(Sort of) seriously… Companies like Hornby should now “embrace” the changing situation. Any good (any left…?) board member would demand that of their CEO. They could make SO many parts available for sale, like couplers, wheelsets, motor-controller-chassis assemblies, pantographs or LEDs with optical attachments… Next step, 3D files of more models than they themselves couldn’t or wouldn’t produce in the far East. I’m nuts? Maybe, but our economy is way worse... This would be a fantastic “local” opportunity, and I guess a small tad better ecologically too (less logistics). When “made in the UK” is history anyway, why not “designed in the UK - made by our community” instead? Best of luck (from 🇳🇴) with forthcoming designs and prints! 👍
The reason the bottom looks so wavy is because it's very difficult to resin print large-ish flat surfaces parallel to the build plate. If you would tilt the model around 35-45 degrees or so, it would greatly improve the bottom surface (but since the print is higher, it would take a little longer to print). Cheers!
I can say with some confidence I know what I am doing with 3D printing and have a “turbulent” history with this actual machine. You can print large plat surfaces off the build plate, as I produced 5th wheel covers for 1/14 scale RC trucks about 2.5" diameter and precise chassis rails for 1/76 to 1/35 vintage lorries. The issue sadly is a fault with the Saturn 8K, the arm of the printer bends exacting about 40 newtons return force on the fep that causes really bad elephants foot/distortion. I have compensated, but it's not the answer. Solution, I need a better constructed printer to handle that kind of work. Oh the printer is very good trust me, my 009 quary wagons it is said are better than anything else available the printer good enough to produce exact brake gear and GWR above the axle box's.
a few suggestions 1. get a pair of silicone rubber trays, sit the printer on one and the wash station on another, this will protect your desk from resin drips 2. get a few disposable foil platters (party aisle of the supermarket), perfect to stick the build plate on while removing stuff, again saves mess 3. grab a pack of kitchen roll or blue roll and keep it to hand 4. when you take out of the IPA, drop into a jug of warm water to rinse the IPA off (makes it easier to handle and stops the IPA fumes filling the room - also when you have supports will make removing them far easier) 5. for most parts air drying is fine, for anything with large flat plates let it dry overnight before curing, this can help if you find parts start to warp 6. that wash station is too small, that is for the smaller Mars 3 printers, not a huge problem but with the larger ones you can actually stick the build plate into the wash station, which will clean the uncured resin from that as well Saturn 2 is a lovely machine, larger than the one I have here but I know someone with one good luck and enjoy it
Great that you started with Resin printing eventually Sam 👋👋👋 Just an important tip from us; after poring the resin into its basin for printing, wade the spatula tool through the resin softly to remove all air bubbles, otherwise bubbles (or what's left of them) can ruin the print, especially at the starting point (bottom). Resin printing is fantastic. We've seen actual manufacturing grade made wagons from it 🙂 Bon chance with what's to come 💓 Cheerio.
Once a resin is created that won't kill you everytime you go to print a part, it will be good for folks to use. Until then - it is just too dangerous for the average joe/jill to go off and use but folks continue to do it anyway! Saw a video recently where a hobby crafter was using a cheap laser cutter in her bedroom to cut out stuff for scrapbooking.... had no clue that the fumes from the laser were TOXIC!!
@@pesto12601 it's not so much the laser as the stuff that it's burning. People forget that a laser isn't a pair of scissors, it's actually burning material away.
