I know it seems like I'm not finishing anything I'm printing, but right now, it's really helpful to print stuff out I can compare to other people's prints to see if I have my printer dialed in properly or not. I'm pretty happy with the print quality I've been getting with sample tests now, so this is the first part of a print that will be run from start to finish, including cleanup and painting. Huge hat tip and thank you to ltfalcon for all the work he put into designing the MSV in 1:18 scale and for sharing the files for it.
Printing the MSV, phase one, the cab:
I switched from .1mm to .3mm for this print to see how noticeable the change would be. I think for vehicles and stuff, it's not that noticeable, so .3mm will be my print scale for mechanical looking models, while .1mm will be for organic looking models. I'd started a print at .1mm and it was going to take 8 hours to run, then I realized my supports weren't printing right and some 'floating' detail fell, so I canceled and redid the supports. At the same time, I switched to .3mm, which took about 3.5 hours to run. I will be cleaning up the support material tonight. And now, the pics:

Interesting. What did you mean by the detail "falling".

If I am understanding it right, I am interested in the details about how 3d printing requires you to support the detail material through the printing process until the material dries.

Also from the pics it seems that the product may have "curved" a little in the printing which could prevent the parts from fitting together properly. Is that so, or a trick of the photography.

- R

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What I mean by falling is this: The model was placed on the print bed so that the back of the cab was on the bottom (so it printed as it looks in the last picture). Because of this, the control console portion would be floating in space when printed, with just a small contact point with the rest of the model. This led to it trying to draw the piece in mid-air, which gave me strings of plastic just drooping. Support material is generally only needed if a piece is 45 degrees or more off perpendicular. For instance, a capital letter "V" would probably print okay with no supports, but a capital letter "T" would need supports for the horizontal crossbar at the top. A capital letter "R" would be okay with the leg and the curve at the right side, but the horizontals at the top and bottom of the curve would probably need support.

I think the curving is a trick of photography in this case, although curling is a concern when printing, since if the plastic cools unevenly, it will cause curling or curving. Or, if you're meaning the stuff at the very back (bottom as it was printed) or on the actual bottom of the vehicle, those are raft material and supports that will be trimmed away. The raft was printed to insure I had a good base to build on so it did not pull away from the print platform while printing and the supports were to make sure the axle slots held their shape so the axles will fit properly.

NEW SKILLS TO LEARN!

I'm bookmarking this page ...

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Thank you, and please feel free to indulge me in including every little geeky detail.

I am so into this, that I am considering heading back to college to learn cad/cam. I think I am still one generation from buying my printer, but it will be within the next 2-3 years.

Actually I predict that a 3d printer is going to be the big 2018 Christmas gift, like the tassimo was this Christmas.

- R

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I'll provide any information people are interested in. I'm still in the awe stage of this, since I can take a picture from my computer and convert it into an item in the real world, a thin strand of plastic at a time. Once I get the MSV done, I'm hoping to do something of my own design, and maybe test some of the glow in the dark filament.

Some more pics, first cab mostly cleaned, just needs some detail work now, and a second one, uncleaned, for side-by-side pics. Also, a pic of the support material, just so you can see what is being removed. Supports are fairly easy to remove, with most coming out by grasping with fingers or pliers and pulling, then using a hobby knife to trim any flash.
Sorry if the pics are a bit blurry. I don't have a dedicated photo booth set up yet at the new place, so I have to make due with what I can.

A top-down view:


Bottom view, note the axle guides on the cleaned up one. The supports really helped them hold shape:


Side view (only did one side, since left and right look identical)


Slightly better top down view to see what the cab looks like with the supports remove versus supports still in place.


A support after it has been removed. The cost of the plastic that goes into the supports is small, and I hope to eventually build a recycler to turn scrap plastic into fresh filament.

interesting indeed. Keep posting this stuff I'm checking the site daily for updates.

- R

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Will do and glad you're enjoying. I was afraid people would get tired of the constant updates, but I like to have step-by-step documentation of stuff like this when I'm researching it, so thought maybe others would, too.

Mark, looking great so far! Keep the updates coming.

I have also been gathering dimensional data on the 6x6 ATV with the help from the guys over on the Trenches board. I have started a new 3d model of it and if you are interested ill keep you updated on the progress.

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Please do. I'd love to eventually get all the AT stuff down to 4" scale, so I'm interested in any projects people do. Plus, tiger CAD work is great.

Uh oh, Gnawgahyde has stolen the MSV. Hopefully the adventure team can get it back. I still need to do some trim work to get modern figures to fit in it, but RAH fit perfectly.
It's been a while since I've had time to do any printing but I finally got some free time to do some work. If the weather cooperates this weekend, I hope to give the parts an acetone wash to smooth them some, then I can paint and detail. I also got some transparent ABS and plan on printing the dome to see how well that looks.

The future of customizing! You printed the wheels too?

Yes, the wheels are printed too. Only thing not printed are the axles. Ltfalcon did good work designing it.

I've designed some figure stands. I need to tweak the peg placement. The stand is a blank I can put different logos on before printing. This stand is a little warped because it is new plastic and I printed a little too hot. The plastic is glow in the dark, too, but my camera can't pick up the glow. I need to tweak camera settings and try again.