In last week’s post I spoke about Shapeways’ ‘Orientation Tool’ for their FUD and FXD materials and my intention to make all my locomotive shells available with this option.  You can read the post here.

My plan was to have both the new orientated models available as ‘Deluxe’ versions and the originals as a cheaper option.  And that’s what I’ve done with the Alco C-855 and C-855B.  However, after working through the other models it became apparent that the price didn’t really change.  By moving the position of parts the price of the model dropped and so the increase caused by using the ‘Orientation Tool’ setting was offset.  So all the other models have simply been converted to have the ‘Orientation Tool’ set for the best quality print by making it print the right way up.

Locomotive shells without the orientation set:

Alco C-855

Alco C-855B

Locomotive shells with the orientation set:

Alco C-855 Deluxe

Alco C-855B Deluxe

Alco C855 Shell Only

Alco C855B Shell Only

Baldwin DT6-6-2000

Baldwin DT6-6-2000 Dummy

Baldwin DT6-6-2000 Shell Only

Baldwin RT-624

Baldwin RT-624 Shell Only

EMD DD35

EMD DD35 Dummy

The new locomotive shells I’m working on will all be set to the best print quality from the start and the models will be designed to make them less expensive in the printer.  So for now the ‘Deluxe’ versions just apply to the large Alco C-855s but maybe this will come in useful with some of the HO scale locomotives I have planned, allowing me to offer differently priced versions.

3D printing locomotive shells with Shapeways has always been a gamble as regards to the orientation of the shell on the print bed.  Understandably, in order keep the cost of the print sensible, the print ended up on its side or totally upside-down as this is the cheapest way for them to print.  The disadvantage is often the best surface finish would be on the underside of the model.

However back in the beginning of October this year Shapeways added their ‘Orientation Tool’ for the FUD and FXD materials allowing the 3D print orientation to be fixed by the designer; me!  You can read more about the tool on my post here.

My original intention was to immediately set all my locomotive shells to print orientated in such a way as to give the best finish possible.  But this does come at a cost,  especially with large locomotives like my Alco C-855 which has a huge volume of space under the shell.  This space needs to be totally filled with support material in order to print the roof.

After experimenting with different compromises and ideas I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to cut corners; the best has to be available for those who want it but it was unfair to simply push all the prices up to achieve this.  So I have decided to offer both:  prints as they have always been as well as the shells with the orientation which will be set at the higher price.

My new models on Shapeways will be called ‘Deluxe’ and will include the Alco C-855 & C-855B, the EMD DD35 and the Baldwin DT6-6-2000 & RT-624.

Both models will be offered in FUD and FXD materials.  The FXD ‘Deluxe’ will be the ultimate 3D print available.  Hopefully all the models will be available on Shapeways by next week’s post.

As for new locomotive shells designs, well, I may design them differently.  Doing things such as making the roof a separate part would bring the cost down dramatically by reducing the amount of support material needed, but this does raise some stability issues as well as creating a joint which would need to be concealed. However that’s the challenge, and I do have something on the drawing board, but that will have to wait for another post.