W&U Tramway coach, using 3D Printing and the Cameo cutter

[TimberSurf]

JFYI

I expect if I had gone on to mechanical engineering rather than electronics I might have learned a complicated formula for getting the correct mesh, I'll stick with the bit of paper.

Not that I went to mechanical school either, but you need to know the MOD of the gear, then you can look up all parameters in charts and work out the reference diameter

pdf

or use "fag" rolly paper

[Bufferstop]

or use "fag" rolly paper

Always preferable to some formula that comes with hidden limitations, or expects parameters to be input in poles and furlongs or even more obscure units.

[Pete]

Hi Bufferstop

Sorry if you've already said, but what software are you using for your design?

Did it take you long to pick it up?

Pete

[Bufferstop]

I'm using RS Components free "Design Spark Mechanical" which is a slightly hobbled version of a full price package called "Space Claim". Apart from the bit they deliberately hobbled "Mirroring, or vertical and Horizontal Flip" using it came quite easily, having taken Engineering Drawing at O-Level must have helped. Also the fact that I had to learn, to at least a basic level, multiple pixel and vector graphic editing, presentation and DTP software packages probably gives me a head start when faced with something new. I'm using it as a benchmark to look at other software, the only freebie that I think comes near it is "Sketch Up Make" but I still prefer DSM's conventional elevation representations and scaling facilities. I'm just on the point of mastering (a few hours more practice needed) the operation of drawing the 3D model of an object, in the current case a double ended motor with two worms meshed to gears, then punching it into the centre of a solid block to create the core of a motor bogie. I did have to try building it from standard shapes then comparing the images to convince myself that I could print what I had drawn.
The printer comes with it's own software to analyse the CAD drawings, carry out the "slicing operation" and output the printing instructions in a widely used form. Just for curiosities sake I did feed it a PDF of a simplified Escher circular waterfall, it very sensibly gave up after a few minutes, so it has sufficient AI to recognise an impossibility when given one.

[Pete]

Thanks!

Interesting, I'm guessing the software is available from their website?

I used to do a lot of Autocad, so should be able to pick it up, it's just remembering to make everything manifold, or does the printer software do that for you?

I'm not at the stage of purchasing a printer (its well down the list) but I'd like to have a play to see what I could make.

Pete