3D printing

[anson]

Hello folks,

A couple of my Tardis models are available as STL downloads on Thingiverse - the Brachaki is offered as a single piece which is altered but accurate.
There's also my Met box model which is super accurate - it's also a kit.

Links;
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1795664
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1795356


Cheers,

Anson

[galacticprobe]

Thank you so much, Anson! It's very kind of you to share those files with everyone. I know the Brachacki Original fans (like me) will love it. And your Met Box files should make both the Met Box fans and historians, as well as the Cushing Box fans very happy since the two are very close in appearance.

Dino.

[Bob's your Uncle]

Hi Anson,
I know next to nothing about 3D printing, so I've got a couple of questions.
How much would this cost to have printed?
What kind of companies do 3D printing?
Do these files only work on certain 3D printers?


Thanks,
Greg.

[anson]

Hello Greg,

3D printed items from the likes of "Shapeways" is still quite expensive, this is due to the time it takes to print and the fact that prints don't always come out as planned.
However, the Chinese are now producing sub £300 machines - there are now a growing number of  owners out there.

It's still time consuming but the materials are cheap.

These files will print on anything.

Anson

[The14thDr]

There is also a website called 3D Hubs, which finds people nearby who own a 3D printer (called "hubs"). I have found 3D Hubs to be a cheaper option that Shapeways, and the postage is often a lot less.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards, The14thDr

[galacticprobe]

Another place to check, Greg, is your local library. Libraries in my area are acquiring 3-D printers and making them available to the public (or at least a member of that library if you've got one of their library cards) for free printing. And yeah, it takes a while depending on what you're printing - I think my son said it took three days for him to print out the full-scale lightsaber he'd designed for the library's booth at the Tidewater Comicon last year. But with the scale these TARDISes are measured at, they shouldn't take too much time.

I'll see if my son can print out one of the TARDISes and have him tell me how long it took... unless someone beats me to it.

Dino.

[anson]

These models can take anything from a few hours to a day to print, it all comes down to settings and the speed of your printer.
Slower prints with a fine layer look a lot better but they take a LOT longer.

I'm in the process of printing one of the doors on the Met box,  it's at medium quality settings - my software is telling me that it'll take 3 hours and 40 minutes.


This is a medium quality print of  a window, it took an hour;

[Sofia Fox]

This is cool but I dont own a 3D printer and there are WOW expensive

[galacticprobe]

Tigerman, see my post above to Greg (Bob's your Uncle) about checking with your local library. You may have free printing available to you.

Dino.

[Sofia Fox]

Oh i dont have a local library Well oh well

[anson]

This is cool but I dont own a 3D printer and there are WOW expensive

Got mine for less than £300.

[Sofia Fox]

I dont live in the Uk but its 387 dollars for me but im not paying that im 13 god dang it

[lorisarvendu]

I work at a UK University with an Art & Design department and an Architectural department.  Both of which have several 3D printers.  If you have a friend at a local college or Uni, might be worth asking them.

[anson]

I dont live in the Uk but its 387 dollars for me but im not paying that im 13 god dang it

in fairness, I don't normally have £300 spare myself!

[Sofia Fox]

is something wrong with that top link, I click it and it has a funky late 90s esque 3d animation saying error 404, you have reached...i closed the tab because this wasn't I was expecting...