fellow came all the way from Paris, France and prints primarily N scale. What attracted me to his work was an beautiful pair of O Scale trucks for a North Shore freight car. He is going to print me a pair of those. You can see the quick video clip of the HO modular at the 4:25 minute mark on my YouTube which is a series of stitched together still shots and video taken at the convention.
John Wubbel
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
@tim-m30: Darn.....
@philippe-m11: Darn....
@bobstro: Darn ....
I made up my mind. Thanks a lot and maybe 'forum you' in a few weeks !
Roos
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
@tim-m30: Darn.....
@philippe-m11: Darn....
@bobstro: Darn ....
I made up my mind. Thanks a lot and maybe 'forum you' in a few weeks !
Roos
Hi Roos,
do you have specific models you are thinking of printing, available online to download?
Texy
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
@texy
Yes and no.
I want to start with (the facades of) buildings. Flat, maybe windows and doors printed seperately and glued on the facade. Than spraypaint. Brick details are 'Important'.
If I can not find STLs on the net, I'll try to make simple designs with freeware like sketchup.
after that,plenty of ideas and wishes. Probably no rolling stuff like cars, but more stationary stuff like.... Mailboxes, signs, signposts, fences etc.
But.... One step at a time they say 🙂
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
printing facades like you would print lithophanes should give you good surface details. ( print then vertically instead of laying flat on the bed). yo will either need to support the wall as it prints or print 2 or more joined walls as part of a complete building
RE: Modelrailroad quality printing
Printing the buildings will be easy, just print them ground up, all four walls at a time. Super simple and gives best resolution for which ever nozzle you are using. A 0.4 nozzle provides about 0.25 mm radius, a 0.25 a 0.15 radius; or "sharpest detail". 0.15 mm is pretty small.