LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution printers

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petrov27
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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by petrov27 »

In regards to the smell, I have found it varies quite a bit with the resin you are using - like the clear green that came with the Photon really smelled strong to me, but I moved to Eegloo gray and it is less bad (oddly I sorta like it but I am sure opinions will differ lol)

I have the S version and it has been working fine and dandy but I have been doing only miniatures for games so far - for that purpose it is pretty amazing - I mean to try some stuff for model auto/F1 soon (I have a Crimson Cow model to try to print plus one thing I am attempting to draw myself...)
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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by sky1911 »

So I got me a Photon as well and have just finished installing the Z-axxis update from Simon Jackson (UK). Most likely I won't have the time to test the whole thing before
the upcoming weekend, but I'm curious as to what tools you use to actually design your parts. I have heard mention of Solidworks a few times and had a quick google at
work only to realize that that is slightly out of budget and since my uni days are almost 2 decades past, I won't be getting any cheap student versions either - sigh.
That aside I've spent most of my 3D working time (again over a decade ago) with 3D Studio max in its various forms. I think I started back when it came on 3.5" disks :).
And I have tried most other 3D modelling tools (at least the bigger ones) with various degrees of success - always came back to 3DS...

So what are you guys using?
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Roman
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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by BMW »

You are opening a can of worms.. ;)
No not really, fortunately you have a few options:
https://www.f1m.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... it=blender

Personally, I am trying to learn Blender, having found Google Sketchup a nightmare, but if you look at the above thread, you can see that scaleautofactory has produced some amazing 3D models using sketchup, and as it is free, then I would try both, see what works for you. Having used 3D Studio max, I think you will find the process of either reasonable to learn.

I did some experimentation with Solidworks (hurray for friends in Engineering schools!) but found that it is not really for us. Functional shapes are easy to create, but whimsical (excuse me... aerodynamic...) shapes are still as hard as in any software, and the cost of it are immense.
I have also heard of freeCAD being used, but not used it myself.

Let us know how it goes; I hope to get a Photon myself at some point.... Hopefully this century.
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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by daniel »

I use Maya 3d...I using it since day one..actually started as a beta tester and before that was a Power Animator user.
Will post some pics of my first Anycubic prints if you like to see them...
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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by sky1911 »

Hi BMW,

well.. back in the days in the little media agency I was working at the time (~'03-'05) I was trying to teach 3DS to my colleague who tried to teach me blender. Let's just say we both failed :D.
I haven't had a second look at blender since then remembering that for some strange reason, its screen was mostly covered by menus and things to adjust and the actual drawing / viewing area was relatively small. So you had to zoom in and out all the time, which I found tiresome. I might have to give it a second look. Plus the menus seemed to change with every iteration. I liked the constant of 3DS.
As for Sketchup - I have used that before, again some years ago and I found it really easy to use. I have recently used the 30 day professional test version to design a few pieces of furniture (wood work) I have built for my place a couple of months ago.

Btw - depending on money and location... you could have gotten the Photon for less than $200 this past black Friday. But if you wait some more, I'm sure something better will surely be just around the corner (as always) and maybe for the same kind of money.

Also thanks for pointing me at the other thread. I don't know how I've missed that one.


Daniel,
I've used Maya and Cinema 4D as well for a trial period (and came back to 3DS after working through several tutorials). Of all the tools I have used, I'm thinking Rhino may be the next best thing for me after 3DS and for what I have in mind. That said, I'm not 100% satisfied with 3DS either. Mostly it revolves around the handling of boolean shapes and the weird geometry that can result from it (sometimes). But working with Sketchup taught me some things. Nowadays I try to break things down into simple base shapes (cube, cylinder, tube) and combine those to make the final shape instead of trying to create a complex shape right away (if that description makes sense to anyone).

And of course I would like to see your work. What a question :P


And all of that aside, I like to try out things I've never done before. And this 3D printing is the latest "thing" for me to have a go at :)

/edit fixed the word wrapping issues.
As an aside Fusion 360 seems interested. I'll give it a go. Not sure how the educational access works. If I have to provide uni credentials... I'm sure mine haven't been working since the late nineties ;)
Cheers,
Roman

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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by daniel »

Here are some parts I printed with my Anycubic Photon. The printer came just in time for the 1/12 Fiat Mefistofele, a model that could use a lot of upgrades/details :)

Image

Same fittings for the fuel lines, the printer is able to print even the smallest holes.

Image

I made many rivets for the body and other parts. I think a real advantage over metal rivets is that you can easily snap of the "stems" on the inside and sand them flush...

Image

New rims fresh from the printer, I also made the hubs. The kit part have not enough spokes and I also updated the shape of the rims a bit. I always print more parts than needed because sometime there are errors in the prints or parts get broken although the prints are very strong...but it can happen especiallay with very small parts. The rims are by far the most complcated parts to print...more on this in the summary :)

Image

New carburetors and linkage...in progress !!

Image

The shifters and handbrkaes...at least that's what I think this is....the kit parts don't have the holes adn not enough detail...

Image

New dashboard, except for the two small round decals all homemade.

Image

New distributor (???) in progress with all parts sepersated for easier painting and I also aded a LOT of detail.

Image

Dashboard in progress and you can see a lot of spares

So far I think the printer is more than amazing but please remeber one thing. When you can't model in 3D you don't need a printer. Other than that it's model, slice print and yes it's that easy.
But you have to get used to the slicing and development settings and some parts are hard to print.

What I've learned...parts like the shifters and small things are super easy to print. But big "volumes" can be very frustrating like the rims for example and the carburetors. I have the feeling that big solid parts with a lot of resin tend to loose it's shape so that small holes are getting closed during the print...hard to explain what I mean...

The first time I printed the carburetors as a solid model and all the small holes dissapeared, so I made them hollow and the holes stayed there.

Same for the rims. As you can see there are two "edges" that go around the rims, these used to be filled/solid and then I lost the holes for the spokes. So I removed the center and the holes stayed there....conclusion, always make "light" hollow parts. I hope I could make My point of view clear in my poor english...
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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by bestbalsakits »

these prints look pretty good! And for that printer price, that's a no brainer.
Will look good on your car.

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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by sh-modeling »

daniel wrote:Other than that it's model, slice print and yes it's that easy.
Does the Anycubic Photon work with .gcode slice files or just it's own file format? I'm still uncertain of buying an Photon, Photon S or maybe an Elegoo Mars printer...
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Re: LF alternative to shapeways with higher resolution print

Post by MoFo »

It runs .photon (or .photons depending on the version), not Gcode. The Mars won't run gcode either; I don't know what file format it runs, but both the Mars and Photon use the same slicer, it's just a matter of selecting the output file format. (specifically, they're both based off Chitu main boards and firmware, so they both run on Chitu's slicer software, Chitubox)

At this point, I'd probably go with a Mars. Both the Mars and Photon(s) are functionally identical printers. The Photon S isn't a real upgrade over the original Photon; it's more a cost savings for the manufacturer. And the latest batch of 'original' Photon printers apparently have the new mainboard from the Photon S, which has locked down some features from the original Photon. So the S is more expensive but no better; and the basic Photon has lost some flexibility, so I'd just go with a Mars because it's at least as good, and cheaper.
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