Right now this is relatively new (and expensive) tech but it’s said that they are looking in to building homes and supposedly a gunsmith made a working firearm using 3D printing. Makes me wonder if by maybe say 50 years from now (or maybe sooner fast as new tech is advancing) instead of clicking order and waiting on the post office we could click download and use 3D printing to just run off the sprues of a kit.
On another note I wonder how 3D printing could affect the aftermarket say by eliminating resin as a material.
At some point they’re going to have the technology to print you up a fully painted and weathered rendition of whatever you want. Some people will rejoice at the ability to not have to muck around with all of this scary modeling work, others will still want a fun hobby and something they can do with their hands instead of just surf. There will still be modelling in some form.
What’s the difference between science fiction and science fact?
About 50 years.
A for Anything by Damon Knight (also known as “The People Maker”, in the November 1957 (!!!) issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction). So we’re running a little late.
I wasn’t thinking 3D printing would eliminate building a model. My thoughts are more you could take the material and just print off say a Sherman kits sprues instead iof waiting on shipping etc…
I think it will defintitly not take 50 years before 3d printing goes big.
As for 3d printing and modeling, it is already there. Just have a look on Shapeway, there are plenty 1/144 models and conversions avaible. Most of those are aimed a wargamers, who often have a lower demand for detail but there is some good stuff out there.
Maybe the technology is not feasable for larger scale now but it wil be in the near future. Revell certainly thinks so. The Dutch IPMS recently did an article on RoG and they are actively thinking about how 3d printing can be used by them and how this will change there business model.
Here is a tread by Modelnerd. He used 3d printed parts as masters for resins conversion
How would we be able to “print” plastic sprues in our homes,would that require an injection mold machine ? If your not talking plastic sprues,then it’s not really the same hobby is it ?
someone who really doesn’t understand
I believe 3-D printers will just be another tool. We will still buy aftermarket accessories if they are easier than doing your own 3D printing. The later will take a lot of programming. Also there will be parts for which making a pattern and mold will be a better solution than the CAD and programming for 3D. I would venture to say also that there will be shapes for which the 3D printing may not work so well.
I suspect we will just have a wider choice of accessory technologies. 3D products will end up alongside resin castings, PE, laser cut parts, etc. On dealers shelves. Just like you can do your own resin casting and PE now, some will make 3D parts on their own printers, but many will buy aftermarket stuff 'cause they want the easy way.
My line of thought was 3D printing would eliminate the injection molded sprue. Just like we had stick and tissue and that was usurped by injection molding (i’m aware some still do stick + tissue) maybe we would see injection molding get replaced by 3D printing. I agree the aftermarket will come first but even if we couldn’t just hit print from a manufacturers site 3D printing may open the door for new possibilities from the mainline companies. Some might disagree but how awesome would it be to open a box and the parts don’t have warpage, pin marks, sink holes, mold lines, or any of the other standard defects of injection molding. The possibilities are endless from fuel drums to one piece seamless bombs. These “plug and play” type pieces could be extremely beneficial to the modeler that doesn’t have alot of spare time on their hands.
Sounds good Mike,i’m a technology dinosaur when it comes to this stuff,but I am not stuck in the stone-age,I would be open to investigating whatever might come our way,just like I enjoy using all the new AM and weathering products we didn’t have 25 years ago in the hobby.
No worries that’s why I picked 50 years in the future. Right now we have the tech for aftermarket/big corporations but in the next few decades 3D printing might become feasable enough to mass produce affordable units to the masses. Heck it may not even take 50 years. I’m only 26 and I’ve lived through the film reel, VHS, laserdisc, DVD, and now Blu Ray. When I was a kid a cell phone was a gigantic clunky thing with an antenna that only rich people had and now we got these 5G 6G whatever they are now that can tell you where a reasturant is, your blood sugar, how long it’s been since you last ate, and how many steps it will take to get there that are affordable to the masses.
The idea of downloading the kits and then printing them is interesting.
I think the printing part is not what is holding 3d printing back. As you can see on shapeways, the price of 3d printed modeing kit and AM is not unlike resin kits. Sometimes even cheaper. Most dificult thing is acuatly using CAD software to create models. I have a host of aircraft of which there are no kit but no skills to make them into 3d models.
As for mainstream companies, I think the business model of Eduard (offering a kit in a weekend, normal and profi variant) will be copied and enhanced using 3d printing (and make more variants/accesories) Also "drop in " AM parts like Quickboos and 3D-kits will become easier to manufactre and to market/distribute.
Do not underestemate advantage that 3d printing can have in distribution. Instead of having to ship a physical product via distributors and importers you can just use a 3d printing service. Starting an AM company will become much easier because of that (providing that you have the neccesary CAD skills)
Interesting, I even found a few 1/48 parts and kits at reasonable prices. Here’s a 3d printer you can buy for $1,300.
Like borg says, it’s really making the 3d models thats the difficult part, but then you can buy those plans.
I would not be surprised if , someday, model builders were downloading 3D “kits” in place of buying models online.
Borg R3-MC0: “Most dificult thing is acuatly using CAD software to create models. I have a host of aircraft of which there are no kit but no skills to make them into 3d models”
I testify to that, I’m learning Sketchup, & AutoCAD to be able to play… you need a totaly different headspace! [:^)]
So Far… I’ve used Google Sketchup (free!) to make my own drawn components, then laidout the design to the desired scale (1:48th) using Sketchup Pro (NOT FREE, sigh…)
I’ve used Autocad to produce parts I’ve laser-cut, then back to Sketchup to produce a 1/48th building, RAF bomb shelter, & CNC Milled the blanks… 14 hours PC & CNC work so far & 4-5 bench hours to go
FunFunFun… all part of my personal development, honestly… & I note the labs have a bench sized laser cutters and a 3D printer… [:P]
I have seen some of this in action as it were, by MDC who are using 3D CAD to produce Masters for more conventional resin casting. [:#] can’t say much.
There have been 3d produced tracks for the LVT’s, forget by who, they looked good but were USD$80.00 plus, but are now available much more reasonably, so there is a lot to look forward to here…
I don’t know what the finished material is like or how it compares to styrene in terms of durability, workability & longevity, but it certainly is an interesting arena.
Thinking aloud here, but if I was a kit manufacturer I would certainly be interested in this - injection moulding is a costly process, using expensive equipment & consuming a fair bit of energy, add to this the fact that the moulds are EXPENSIVE to manufacture, are not easily altered, have a high minimum output before break even, aren’t exactly convenient to store between runs & cant be quickly changed…
I imagine that once printing speed & resolution can both be brought up to the right level it might make sense for the mass production outfits. If / when speed is improved, it could save a fortune on equipment, moulds & energy - it would reduce their required minimum output & product changeover would be by the click of a mouse.
No more moulds to forklift about the place to swap or store, get mysteriously lost at sea, destroyed in a train crash or simply disappear.
I’m surprised that the big boys have only just gotten to the point of looking at it?
I’m looking forward to seeing the first mass producer getting really behind this. It wont be cheap to do it right, they will need large scale laser scanners to get it right.
Imagine the new Tiger kit from them, they go to a museum while the tank is being restored and laser scan all the parts. This can then be fed right into the 3D printers. Once you have one done all you need is to scan the parts which change so the costs start to drop. It would remove so many of the problems we dont like with accuracy. With modern items these are already made with CAD so this could be fed right in
You could end up with a possible situation where you walk into your LHS and say “I’d like a tiger produced in Feb 1944” and be asked “How detailed would you like it - basic, complex or every single part down to the bolts for the radiators, oh and what scale”
I hope this is the way the hobby goes but I’ll have to finish my stash first
Phil