3D Printing Meets the Model Railroad - Part I

Thursday, March 27, 2014
(Sunny and cold to be followed by snow)

3D Printing Meets the Model Railroad
(Part I)

   I joined Facebook a couple of months ago in order to try and promote my blog. I wrote a post about Facebook, and it's a great site. I can see why Google is trying to promote their Google+.  There is social media,you can post on a daily basis in the blog style with photos, there are advertisements , and of course, you can meet people. 

  I found someone by the name of  Dan Kummer on Facebook who had some very interesting 3D items. I've written about 3D printing last year, but Dan's items were closer to toys, and his items were great. Naturally, I asked a lot of questions, and Dan said that he had some people that he worked with, and they would be better suited anymore-experienced to help me out.  I received an e-mail a few days later from Sherri Johnson who owns a company by the name of CatsPaw Innovations, LLC.  Sherri  wrote back, and provided me al kinds of information, websites, and of course here own website and Facebook page. I was quite impressed at the business acumen of this lady and how well she has been able to set up her business in such a short time! Sherris's partner is Yolanda Hayes, and both are working very hard to get this 21st century company going, which it is doing quite well!

  For today, I'm just going to introduce and talk about some of Sherri's interesting items that she has produced and sells. In the ensuing post, I will be more technical and provide lots of information. For those who don't know, 3D printing is a method of producing real three-dimenional items in the same way as laser jet or inject printing. A dispenser head moves back and forth and instead of adding ink to paper, adds hot liquid plastic from bottom to top, until an item is created.

  When you think just how fast technology has evolved in the last 30 years in the realm of cell phones, computers, and so forth, you can imagine what 3D printing will be like in 5 years and 10 years. The potential for this industry is limitless, and creativity is infinite.

Please click here to visit Sherri Johnson's fine website

Please click here to visit Sherri Johnson's Facebook page

Sherri sent me the link below to a short but very interest video that shows a printer making the character Yoda from the movies. The video excellently illustrates how a 3D printer produces an item in speeded-up time-lapse video. In the video, the machine is pruning with a 1mm (very thin) plastic spool), and later compares the results to a 2 mm spill of material.

Please click here to see a very interesting 3D printing video

   Sherri has been marketing and promoting her company by attending model railroad expositions, because one of her company's product lines is in fact model railroad items. The company produces 4 sizes of accessories:

O-Scale      (1:48)

S-Scale       (1:64)

HO-Scale    (1:87)

N-Scale      (1: 160)

One of my questions to Sherri  had to do with what I call "banding". Since the printing is created with layering and spools of plastic that is melted, you tend to see round lines or bands rising from top to bottom (you can see that in the photos below). Sherri said that you can use very fine snapper to initially smooth out the bandd, and continue with  acetone ( use in a well-ventialted area) in order to smooth out the lines so that they are less apparent.  I'll stop talking here, and continue as I present the photos below.

Since 3D printing is based on reproductions of real-life living beings and things, the output is limitless. There are what I assume are called software engineers or even "techies" who are creating all kinds of items that can be produced by 3D printers.

That BBQ scene above is great, especially with the dog having "stolen" a snack!

Here is a close-up to show you just how small these printers can print.

The photo above illustrates the different scales and sizes that Sherri and her company are working with.

If you watch cable TV, by now you've probably seen at least 3 programs dedicated to Appalachian "creatures", Bigfoot, and a whole host of other "creatures". I would assume the popularity of this being has caught on in the model railroading world, and having a Yeti or Bigfoot in your first is a definite "must have". You can see the banding here, but it's less apparent as this particular model is the largest size.  Of course,in the future, the technology will allow for much smaller diameter filaments of plastic so that the bands will not show.

I keep forgetting just how small these printers can print!

This is great!

That truck came out quite well, and I assume that acetone was used to smooth out the exterior.

I like the storage back in the truck bed, the water cooler, the gas tank, and the 2 cindery cinderblocks. That ladder is fantastic as well.  What's fascinating is how small-sized figures such as people can be "printed out" in different poses. I like how the man's arms are bent.

