Board index ‹ Talking T Gauge Forum ‹ 3D Printing for T Gauge

[dkightley]

.....delayed for a few days!

I've been experimenting with some new items of rolling stock that I think will be of interest to those who are modelling modern UK layouts.........but I'm not at the right point to go public on what they are at the moment. When I'm ready, I guarantee there will be a level of excitement........

So, it's......watch this space!

[dkightley]

Here's a peek.........

P1010784_red.JPG (36.78 KiB) Viewed 12192 times

[Towers]

Ooooo. Is that 3D printed and coloured as part of the 3d printing process??? That would open up a world of possibilities for T!

[dkightley]

Not quite. Colour 3D printing in fine detail is a long way off at present...

The carriage is 3D printed.....but what you're seeing is something quite different.


Whoops!. Have I given the game away??

Unfortunately, I'm struggling to get printer time for these developments.....so it'll be a few days before I can do a big reveal.

[NeilM]

Watching this one very closely to find out more!

Printing of 3d printed items is currently possible from Shapeways, and I have used it for N scale road vehicles, but as you say it is nowhere near good enough yet for T scale due to a low resolution and overly large minimum detail size and wall thickness on the material used. A way to get this work down to the accuracy needed for T gauge stock will be very interesting.

[mattd10]

I'm intrigued....it looks a lot like a printed shell (can you print onto a 3D printed model?). Whatever it is I'll be following with interest. Now the question, is it a mk3 coach or a class 180?

[dkightley]

Unfortunately, I'm still struggling to get printer time to finish off these developments.

I'm getting near the end of printing three large orders for the TTG shop that came in on the same day.....and it just has to be when one of my printers is out of action awaiting a spare part. I had an unattended print fail big time that resulted in a golf ball sized blob of plastic encasing the print head - and removing it damaged the heater & thermocouple!

Now the question, is it a mk3 coach or a class 180?

What a good question?

[dkightley]

Okay......here we go........


I've been working on the first couple of what I'm hoping to be a range of 3D printed modern units. Powered units are designed to fit the nearest appropriately sized power unit and coaches are designed to fit onto the 18 - 23M adjustable chassis. The first two in the range are....and I apologise for the low quality of the photos, which were taken in artificial light by a lousy photographer!:

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The class 170 Turbostar two or three car set, and....

P1010803_red.JPG (94.76 KiB) Viewed 12101 times

The class 180 Adelante five car set.

I intend making these two....and others to follow....available in the Talking T Gauge shop. They will be available printed in plain white and are designed to have colour schemes applied using decals. I will be making available generic decal files that can be coloured in the appropriate company livery and printed directly onto decal paper, either using an inkjet or laser printer.

Here's a few more equally bad photos showing some more details of these two units:

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P1010809_red.JPG (82.81 KiB) Viewed 12101 times

P1010804_red.JPG (100.49 KiB) Viewed 12101 times

P1010808_red.JPG (90.3 KiB) Viewed 12101 times

Having looked at these shots a bit closer......I think the nose of the 170 needs a bit more work!!

[Kupzinger]

Wow! what a train. The decals look great on your 3d printed base! Maybe it is worth to try using a primer and some sand paper as Joe did with his Hudson steam locomotive. The white primer takes away the plastic look and is maybe a better basing for the decal. But, nevertheless, this is a great approach! Congratulations!!!

Cheers
Kupzinger

[mattd10]

These are, without doubt, my favourite modern DMU's. I will certainly be ordering! Fantastic additions!

Can I put in a request too? Any chance you can stretch the 170 so I can model a class 357 that runs through my hometown in glorious Essex? I'm about half way through drawing one up but you've basically beaten me to it!

(also the nose of the 170 looks okay to me...it's a pain to model anyway)