Which is an excellent excuse for manufacturers to charge more than necessary and take longer time to make. I would rather miss out of the clarity of a few rivets but have them made with 3d printing.
3D printing is great for prototyping, but for mass production it is just too slow, there's a good reason why all the 3D print video's on youtube are timelapsed . But that also gives us hobbyists / small traders the chance to produce high quality runs of items that just not viable for mass production Paul
Thanks Paul. I have bought a Roco H0e version of a diesel loco looking very much like this body in the video. It is DCC with sound and is very impressive in sound and performance. Loved the video Thanks again
Many years ago, I was fortunate to get a visit / factory tour of Parside Dundas's premesis in Kircaldy. It was facinating to see both the production injection moulding machines, and the mould making process. At that time thier moulds were two part moulds. These multipart moulds the big boys are using are amazing. Paul
It appears from the film that Roco's process is entirely 'In House', which I guess speeds things up considerably. In the case of UK 'Manufacturers' who outsource to China, with all the "To-ing and Fro-ing" with data, prototypes, corrected prototypes and eventually production, you can see why this results in long lead times from initial announcements to actual delivery of models. No wonder it can be as long as 5 years from initial announcement to shops with stock! Interesting film though, as it gives insight into the obviously complicated process. Keith.