Coming from a Printing Trade (Lithographic or Offset, eg. Ink on Paper) The Advances in this Tech are just mind blowing. Amazing that a Set up is Available for the home Hobbyist. Truely something I could Barely Imagine in a Factory Setting in the Late 1960's, let alone @ Sam'sTrains knocking models out in his Loft in a few hours. It's just Mind Blowing..! And Sam, you seemed so Calm Unboxing, Setting up and Working a New Tool or Tools. That did cost a Few Quid to be Fair..! Well Done Young Man. An Impressive Performance..! Cheers All. A Luddite in Oz. 😎
@kennykd97 Yes qw were using laser epoxy prototyping back in early 90s. However I think what this chap means is that its advanced to home use. Well it had done about 5 to 10 years ago. Sam has just caught up...partly due to his fume concerns
A couple quick tips from someone who learned the hard way. Even after washing the print, use gloves to handle the uncured piece to avoid resin on the skin and finger prints on the print itself. The flexible plate makes removing the print much easier, I've only had to use the putty knife on thinner prints. Also with the flexible plate you can drop the plate and print into the cleaner if the print doesn't pop off right away. You just need to clean the bottom of the print when it does pop off after washing. Someone suggested a silicone tray, I use a silicone electronics desk mat for my prints and around my work area, it help greatly for cleanup. And lastly, I bought the suction handles to put on top of the cover for easy removal. Eventually you will grab the sides of the cover with resin on the gloves and ruin the cover, resin doesn't come off the cover at all once it's on there. Enjoy!
Thanks, Sam. I've been "shopping" / researching a resin 3D printer as a replacement for my now ancient filament machine. This demonstration has convinced me that the two piece printer and curing machines are well worth it. Oh, the better resin is also a win. Thanks again for all you do - and SHARING it as well.
Nice to see you trying some resin printing, been loving my Mars 2 Pro for N Gauge printing, but have had to upgrade to the Mars 4 Max since it's build plate is nearly the same as the Saturn's (it's also cheaper), though I do recommend using some thicker gloves like some Marigolds or the like, the ones which come with the printers never feel thick enough heh I do also recommend getting a cover to block out the light when it's printing, might not seem like much but has helped with the quality of my prints. Anyway hope you enjoy using the printer! ~James
Great to see you using a resin printer, I use a Saturn and found it’s best to print the models at an angle and also make sure the resin is at about 25 degrees C. I avoid touching the prints until after curing as the ipa will contain resin. It’s a learning process, but stick with it!
Impressive video Sam! Incredible detail! Would you ever be interested in getting a laser cutter? I've used them before and they're really intuitive - they're fantastic!!
This is fantastic, it looks much more accurate than PLA 3D printing and I can't even see the layer lines! I can't wait to see what kind of models you make with this.
Looking forward to seeing what you can make with this! I had the same issues with bottom layer sinking and separation until I started printing things at an angle and getting the support systems figured out. I've also gotten my best results by making it so only the supports touch the build plate and keeping the actual part off the plate entirely, eliminating the potential "elephant foot" that can develop on those first layers.
I saw a video the other day that was talking about a new vat purge feature in the newer ones where you let it settle and it purges a sheet print that traps all the contaminates and you just peel them off the build plate, seemed a prety cool eay to clean up after watching people screen their resin for years
I can’t wait to see what you’re able to make with your new skills. You could improve your existing models or make some wholly new locos. I’d love to see more Great Eastern Locos made by you, or if not some Great Central, LSWR or Lancashire & Yorkshire designs.
I'm about 6 months ahead on this journey. Some things I have found. The flex plate is a massive plus, especially to prevent damaging parts. if doing small parts, put several with their rafts touching so the Flex works better. It is not always necessary to use a raft and print at an angle if your part has a flat side and no huge overhangs. Having said that shifting the angle around can sometimes improve print quality, at the expense of time and support material. When doing shells, (working on an EMD F9P to make PAN AM #1 & 2 ) I have found that adding temporary internal cross-webbing will prevent a lot of warping, and thus failure. I was hesitant to start resin printing because of the "toxicity" but it is not like instant death if you inhale it, still avoid it but a fan and a widow are enough, I don't think you need level 3 hazmat.
Resin is cumulative poison like heavy metals. When you notice some effects, it will be to late. At best you will get allergic reaction when you approach the area contaminated by resin. Other options are kidney, heath or lung failure, loss of eyesight or neurological issues. These machines need enclosure with fume extraction. Wear full face mask when opening the enclosure. UV resins are not safe even when cured. Prints need to be sealed or they will continuously off gas small amounts of toxins into the air.
Very impressive Sam! No doubt you’ll be printing out some of your earlier models to compare against. Looking forward to seeing future developments as your skills improve with this next level of printing.
