A future of 3D printing at model kits market in digital era

[riggerrob]

Beauty!
May I suggest that the next generation of sub-scale model airplanes will be e-mailed out as print files, then printed locally. Since not all hobbists have 3D printers, the final model is more likely to be printed at your local UPS store.
The biggest challenge is maintaining copyright and profitability.
This relates to a comment by a CLC, pervayers of plywood boat kits. CLC contemplated e-mailing out CNC cut files, it decided against it for legal reasons. They fear that someone will drown in a sloppy copy of a third-generated, pirated copy of their cut-files. Then CLC fears that the widow’s lawyers will try to sue CLC over negligence about a boat they had nothing to do with. Keep in mind that North American tort (e.g. personal injury) law has long since quit caring about who is guilty. Instead NA tort law has been perverted to “chasing the money.” Canadian tort lawyers will cheerfully starve the wounded while pursuing “deep pockets.”
Guess how I learned that dirty secret.
I fear tort lawyers for the same reasons that CLC fears tort lawyers.

So the challenge to the original CAD artist is to invent a print-file that self-destructs after only one or three models have been printed.

I too have 3D printer, a subscription to Solidworks and a ceiling festooned with hanging minature models of airplanes. My goal for 2024 is to combine the three hobbies.

 

[Archibald]

It's amazing, what can be done nowadays with the right tools... such as manufacturing 1/72 scale CF-105 Arrows like hot cakes or sausages...

 

[flateric]

Beauty!
May I suggest that the next generation of sub-scale model airplanes will be e-mailed out as print files, then printed locally. Since not all hobbists have 3D printers, the final model is more likely to be printed at your local UPS store.

Price, quality and ease of getting a final product will never match injected plastic. In a small scale - you now can print decals yourself (kinda) but decals industry continues to thrive. And of course your point on piracy is correct as we see book printing industry going to hell.

 

[southwestforests]

While we're talking 3D printing, as if responding to some kind of cue, just now YouTube suggested their "Fit to Print" category.
So, there is perhaps indication that yes, 3D printing is a growing thing.
And 3D printing already was a thing in the model railway and the sci-fi modeling and the RC boat modeling and the miniatures gaming categories almost a decade back now when I happened upon a conversation on a scale modeling forum, think it was named Missing Lynx, discussing whether 3D printing would, could, ever have any use in the scale modeling hobby.

Fit to print
18 videos 35 views Updated yesterday

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https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s-D68FF8Q_c
Explore the colorful world of 3D printing with creators who put nozzles in action to make digital designs a reality

 

[Yso]

Beauty!
May I suggest that the next generation of sub-scale model airplanes will be e-mailed out as print files, then printed locally. Since not all hobbists have 3D printers, the final model is more likely to be printed at your local UPS store.
The biggest challenge is maintaining copyright and profitability.
This relates to a comment by a CLC, pervayers of plywood boat kits. CLC contemplated e-mailing out CNC cut files, it decided against it for legal reasons. They fear that someone will drown in a sloppy copy of a third-generated, pirated copy of their cut-files. Then CLC fears that the widow’s lawyers will try to sue CLC over negligence about a boat they had nothing to do with. Keep in mind that North American tort (e.g. personal injury) law has long since quit caring about who is guilty. Instead NA tort law has been perverted to “chasing the money.” Canadian tort lawyers will cheerfully starve the wounded while pursuing “deep pockets.”
Guess how I learned that dirty secret.
I fear tort lawyers for the same reasons that CLC fears tort lawyers.

So the challenge to the original CAD artist is to invent a print-file that self-destructs after only one or three models have been printed.

I too have 3D printer, a subscription to Solidworks and a ceiling festooned with hanging minatute models of airplanes. My goal for 2024 is to combine the three hobbies.

With the evolution of 3D printing, this kind of modelling takes part in our hobby more and more. But the price and time printing one like this is another question. Like Flateric wrote, this cannot replace the injected plastic kits fully. But for the resin upgrades it is a very big "replacement". Some years ago when i was building a kit, i was searching the net for such upgrade kits. Now having 3D printers and 3D modelling programs (MOI, Solidworks) with a little knowledge about 3D modelling, my first idea is always to make 3D models, and print them out, rather than buying everything for it. And i think i am not the only one, thinking like this.

