[Closed] 3-D printed 1/43 Chevy. Wave of the future?

I've been intriqued by this process for scale models and my library has 3d printing capability but it was explained to me that it is not as simple as bringing an item in and having it cloned by the 3d process. I am led to believe you first have to have the item converted to a program that the 3d printer can read and that requires some sort of software on your computer first. Can anyone elaborate on the process from start to finish? For now I'm back to my old process of modifying an existing model.

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John, there are lots of descriptions and videos of the process online, but ...

... you're right, it isn't just a matter of taking a model to a 3D print facility and expecting the printer to take one look at it and knock out a copy on the spot.

A model (or a drawing) has to be scanned and converted into a three-dimensional image using CAD (computer-aided design) software, and that effectively means feeding in all the detailed measurements, angles, thicknesses, curve radii, etc. of the object to be printed in the X, Y and Z axes.

Once a clean and accurate 3D image of the object has been created using CAD, that then has to be converted into an STL (stereolithography) file format, which is what feeds the printer with the instructions for building up each of the hundreds (or thousands) of layers which make up the finished object.

So it needs a lot of software and a fair bit of processing power (not to mention computer know-how), which is probably why most people going to your library are probably equipped with a ready-made STL file, bought online, which will tell the printer to print a copy of the toy, ornament, statuette, set of plastic gear wheels or whatever the commercially-created program represents. A bit like buying a specific model kit then asking a professional builder to assemble and paint it for you.

There are people doing it at home, but as things stand at the moment they will be very computer-savvy and will probably have invested several thousand dollars in their own 3D printer plus all the necessary software. Not to mention instructional manuals.

Or as you say, you can always take a sheet of lead or brass and bend your own bits of custom bodywork. Cheaper and probably simpler!

Thanks for a brilliant detailed description, Graeme. If it was simple, we would be knocking off our favorite subjects on our printers.

I'll continue to use my computers to mine Bitcoins I guess.

(Pic) Keep 'em coming, Randall!

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You bet, Ralf!