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:
Locomotive shells with the orientation set:
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.
James' Train Parts 