 

[Scott Kenny]

And of course your point on piracy is correct as we see book printing industry going to hell.

There are reasons well beyond piracy why the book printing industry is going to hell.

 

[southwestforests]

So the challenge to the original CAD artist is to invent a print-file that self-destructs after only one or three models have been printed.

So if the printer glitches, and from what I've seen in model railroad and sci-fi model forums, glitches Will Happen, you need to buy the model files another time, or more times, to reprint the glitched parts. Yeah, that's very appealing.

 

[riggerrob]

So if the printer glitches, and from what I've seen in model railroad and sci-fi model forums, glitches Will Happen, you need to buy the model files another time, or more times, to reprint the glitched parts. Yeah, that's very appealing.

The alternative is a lawsuit based upon a corrupted, 18th generation copy pirated by a person that you never knew existed. Did I ever tell you how much I admire and respect lawyers and how much I want to become a lawyer when I grow up?
Sarcastic laughter!!!!!!!!

 

[aim9xray]

There are reasons well beyond piracy why the book printing industry is going to hell.

Hmm. Would like to hear your views.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Hmm. Would like to hear your views.

Highly political, not appropriate for this thread.

 

[iverson]

Hmm. Would like to hear your views.

Piracy is not profitable unless the legitimate publisher is doing something wrong. The publisher has the advantage as long as it keeps the book available at a reasonable price (cost of production plus a modest profit).

Piracy is not as "free" as is sometimes assumed. The pirate still has to reproduce, distribute, and market the book, and that costs more or less the same as it does for the legitimate publisher (royalties and advances are a relatively modest part of a publisher's expenses, as most authors know).

But if a publisher gets greedy and inflates the price or creates artificial scarcity by limiting press runs or limits availability in some markets (as movie studios are always doing), it creates an opening for pirates. They can undercut an inflated price and/or flood the market with inferior, only-thing-available copies.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Piracy is not profitable unless the legitimate publisher is doing something wrong. The publisher has the advantage as long as it keeps the book available at a reasonable price (cost of production plus a modest profit).

Piracy is not as "free" as is sometimes assumed. The pirate still has to reproduce, distribute, and market the book, and that costs more or less the same as it does for the legitimate publisher (royalties and advances are a relatively modest part of a publisher's expenses, as most authors know).

But if a publisher gets greedy and inflates the price or creates artificial scarcity by limiting press runs or limits availability in some markets (as movie studios are always doing), it creates an opening for pirates. They can undercut an inflated price and/or flood the market with inferior, only-thing-available copies.

Digital piracy is where things get weird, because there's no cost of printing. Just a relatively small cost of hosting data.

 

[southwestforests]

and/or flood the market with inferior, only-thing-available copies.

In the paper model, card model, world, piracy of the printed kits/books is a serious issue.
And yes, a number of the piracy products are inferior.
They also are often Not in the 'only thing available' category.

Piracy of a sort is also an issue in the scale model kit world: I remember a case where a resin model turned out to also reproduce the ejector pin marks of a specific plastic kit of the same subject. "Fascinating" as that sci-fi TV show guy with the pointy ears would say.

 

[publiusr]

I see a Hobby Lobby/Wal-Mart having toy-making kiosks at some point.

 

[riggerrob]

I see a Hobby Lobby/Wal-Mart having toy-making kiosks at some point.

Yes.
Perhaps UPS will adopt this business model. Just wire your print files to UPS and the next day you will be able to pick up the freshly 3D-printed model airplane.

A slightly more exotic business model would allow you to “teleport” the family’s “garden gnome” to your distant aunt in New Zealand. “Aunty” would receive an exact copy the next day. For a few extra dollars, a UPS employee would delete the cracks, chipped porcelain and faded paint. Meanwhile the original gnome returns to your garden.

 

[publiusr]

Growing up I was fooled into thinking we already had this tech...when I was five I thought a copier was for paper, with a duplicator was for 3D objects.

