A 3D printing virgin

And I remember someone saying "I'll never have one" , I do remember saying something similar about O gauge .

Welcome the 3d Printers club.

Interestingly, when trying to answer one of your recent questions, I loaded up the Mono printer config. to check the settings and file extensions differences between the printers.

I loaded up the HR Passenger tank roof. Angled it at 45 degrees in both the x & y planes.

Auto added light supports, then added heavy supports in non-visible areas, to give .....



I also use a raft, this gives a base that sticks well to the buildplate.

Using the default settings for the resin I got the following times

Original Photon print time 10h 41m 48s, using 10.62 ml of resin
Photon Mono (Mossy's printer) - print time 3h 38m 55s, again using 10.62ml of resin.

The difference here is down to the Mono LCD print screen, cure time Photon uses 18 sec for each normal layer, and 115sec for each base layer, whereas the Mono uses 2 sec per normal layer and 40 sec for the base layer (probably could be reduced).

On both of these printers I could have probably squeezed a second print on to the build plate (the rafts would overlap).

Now for the Mono X print time 4h 5m 34s, and again 10.62 ml resin.

Why is this longer than the Mono, it's down to the lift height, the Mono and Photon both lift the build plate 6mm to ensure the print comes off the fep. The Mono X is a bigger printer, and I've found a lift of 10mm is required to reliably get the print off the fep. Default setting for the Mono X is 8mm, but I kept getting failed prints, I'd rather take the extra time for the lift.

However I could fit 6 on the build plate, and still only take 4h 5m 34s to print, and would use 63.6 ml resin (yep 6 x 10.62).

When I ordered my Mono X my intension was to print small items on the Photons, and bigger items on the Mono X. The example print times above are reflected in the way I use the printers, I use the Mono X almost exclusively as the print times are so much faster, the exception will come if I need to print a whole passenger tank, as the 16h print time of the body on the Mono X would mask the 11h print time of the photon printing the roof. It probably explains why the price of the Photon has plumeted, and for me if either of the Photons developed a fault, I'd be tempted to replace them with a Mono rather than repair it .

Another point to consider is File names and program usage.

When you slice the model, it uses the Printer model config and resin to produce the print file, so over time I've realised I needed to get some structure to the file naming.

So for the roof print above I used the following file naming schema

All my files are in the HR Passenger Tank folder

Project file - always worth saving as you can reload it and change the settings i.e. Printer model, resin type

chit_05_stdGray_Roof_x6_v2.chitubox

Print file

chit_05_stdGray_Roof_v2_x6.pwmx

the first section is the slicer software used chit (Chitubox) pws (Photon Workshop) lyc (Lychee)
second section 05 - is the layer height used in this case 0.05mm, I also use 0.025 for the Mono X
third is the resin profile used stdGray - my AnyCubic Standard Grey profile, I find this also works for the Anycubic Eco White resin, and Elegoo Grey resin
Now the part name and quantity Roof_v2_x6
and finally the file extension .pwmx, this is printer model dependant, for the Anycubic printers I tried to make files for, the original Photon is .photon, The Mono is .pwmo and the Mono X is .pwmx

By saving the project file you can easily modify the settings then slice and save in the format you need, and when you need to print the file you can easily select the relevant file for the resing / printer setting you are about to use.

Paul

 

Forgot to put the 6x models pic



Paul

 

The darkside has claimed another lamb to the slaughter I see.

Toto

 

Hi Mossy

Even at full price I think the Mono is a good buy, and at the price you paid is a great deal. I may be tempted my self, faster cure times and only need to put half the resin into the vat.

For the smaller printers, keep your trial 250ml resin bottle, once empty.

I never put used resin back (that's resin that has been put into the vat) into the original bottle.
I currently have 4 used resin bottles in use a 250ml bottle used for Green resin, 500ml bottles for Std Grey, Eco White and a re-purposed grey bottle for Craftsman Grey (basically washed out with used IPA, then cleaned in the Ultrasonic cleaner, and finally wased in water and allowed to dry. I know this is overkill, but I don't know if they are compatable.
I have mixed standard resins, as my Black ran out I started to add fresh grey resin to the "used resin", and the same with Standard Grey and White.

The resin will seperate out, so give the bottle a good shake before use. I don't always return the resin in the vat back to the used bottle after each print, but will give the resin a stir with the plastic scraper.
At the end of each print job, if there is any evidence of a print fail, then empty the vat through a filter back into the used bottle, then clean and check the fep.

Paul

 

Hi Mossy

Dunna worry about it you soon will have an empty bottle

The print is looking good, I can see a fleet of these running soon .

Just think in 4mm you could print 3 at a a time.

I seem to remember the black is semi-translucent, just like the green, it also allows it to cure better.
If the sides feel strong enough, and they print ok then give it a go.

What angle did you print it at ?

As a test (if you want to try it)

From the Any cubic site your XY Res.: 0.051mm

So try setting the layer height to 0.051, and rotate the model 45 degrees on both the X & Y axis, you may need to rotate the Z to get the model to fit better on the build plate.

If it works, the lines on the end should disapear.

Paul

 

Yes, presumably you are thinking of them being bent in multi planes similar to the Rocking lever below? (NER S3 inside motion)?


it's done like this







Then extrude the first sketch



Then extrude the second sketch using the intersect command rather than new body or join

 

Does it matter that they are translucent ( I am thinking that paint and weathering will cure that) or are they just not thick enough?

 

Hi Mossy

For the brake gear, tilt the gear 15 to 30 degrees.
Use light supports only, reduce the Contact Depth, and you may need to up the Density %



The contact depth is the distance into the model the support embeds into the model.

Oh I forgot change the Contact shape from none to sphere.

By reducing the contact depth and changing to a sphere the contact patch is smaller, hence the reason to up the Density to increase the number of supports so that the model is still held in position.

Once the print is completed wash then remove the supports they should be soft and come of easily.

Paul

 

Hi Mossy

There are a few devotee's of the black art within the forum, and we're growing in number

For springs, I thought about using concentric tubular cylinders with a wall thickness of approx 1mm, put a 0.1 or 0.2 mm radius fillet on both edges, then join to the next tube.
However in fusion there is the ability for offsets, so again something similar could be done.

Or

Import a photo of the spring as a canvas, and trace the spring assembly.

I need to work on the second option as I now have my Fusion 360 learning projects, I ordered 3 sets of drawings from the Gauge O Guild library. The drawings have dia grams for 5 wagons between them

3811 HR Lowsided & 8 Tons Medium wagons
3810 HR 8 Ton Ventillated Meat Van
3809 HR 8 Ton goods wagon - Type A, & HR 7 Ton Timber wagon Type L

The wagons all have 9ft wheelbase, the meat van has an 11ft wheel base.

For the W irons, I'm not sure whether to 3D print them, or buy in etched ones or etch my own

Paul