Hideho neighbours!

Smoke from all the fires down in Idaho and Washington have finally cleared off and a great blue sky day here in the Shuswap.

The smell of burning basswood and polybak is back in the air and kits are churning again now that we are back from holidays and have figured out the tariff situation and can ship duty free to the US under the free trade agreement... for now...  Lots of changes in paperwork, but looks to be no effect for our US customers.

Sorry about the digression down the resin casting rabbit hole. This thread is about 3D printed details, which I can't get enough of! That is why our motto is "Detail Insanity". If it can be modeled in HO, than it should be modeled!

Regarding layer lines, here is a good example showing the difference in printing orientation to minimize the lines. (printed on my old dental printer) The photo on the left is printing with the wheel laying flat on the build platform. On the right it is standing up. You can see the supports still attached to the wheel on the right. Both these are printed at 25 micron X,Y and the same build layer thickness.

This is one of the potential disadvantages of 3D resin printing, you always have on face on the part that will not be as good of finish because of the little support nubs. Usually I make that surface on the bottom of the part or the gluing face of the part where it is not visible after assembly.

Quote from: Bernd on September 25, 2025, 10:19:14 AMI don't have a problem using Smooth-On products for resin casting or plaster. I don't use a pressure pot or vacuum chamber. I did use a pressure pot once and found that when you dropped the casting it was almost like a tiny explosion. If you think about it, where does the air go to under pressure? You compress all those bubbles into tiny little grenades.

Actually, I have found through experience and testing that the vacuum degassing process pulls all the nasty bubbles out of the resin before pouring. The bubbles formed while pouring are nominal compared to the mixing process. Where the pressure pot process shines is with small cavities and thin details in the mold where you might get air trapped in thin and long cavities. In fact, compressing the tiny bubbles makes the whole part more homogenous and actually stronger, since all the bubbles are gone and the resin is forced together during curing. If you have exploding /brittle parts after demolding, it is likely due to the mixing process and curing with a bit too much catalyst. Also expired resin usually flashes hotter and much more brittle, at least with smooth-on products. 

If your resin is mixed with too much catalyst the part will cure on the outer surfaces of the casting first and create increased internal stresses when the core cures. With Smooth on products such as Smooth Cast 300 series products, if you get the mix perfect (even though it is quite forgiving on mix ratios) you can watch as the mixed resin turns from clear to white and see the core of the casting turn white first then heading to the outside surfaces. This creates a stress free casting with very little warpage.

As for 3d Printing resin shelf life,  it is usually over a year depending on where you order it from. I have some lesser used colors that are over 3 years old and seems to work just fine. It does take a bit more to mix prior to using as the pigment and UV starches settle to the bottom of the bottle. I am also finding the UV resins are not as picky when coming to storage temperature swings.

 

As a manufacture of detail parts, structures, vehicles, etc. I have experience in both resin casting and resin 3D printing and I have to say that the cost of production is getting cheaper on the 3d printing side of things.  No molds to wear out and replace, no resin and mold making materials going stale. 3D printer equipment costs are now cheaper than buying pressure pots and vacuum chambers for bubble free production castings. For some more detailed casting, making 2 part and 3 part molds was quite tedious. Part warpage is always an issue too.

3D printing does have the mess of cleaning and sprue removal, but resin casting has flash problems as well.  Frankly I found it more messy than resin casting overall along with the panic pressure of getting the resin mixed, vacuumed, poured and into the pressure pot in time.

I am sure there are a lot of pros and cons of both methods, I can say from our point of view, 3D printing is the way of the future for small, highly detailed, complex production parts for sure.

We paid $4500 for our first 3D resin printer back in 2014 which had 30 micron resolution and a 2.5" x 3" print platform.  Now our farm of printers has 20 micron resolution with 6" x 4" print platforms and are a fraction of the cost of our first printer.

Reasonable summer day here in the Shuswap. Taking a bit of time off to do some mods on our little travel trailer. Adding some batteries, storage, and solar panels to allow us to do some serious boondocking and rockhounding this fall after the tourist fade in September.

Detail of the day.

Happy Monday everyone! Beautiful day here in the alpine north, with the smell of fir trees and mountain air, mixed with the intoxicating aromas of lacquer thinners and uv resin...  Working away on a new kit out soon.

your detail of the day!
 

Hideho Neighbours!

Here is a detail shot of the day.

Happy Saturday!  Sun and a balmy 30C today expected. Hope to get some personal modeling time in today.

Keep on Model'n!

Detail of the day:
Seniorita Burrito's Cantina in N Scale. A DPM / scratchbuild. Even has N scale silverware on the tables!

Wow! Where did the day go already!  Sunday's detail:

Happy Saturday!  Cloudy, warm but not hot on the mountain in the Shuswap!

Detail Saturday:

...forgot the detail of the day shot!

Happy Friday!  

We have a new 4 week old foster kitty "Tink" with us for 2 weeks while we evaluate her for being ready for adoption to go to her forever home. She has CH so she has little stutters and shakes a little, but she is coping extremely well and does not even know she has a problem!  Here are some photos to brighten your day! Have a great weekend!

Quote from: deemery on May 17, 2025, 03:50:01 PMDarryl, will there be a meth alternative interior for that O scale kit? 

dave

Yup! Already have the Methlab available in O scale!

Good day neighbours!  Spot of rain today so good day to ignore the outdoor chores and do some modeling.

O Scale details in a new Mobile home kit I am working on.