- Location
- Rocky Mountains USA
NEXT ZOOM MEETING - The next Templot Club Zoom meeting will be on Wednesday 8th February 2023 at 8pm UK time. All welcome.
More info and meeting link: click here.
Here it is for TC2017
But when it comes to being compatible with what anyone else is doing in Fusion360, AutoCad, etc., I'm completely lost and nothing I do seems remotely compatible. I can't even follow all the terminology. It must be my age.![]()
@AndyBI think it would be a much better investment of your time if you were to create methods that allowed Templot users to add their own chair/clip/spike designs to Templot 2-D designs.
There are all kinds of CAD products already available and anyone can create chair models if they are willing to put in a little bit of effort.
It might be nice if you could include an oriented pseudo-block for substitution at the intersections with the rail and timber CLs but it's not that difficult for anyone to do that for themselves.
But that's already there. See my previous post.
I'm getting more and more confused. I think I should just go away and do the coding, and leave the forum and program support to fend for itself.
Martin.
@Paul BoydI've been following this thread and the subsequent 2.28 specific thread with some interest, even though I have no space for a resin printer. I can't help wondering if filament printing will go the same way as Betamax tapes - the quality from resin seems to be much better than filament. At work, I use an AM (additive manufacturing, aka SLS, selective laser sintering) company for a lot of 3D printed stuff but even that doesn't seem to give detail as fine as resin printing. Or maybe it's just the company we use!
Hi Martin@Paul Boyd
Hi Paul,
Having both a FDM (filament) printer and SLA (resin) printer I wouldn't want to lose either of them.
The FDM is great for strong functional parts -- for hobbies such as model engineering, model aircraft, drones, spare parts for bikes and boats and lawnmowers. But also maybe a working gearbox in 0 gauge? unbreakable signal posts and telegraph poles? a large-scale lever frame? a turntable deck? point-motor brackets? or even the whole point-motor? all manner of modelmaking tools and jigs.
SLA is much better for fine detail on small-scale models, but unless you go high-end with expensive equipment and resins not so good for strength and working parts.
And when it comes to domestic user-friendliness there is no contest. You could easily have a FDM machine in the corner of a living room if using PLA polymer. The slight smell from hot PLA is actually quite pleasant -- it's made from sugar cane and non-toxic. When it's finished printing, that's it -- remove your new part.
Whereas an SLA printer is only for a workshop area (and preferably one of its own). The resin is toxic, smelly and unpleasant. The process is messy. When it's finished printing that's only the start. You then have to leave it dripping for 10-20 minutes or so (wafting the smell around in the process), before transferring it to a tub of IPA solvent (also smelly) for washing. Intricate model parts will need careful brush washing in the IPA to remove all traces of liquid resin. At this stage the model is still soft and delicate, so needs careful handling. Finally it needs UV exposure to fully cure it and harden it. But the results are great!
The machine which is going to lose out to resin printing in this hobby in my view is the Cameo cutter. It's been a great disappointment. When I next need some signal box window frames, or a panelled coach side, I feel sure the resin printer would do a better job. Without the option to use it as a pen plotter, I think it would be in the bin by now.
cheers,
Martin.
@Paul BoydI certainly wouldn’t want all that palaver in my little flat!
Hi Martin@Paul Boyd
Hi Paul,
I didn't want to put you off completely!
The Elegoo Mars printer has a footprint of only 8" square and is easily movable. You could maybe take it into your bathroom and find a space for it when you want to use it? The resin tray is removable, so could stay in there. With the door shut and the window open, or an extractor fan, you should be able to keep the smell from pervading the rest of the flat. It has a 1m (easily extended) low-voltage lead to a separate power brick, so no worries about having a mains socket in a bathroom. Just a thought.
cheers,
Martin.