Fascinating!! When you're completely up to speed with the device it would be interesting to try a head-to-head comparison print of the same file on filament vs resin
Yes, I agree, like for like, I'm looking at starting printing, but which is best all round? If these smell as bad as I've read, there will be ventilation requirements to consider too.
In the late 90's I was designing consumer goods on 3D CAD and prototyping parts on SLA machines costing £hundreds of thousands. Part cost alone was at least in the £100's even for small bits. Amazing to think you can buld a full setup of printer and wash/cure station now for under £1000! Makes me want to crank up my ProEngineer CAD system again! (£6k for a basic software licence back in 2000's minus all the add on's!).
So many amazing British euphemisms and jokes in this video, but my personal favorite was "Right, so, I've allowed my parts to air dry for a little while..." 😂 love your channel Sam!
Hi Sam, timely video as I am just starting to get into 3D printing for my layout... Using an FDM printer! I soon discovered the drawback of this - usually reliable printing process - when I came to trying to print some tiny N Gauge cars!!! Resin is definitely the way to go and something I would be looking into for these small model railway accessories. Good video 👍
Bonjour Sam. Nice test and very instructive. I have not made that step towards 3D Resin printing (and 3D printing at all) because, just like you, I was looking for a technical update around resin products. Some weeks ago I have understood that there are now water washable resins. Elegoo does provide such. It removes the need of the IPA for the washing process and it even seems to remove the need of the cure machine at all. This now definitely sounds interesting and appealing! 😊 Cheers.
I've been in the market for a new 3D printer and I was dead set on a certain FDM printer that I was just waiting to come back in stock, but this video convinced me to rethink it. I didn't know about the plant based resin and the fume issue was my main reason for never diving into resin printers. I've always wanted one since I am mostly interested in miniatures but I've just never had anywhere to put one.
Hi Sam, I'm so glad, seeing you read the manual first, before working with your new equipment. Not like these stupid people, who think that it's a proof for intelligence to throw away the manuals and then spill the net with their stupid questions.
When placing the fill on to the printer, give it supprots and turn it to 45%, before you print, build it on a raft plate first. The way you don't have a large amount of pull on the model,which can course the model to stick hard to the fep or build plate. Also you end you with it sticking hard to your build plate. Also your end you with less fails and a better model. Had mine for three years now and it on of the best bits of kit i have ever got, taken my modeling to new levels. An other tip when taking the supports off is to use hot water your find the supports will just fall off, do this before you cure the model after you washed it
I got a 3d printer a while ago from Elegoo too! It’s pla, and the fact that most of the parts on their filament printers are interchangeable is amazing. Now I can 3d print what ever the heck I want to again!
Huzzah!! good move Sam. You'll get some great results with a bit of practice. I had a hard time printing Gladstone with my Elegoo Mars II. Different printer, but tricks I learnt were; lift the project off the plate. Even by 3mm will make a difference. The resin spent on supports will off-set resin wasted on failed prints. And add as many additional supports as you can to the straight edges nearest the print plate to get a crisper edge. Enjoy!
It's good to see you give resin a try, better detail and so much faster owing to only having a Z axis move. One model or a whole build plate takes the same time. Great video Sam, thanks.
