I FINALLY GOT A 3D PRINTER!!!

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T

TheXModelRailroader

RANK AMATEURS OF THE MODEL RAILROAD FORM FOUNDER
Hey guys.
I have been busy the last few weeks (On some other hobbies), but I just wanted to share that I finally got my first eve 3d printer. As you may recall, I have been printing some items at a friends house. But this is not ideal, as I never wanted to over use it. My dad had a printer, but he swapped the board and ran into problems. So I snagged a Monoprice mini v1 for 45 bucks! Which was nice!
Ironically, NOW Dad figured out what he will do with his printer. 😒 So we will have two soon. LOL.
So as you can imagine, I will be busy with this (Well, for a little while. I can only use it when we have warm days. Outbuilding.). For the next few days I will run test prints. I do have a loco model I will be printing, but you will hear about that soon!
So just wanted to share. Thanks for checking in.
 
Here is a (Stock) photo.
 

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TheXModelRailroader said:
Hints....
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That may be a very useful engine.
🤣 🤣 🤣

I would love to get a 3D printer. Not only for this hobby, but for others as well. Two things hold me back: 1.) Price, and 2.) Knowledge of CAD design. OnShape is pretty cool in that it is all online and they have all kinds of tutorials, but with stuff like this, I'm finding that self learning is not going well for me. 🤦‍♂️
 
KB02 said:
That may be a very useful engine.
🤣 🤣 🤣
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Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Very good eye! 👀
KB02 said:
I would love to get a 3D printer. Not only for this hobby, but for others as well.
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Yes! That is exactly like me. I have many things in mind.
KB02 said:
Two things hold me back: 1.) Price,
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Always keep your eyes out! I am young, so trust me, price was a factor. But if you keep your eyes out locally, you might be able to snag one for a good price. Ebay and FB Marketplace (FB always has some). I would definitely encourage it!
KB02 said:
and 2.) Knowledge of CAD design. OnShape is pretty cool in that it is all online and they have all kinds of tutorials, but with stuff like this, I'm finding that self learning is not going well for me. 🤦‍♂️
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Onshape is good, but I would suggest Tinker Cad and fee Cad. Free Cad is open source, so it will always be free. But I have not learned it yet. I am starting with tinker Cad (Which is also free, and can be used in a browser. So you could start right away), and I would recommend this to any modeler! It is easy, and now has gotten pretty advanced, without being to complicated. A lot of people underestimate it.

Also remember, there are quite a lot of free things you can print even without modeling! This engine I am printing was a model made by someone on tinker cad, slightly modified by me.
So don't give up! I would encourage anyone interested in 3d printing to embark on this journey!
 
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I've been using sketchup, but they took away the import function from the free version, so now I can only use it to design my own stuff. I've tried tinkercad, but it is very limited. Freecad is not intuitive at all and I have not gotten anywhere with it. Autodesk fusion is way over my head but the detail that it can do is very good.
BOXCAB FUSION DETAIL.jpg


For filament, I use PLA mostly and like esun brand. Seems to be more consistent than overture or bambulabs. You'll need to get a dryer as PLA starts absorbing water and prints get weird. Some of the other filament types require drying before using.

From what I've seen you do so far, you'll be using this thing a lot. Look forward to seeing your projects!
 
Kusojiji said:
I've been using sketchup,
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Cool.
Kusojiji said:
but they took away the import function from the free version,
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Not Cool.
Kusojiji said:
so now I can only use it to design my own stuff. I've tried tinkercad, but it is very limited.
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I know what you mean, but sometimes you have to think out of the box with this one. Especially if all you re doing is making a minor change to a model. 👍 Have you seen the new Sketch tool?
Kusojiji said:
Freecad is not intuitive at all and I have not gotten anywhere with it.
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Yep. That's why I haven't done much with it yet. :confused:
Kusojiji said:
Autodesk fusion is way over my head but the detail that it can do is very good.
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Yes. Sucks that its not free anymore. Always looked a little easier then Free Cad.
Kusojiji said:
For filament, I use PLA mostly and like esun brand. Seems to be more consistent than overture or bambulabs. You'll need to get a dryer as PLA starts absorbing water and prints get weird. Some of the other filament types require drying before using.
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Yes. Or a dehydrator. You can do it in a oven as well.
Kusojiji said:
From what I've seen you do so far, you'll be using this thing a lot. Look forward to seeing your projects!
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Thank you so much! And, I got a feeling you will be right. 😅 Did you make the box cab? Or is that someone else's?
 
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That guy is a master of tinkercad. That would definitely require a different way of thinking. I need to be able to get measurements into designs and haven't figured out how to do that. Also, tinkercad works in 2d world. In order for me to drill a hole, I had to make a cylinder, pick up the model and drop it over or vice versa. When I needed a headlamp hole, I had to rotate the model to stand it on its face and drop it over the cylinder. Sketchup was extrude a hole. I think fusion was the same way.

The box cab is bunkerhusky's design. He designed it in fusion. The furthest I got in fusion was to punch a hole in the headlight and insert some tail light holes for LEDs.
 
Kusojiji said:
That guy is a master of tinkercad. That would definitely require a different way of thinking. I need to be able to get measurements into designs and haven't figured out how to do that. Also, tinkercad works in 2d world. In order for me to drill a hole, I had to make a cylinder, pick up the model and drop it over or vice versa. When I needed a headlamp hole, I had to rotate the model to stand it on its face and drop it over the cylinder. Sketchup was extrude a hole. I think fusion was the same way.

The box cab is bunkerhusky's design. He designed it in fusion. The furthest I got in fusion was to punch a hole in the headlight and insert some tail light holes for LEDs.
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Yes. That is the the thing about tinkercad. It is the only Cad program to work like that. So You have to think outside the box.
I am assuming you mean you need to be able to get measurements into designs into tinkercad (Or in general)?
Cutting holes IS different then in other Cads, but you can turn he cylinder on its side (Instead of moving your model so much) to do so.
 
In case you (Or anyone) was wondering.
1.png


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Drag the rule tool over to the model. Right along the ege.
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Change sizes as desired. You can also change what you are measuring by in the settings.
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To easily cut a hole...
(Mockup head lamp BTW 😅 )
In image 8, resize as needed.
in image 10, I am showing the ALIGNTOOL.
 

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Cool! thanks for the lessons! I will have to give it another go. From what I've done so far, the ruler tool didn't allow me to make measurements on specific parts of the object, only the main object itself.
 
Kusojiji said:
From what I've done so far, the ruler tool didn't allow me to make measurements on specific parts of the object, only the main object itself.
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Glad to help! From what I know, unless you made the model yourself or unless the 3d model is saved a a project (with each step made), I don't think any Cad will let you let you resize a specific part, not once it is saved as a whole model. But I could be wrong. :)
 


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