Shapeways Material Question

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Mr.JA
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Elite Member

12 years 6 months ago - 11 years 3 weeks ago #13619 by Mr.JA

Shapeways Material Question was created by Mr.JA

Great! ThankZ for posting all these links ... but, I have a question about which material to select. :dry:

From my little experiance, it seems that FUD needs some extra preperation to keep it stable... as in keeping it from warping after a period of time.

I have some trailer frames that basically "melted" and became unable.

One seller has a Z Scale Trinity 53' 2743 Gondola available in multiple materials. The alumide is cheaper than FUD.

I'm wondering if this would be a stronger material and add some weight? Or... would too much detail be lost?

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Zcratchman_Joe
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12 years 6 months ago #13625 by Zcratchman_Joe

Replied by Zcratchman_Joe on topic Shapeways Material Question

Mr.JA wrote: Great! ThankZ for posting all these links... but, I have a question about which material to select.

I'm thinking this is Stony's territory, since I assume he's done some research. My two cents is worth just that, but from what I can tell they all have their good points/bad points. Have you seen the video of the White Strong Flexible "credit card" being twisted almost in half? I bent a flat car made of WSF just a little bit to see how it might hold up, and it cracked almost in half. On the other hand, granted while being gentler, I've also had FUD test out pretty good. So go figure!/?

As for intricate details, yes I've seen finer details in FUD, but this is only when the author took the time to take advantage of that material. If a designer, which as used finer details, has an item listed in multiple materials, and the item actually prints in the material you choose, then I think it would be safe to assume that the details he/she has included would also print.

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Radialman
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12 years 6 months ago #13626 by Radialman

Replied by Radialman on topic Shapeways Material Question

"Safe to assume"

Yes and no. I've ordered a few things from Stony's store. One item I mentioned that I had ordered in material "X" (maybe WSF). He said that the material surface isn't conducive to Z items because it is a very rough surface. Next time I had checked - it wasn't an option. Also, sometimes a material is selected, but when Shapeways tries to make it, it doesn't work in that material. As a buyer, understanding the nature of the materials is in your best interest. But if nothing else, ask the seller. Stony has been very helpful and has good insight to the materials he uses for his models.

Jeremy

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Zcratchman_Joe
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12 years 6 months ago #13627 by Zcratchman_Joe

Replied by Zcratchman_Joe on topic Shapeways Material Question

Radialman wrote: Also, sometimes a material is selected, but when Shapeways tries to make it, it doesn't work in that material.

When I made that remark I was answering Alex about details showing up in different materials. I mentioned that "IF" it prints... in other words, if Shapeways is able to print the material selected, then the details should also come though. Otherwise, if the details didn't show up, then Shapeways should have rejected the item, in that particular material. Perhaps this is why the item you mentioned was no longer available in WSF?

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ryuen
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12 years 6 months ago #13628 by ryuen

Replied by ryuen on topic Shapeways Material Question

Mr.JA wrote: I'm wondering if this would be a stronger material and add some weight? Or... would too much detail be lost?

The minimum detail for FUD is 0.1mm vs 0.6mm for alumide, this is a huge difference in Z scale... about 10 scale centimers or 4 scale inches (quick & dirty calculation).

When you click the more details button for each material on the materials page (www.shapeways.com/materials) you get taken to a page that has, well, more information on the material and they have a properties column on the right hand side on these pages that list what detail levels are possible and how strong, flexible etc the material is.

Something you definately want to check when ordering a model that is available in more than one material.

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stonysmith
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12 years 6 months ago - 12 years 6 months ago #13694 by stonysmith

Replied by stonysmith on topic Shapeways Material Question

Alumide is just Nylon (WSF) with Aluminum powder added to the mix. The aluminum powder makes the material a bit less flexible and signifcantly more heat resistant.

I think the items that Alex had that warped were printed in "White Detail" (WD), and not in FUD. I still wonder if the WD models were fully cured or not. Many of my early models were designed for WD, and I wasn't happy with it so I removed it as an option for purchase for many of my models.

When FUD is thin (0.3mm), it is very brittle. Breath on it and it snaps. But.. if you get FUD up to 1mm or thicker, it actually is very strong.. I have one model at 1.5mm that could likely support 20 pounds without breaking.

I would advise against buying Z items in WSF or Alumide unless it makes sense for the item to have a very coarse surface (such as a stucco type finish), or if you are willing to do considerable post-processing to make it smooth. There are folks who design in WSF, and then use a putty to smooth the surface some, followed by a TON of sanding. It works, but FUD is SO much smoother straight out of the printer.

The following user(s) said Thank You: Mr.JA

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