I remember seeing a new Xerox next to a what it was replacing....the glass was far over a hollow the size of a kitchen sink...so little kid me thought you could lift that up, put something in the hole, and the duplicate would come out of the drawer (which was actually for paper.)

 

[riggerrob]

Growing up I was fooled into thinking we already had this tech...when I was five I thought a copier was for paper, with a duplicator was for 3D objects.

I remember seeing a new Xerox next to a what it was replacing....the glass was far over a hollow the size of a kitchen sink...so little kid me thought you could lift that up, put something in the hole, and the duplicate would come out of the drawer (which was actually for paper.)

Patience.
Patience young man.
A machine like that is coming to a UPS store near you in time for Christmas 20??
Hah!
Hah!

 

[edwest4]

There are reasons well beyond piracy why the book printing industry is going to hell.

An incredibly misinformed comment. New military history books come out weekly, with no sign of abating. Printing books today requires a bit of knowledge beyond a Youtube video and a few podcasts. During the so-called frying pan-demic, book sales increased. I have the current numbers. Around 2008, self-proclaimed idiots said, "Ebooks means print books will die in a few years, at the latest," and they have been proven wrong for every year since then. The printed book market is strong. Meanwhile, the ebook market is crammed with junk and people proclaiming they are professional writers, followed by "Why isn't my book selling?" Could it be because you don't know what you're doing?

 

[edwest4]

Digital piracy is where things get weird, because there's no cost of printing. Just a relatively small cost of hosting data.

Not weird at all. The legal issues are clear. And someone has to pay to host the data.

 

[edwest4]

Back to print it yourself models, the technology is not there for the average hobbyist. When I looked into this, the resolution had to be 10 microns or less. The company I work for had a model printed in China at this resolution and it was impressive, but it was done on a $20,000 machine. The key factor in comparison to injected molded plastic is resolution. I've looked into that as well. A bit of knowledge is required to break whatever it is down into parts to fit into a mold. The best mold prices are in China. It can't be done in the U.S. because workers want a high standard of living. When we did some plastic in China, we sent an employee down to observe all phases of production.

 

[Elysium]

I think resin printers are absolutely there now - and have been for quite a few years. Striving for 10 micron resolution is admirable and impressive, but consider that a thin coat of model paint is between 10-20 microns itself.
I have my trusty Elegoo Saturn, a hobbyist grade printer from 3.5 years ago, at that itself can do 50 um resolution, and with my admittedly untrained eye, I have to lean in really close to see the artifacts. More modern hobbyist printers can do about half that, and I wouldn't be surprised if laser or DLP based printers, such as the ones from Formlabs could match your specs.

I'd say the biggest impediment is that 3D resin is a nasty toxic chemical full of VOCs - working with it demands discipline, and preferably a well-ventilated area separate from your living space.

The print shop analogy is apt - photo development required similarly unfriendly chemicals, and a separate lab area - while some people preferred to do it at home, most people left the task to trained technicians down at the corner shop.

As for FDM printers, they're great and nice and easy to use, but I don't think they'll ever be able to practically do the resolutions required for models.

 

[edwest4]

The problem is the visible layers. Various companies are trying different things to avoid the artifacts but few can afford what they're selling.

Formlabs is a nice try but it's still a long way to cheap and high quality for the average person. If "good enough" is the goal, that's fine, but quality costs money regardless of what particular bit of technology is involved.

I am familiar with photo development. It could be done at home, without elaborate safeguards.

 

[Scott Kenny]

As for FDM printers, they're great and nice and easy to use, but I don't think they'll ever be able to practically do the resolutions required for models.

FDM printers are just fine for terrain and large structures.

I have a model for the Rocinante from The Expanse, the internal structure is all printed on filament printers and glued and screwed together, then you print the surface details in resin. Model is by Robert James Models.

 

[publiusr]

Now I think a good Star Destroyer toy would be a big Styrofoam shape with panels that have little spikes on one side, and surface detail on the other.

Just press into the surface.

For big prints

Researchers demonstrate rapid 3D printing with liquid metal

MIT researchers have developed an additive manufacturing technique that can print rapidly with liquid metal, producing large-scale parts such as table legs and chair frames in a matter of minutes.

techxplore.com