Hey Sam! Awesome to see you've picked up the resin 3d printing bug. I've only ever used resin myself and have found your videos on filament printing to be super enlightening, so thanks for that. :) I have a few tips that may help you with a few things here. It's good practice to get a protective surface for your bench, so that when you remove the models off of the build plate you're not risking getting wet resin onto the wood top. It's a real pain if it seeps into the surface. You can cure the stain with a UV lamp but then you've still got a tarnished bench top. You can just grab a rubber mat for this, there are loads of cheap ones you can grab that are marketed for putting under pet food bowls. They work a treat, and the UV resin doesn't eat through them. In terms of ventilation, even though you've gotten yourself safer resin (something which is often a dubious claim by the manufacturer so watch out for that) I'd still say try and work in a ventilated space. If the resin doesn't make you dizzy, the IPA will. In my expieriance the IPA is actually the worse offender in this regard, and having just managed to get the full setup going in my shed with newly installed cyclonic ventilation, I can't sing it's praises enough. In terms of that sagging on that print you made right at the end, extra supports will only kind of help.... kind of. You will ultimately find that no matter how well that section is supported, you'll get sags between each support. The issue is you are printing a flat surface parallel to the build plate. As the printer goes to print those initial flat layers, it has very little support bellow them and struggles to make that area solid, hence it sags. By printing the whole model at an angle, that flat section builds up gradually, and each subsiquent layer is supported by the slightly smaller previous layer. Yes, this means you will have to learn how to properly support models, but it's well worth it. Once you get into a good rythm setting up supports and knowing what to expect, the whole thing runs very smoothly, so it's worth putting those hours in. Sorry for the long response. Not trying to be that guy in the comments that points out all the errors in a video (trust me I've dealt with that nonsense myself far too often), just wanted to offer some help as you've been super informative for many things I've persued in the hobby. :) Happy printing!
Thank you so much for the help Nick - this video was shot on my first day with the printer, and it was actually a couple of months ago now! I bought a mat very quickly, and have been using that. I really didn't want to print at an angle with supports initially, as obviously that can double print time, so I tried everything to get them to print flat... obviously that was no good, and I now do print at an angle... I had to find that out for myself I guess! Thanks again, Sam :)
Take this advice with a grain of salt because I have no experience, I would recommend that you get a larger curing station just in case you want to make something crazy like a big Pacific or Northern (4-8-4) I give this advice just because I would personally like to see you make the GWR Great Bear :) That wagon looked amazing. Can't wait to see what kind of locomotives you can produce with that thing.
Finally! 🤣 You might want to get yourself a big silicon mat to work on. It makes cleanup way easier. eSun makes a plant-based resin that works well too and (at least where I live) it's a lot less expensive. Make sure to do a couple of exposure tests to dial in your settings. Different resins can need different exposure. You will not regret getting a resin printer, unless you drop resin on your carpet. 😁
I worked for a company that offered hearing aid shells made with resin printing. if the shell was very thin, they seemed more brittle than the polymer shells. we also used a clear coat to make the shells thicker if needed (UV cured). We did not do the printing.
Resin printing is amazing, I do scale models too and I can print batches of highly detailed individual tank tracks with all the pin holes perfectly formed for joining them, and also tiny details and mesh stowage baskets and the like... It's a great technology to come to a consumer level! Enjoy!
Lol, maybe a little more than that, but you could definitely get more out of a resin printer than what you could buy from the model rwy market for the same price.
Resin printing is great for detail! If you ever need to fix anything just use cyanoacrylate glue more commonly known as super glue. Make to place supports for your models sensibly as well. Good luck and happy printing!
I think it is always level because the surface of the liquid resin is always level. So as long as the printing platform is close to level, then all is well. Another thing. When I was in the Canadian Armed Forces we had gas-mask training. The mask had a canister of activated charcoal which worked very well to remove the horrible, stinging tear gas from the air in the practice hut. As long as you got your mask on quick enough upon entering the hut, the only parts that got stung were the armpits and the unmentionables. Love your vids. Cheers from Canada :-)
Finally! 😂 Well done Sam and welcome to the fun, frustrating world of resin printing. I would suggest buying a screen protector ASAP. Any spills on the screen will knacker it, so it's just added protection. Also the flashdrives sent with these machines are crap and tend to fail, missing sections of your sliced file. I have always bought replacement branded drives (sony etc) but you need to keep them under 16GB or they may not work. Another tip is fit a kitchen roll holder on that beam next to your printer. You'll want it ready for emergencies (which will happen!) have fun. Tom
You have given me an idea. I have scratch built a wooden wagon. I wonder if I could scan it and then make like 20 copies? A bit of paint, wire grabs and decals and it would be done.
What a useful video! You explained the process really well and answered a lot of my questions about resin printing. Unfortunately one difference from an FDM machine I suppose is that you cannot really see if the print is going wrong in order to stop it early. It would also be great if we could get to see a video of you spraying the resin models later on (assuming you do this). Thanks again.