Here is the actual size of the bricks in the truck photo. 

It's unbelievable just how small items can be printed.

Love that cat, and the man resting against what I assume is an outhouse (outdoor bathroom).

I think that a plastic base is need as the starting point for all 3D prints. I assume one calls the output prints, since the process is printing, but it's still "strange" to me to call this printing.

These are the colours that Sherri provides to her customers.

I saved my favourite for last . The bus comes as a kit that you'll  assemble at home.

Sherri mentioned that the bus took 3 hours to print. I remember when my first inkject printer took what seemed to be a long time to print an 8" x 10 " (300 dpi) or  8202 mm x 254 mm colour print. In a couple of years, this bus will I'm sure be able to print out in much less time. I would also think that the more expensive commercial models could print this item in much less time. 

This latest technology is here to stay.  I've read that NASA (the US space agency) is having contractors use this technology to produce some of the items for future space items. Their rationale is that the technology is less costly that producing with castings and moulds. I'm sure though that safety is of the first concern, and the most important items rare left to perhaps the traditional technologies.

That's all for today, and I'll for sure be writing the next instalment tomorrow or later in the week.

The uses of such technologies are endless. I had asked Sherri about 3D scanners to capture items and then "translate" them into data for printing.  Sherri in fact answered that she has a 3D scanner, and is in fact learning to work with the scanner and  the 3D printer! If I ever get down to Atlanta, Georgia, I got to meet these great businesswomen (Sherri and Yolanda) and of course the machines!

I'll be writing part II about Sherri and Yolanda in the near future. Sherri sent me so much information, that I need to read it and digest it first before writing.  I really appreciate the time and effort that Sherri spent in writing me to answer all of my questions.

Thanks for dropping by to visit,

and as always, 

have a great part of the day or night, 

wherever you may be,

Stacey

please feel free to write me at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Future is Coming!

Monday, February 11, 2013

The Future is Coming!

Introduction

I wrote about an exceptional person and model maker on Saturday February 9, 2013. He's  Mr. Marshall L. Buck . He's a master at making limited edition fine outstanding models for display. He also produces unique 1 of a kind models for people who'd like a scale model of their own unique "Real Cars". The fine detail was exceptional, and there were parts on some cars that I didn't know. 

His company is CMA Models, Inc.

    I decided to venture into areas that I had heard about but never really explored - 3D printers. I has briefly asked Marshall about 3D printing. He had said that it's fine, but for his quality, he still had had to do fine refinements, so there was still work on top of what he had done. 

    My dentist has a machine that is computer-driven. The machine had fine cutting heads or blades that spin at extremely high speed and cut ceramic or some other material to the shape of a crown. My dentist, has to first take several photographs,then enter them into a 3D program, and do some work to get the final 3D design. From there, a solid square or round shape is placed in the machine, and after a time, the crown is produced. It too still has to have several steps to  go through before it is finally ready for the replacement of the tooth.

   My journey on the weekend had me looking at all kinds of 3D printers, and searching for toys produced from these 3D printers. However,  I couldn't find  anything that met the quality that Marshall had produced. I looked and looked, and couldn't find what I wanted. Then I found a photo of a bus, with an interesting story, and  tracked down the owner of the photo - Nate Clowar. 

His bus is very nice, but that was his first model,and so I'm sure he'll get even better. However, I liked the story (below),and Nate took lots of time to help me out. And as I mentioned, it was very hard to find really great photos of 3D Printer toys.

Mr. Nate Clowar

http://clowar.com/Dustbuster.php

(please click on the above address to be redirected to Nate Clowar's site)

     As I mentioned, I saw Nate's photo through a Google search >> Large Images. Sometimes it's hard to find large images, and I wonder why people don't use large photos. I have large photos on Flickr and Picasa, and most people respect the rights of the owner and will not "borrow" ( to put the word politely) a photo without asking for permission. I have seen several of my photos on Pinterest, but decided to let it go. I must be getting softer in my old age! I have asked people to take down my photos, especially on those "sub-sites' that eventually lead you to E-Bay!

    Anyway, from Nate's photo, I was able through Google to be redirected to a site where he is part of many other artists, professionals, and model makers.   Nate's site on the net is http://clowar.com/Dustbuster.php

     That site is on a larger site called  Industria Mechanika, and it has many collaborators  who have sub-sites to present their work and narratives. 

    Nate has worked for the major American car manufacturers, as well as art director and head artist for several gaming companies. His interest had carried him into 3D printing. I don't know much about 3D printers, but programs that Nate works with are quite complex for me.  3D programs that  take photographs from  different camera angles and then combine to create a #D image are called photogrammy programs. However Nate  created his grandfather's bus entirely by computing from his photos! That's a lot of work and skill needed to translate a 2D (Photograph) into a 3D program, and then use a 3D printer to create the final end result.

I've edited this post, because I had made some errors, and Nate most gratiously helped me out. I always ask the people who help me out with posts and photos to proofread the article once I post it.
I did correct what I incorrectly wrote and here's even more material that Nate Collar sent me:

"3DS Max is used for games, architecture, hollywood, etc. It is one of the premier 3D software programs out there. Its also capable of creating .STL files used for 3D printing. There are programs used by engineers and auto companies that create different types of geometry that are for use in creating real word objects that would be a 'step-up' or maybe a step in a different direction...they are for a different purpose. Catia, Solidworks, Pro Engineer, Alias Automotive, etc."

  If you've never seem examples of what these programs do, then  you should take a look at any of the software titles that Nate mentioned! They are unbelievable!

    I had used a 3D program called "Poser" when I taught pro photography. Poser allowed you to take a 3D model of a person, and pose him/her. You could move all parts of the body, and you could light the model with many different lights. I used Poser to show examples of lighting techniques for portraiture.  The program then was exemplary, and today it must be even better!

Here's how I think these 3D programs work:

  A series of photographs from different camera angles are used. From there, the program takes the photographs and create a 3D rendering as you see above. I'm sure there are some instructions as to how the photographs need to be taken in order to extrapolate the 2D photos into a 3D view on the computer monitor. Another criteria that I'm sure of is that you probably need a fast computer, with lots of memory, and a very fast video card for the graphics. 

     Nate made the bus for his grandfather, whom has had a special  fondness for. Above you can see the original bus, the beige/gray 3D image, the actual result (top right photo), and the painting stages.

It's best of you go to Nates' website so that you get larger images.

The photos represent the finished model. I'll have to ask Nate what the windows are made of or of they were part of the original 3D result. They appear to have tape  on them to prevent paint from going on them. The bus from my interpretation appears to have been made in 1 step. In other words, there are no moving parts. Nate mentioned that in the future, he'd produce parts separately. Fomr that, I interpreted, that  them be able to assemble the parts in order to have them move, spin, open and close.

Above are other examples of Nate's designs.

Above is yet another project that he's designing in a 3D software program.

     I did check out several 3D Printer companies, but they seem to work mostly with larger-sized items. However, the 3D software programs, and the 3D Printers, and 3D cutters, such as what my dentist has, are being used right now. NASA is working with a company to create 3D structures in a vacuum with the materials that are available on either the moon or Mars. If you do a search with a few words, you'll come across the project. I've also seen a site that uses microscopic materials to print on.  

Maybe I should have changed today's title to "The Future is now here". However, in terms of Marshall L. Buck's unique creations, I'm  not worried. The 3D industry has a long, long way to go before the craftsmanship, and small parts are able to be made with those  3D printers -  even with those $ 5,000,000.00 ones!

http://www.instructables.com/tag/type-id/?q=clowar&sort=none

    (please go the above website to see a more-thorough write-up as to how Nate  made his 3D bus)

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a great part of the day, wherever you may be.

Stacey