Welcome to Resin Printing Sam! I have the Elegoo Saturn 8k which is a superb machine. One tip I would like to offer is check your print bed is correctly leveled every 10 to 12 prints, as in my experience the level does change. Might not affect your machine as it is newer, but its worth keeping in mind.
I level my Anycubic Photon before every print because scraping the prints off the plate moves it slightly. Thankfully, levelling is a quick & easy process though.
If you want a history accurate, yet unique and amusing little consist idea for your new resin printer, check out the old GWR tender weed killer trains! Looks right up your alley
Superb ! I'm in to buy one. For the price of two Hornby/Bachmann locomotives (or 1 Heljan 1/2), that's an amazing tool ! Like with my laundry, I can put it on one of my balcony while in use, that solves the smell problem (except in winter and while it's raining). You will certainly do extraordinary stuff with those tools !
Resin printers are a complete game changer for fine scale modelling, the detail you can achieve is impossible with any other techniques. Once you get some experience with this you won't look back, next you need to get experienced with some 3D CAD software so you can push your own models to the next level.
Fantastic video as always! Do you have plans to have a comparison video between this and your older, non-resin printers? I'm really looking forward for some better detailed rolling stocks - especially your own locomotive designs - produced with this new printer. Cheers!
I noticed you went straight into printing wagon bodies. If designing your own items, this is definitely not the easiest thing to start with. I bought mine as a way to print window frames for buildings & have also gone on to print other small detailing parts like chimney stacks, multiple working jumper sockets, coach seats, platform lamps. If you can design them, you can make them exactly the same time and again.
for something like wagons , you idea is preferable. Espesially as a lot od people would make them pretty weathered. On the other hand it is quite an initial outlay if only doing a few wagons. it is certainly worth considering. There are a few people on some of the facebook groups that I on that already do that and sell them. Hereford models had some made specially for a local company and were selling them for about a tenner each. I bought 5. Not sure they were 3D printed though.
I have the flash forge adventurer 2, I think, same as one of yours. I can't even remember the last time I levelled it, I think shortly after I bought a new build plate. I haven't needed to level it in a long time. The bed is slightly raised in the middle of the plate, so it's not perfectly flat, but if I raise the middle by 1 notch, then it's too high, so, this is basically as good as I can get it. But MANY of my early prints, had the level set too high, so the first layer is very squashed on those old prints.
Sam’s Trains Productions is expanding so now we can get 5x more balancing train cars XD Man this looks awesome Sam. I can’t wait to see what projects you tackle with this new printer
Sam i really recomend the magnetic build plate you spoke of....all of my resin printers use them, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You can remove and wash the plate with the model still attached. Leave to dry, Then remove the model by flexing the plate and cure it. With respect to resin smells.....most modern resins are pretty low odour .
Glad to see you are experimenting with resin. I think you will really enjoy making your next locomotive; using the resin printer for the details and the filament for your structural parts.
in your head turn the model upside down and look for areas that may pool if water was poured over it. This will happen to the resin so angling the print or leaving drain holes will cure this. The cutters are for snipping off support legs if you print that way.
There are so many possibilities with this device that I can see how you could replace defective parts on a model provided they’re plastic. It ought to occur to the manufacturers that their products will be repaired with new parts. Dare I say that this may be a game changer for everyone involved.
Hi Sam, finally got around to watching this video. I have been printing with resin for a while. I also run a Facebook group ‘3D printing for beginners- model railways’ so was interest in this video to share link on my Facebook group. Yes you have quite a bit to learn but in time you will. I have gone through several types of resin from not that nice to what I use now, definitely worth looking at the water washable resins. I also find that it’s best not to use a lot of different types as each type needs different settings, transparent resins have different cure times than non transparent resins. With this in mind master one type first, personally I mostly print with grey resin and using just one type I get consistent prints. Good luck and look forward to future videos.
I have a Photon S that I’ve yet to use as FDM has got me 90% of the way without the hassle of resin, but my bigger concern is long term durability. I’ve bought kits from others with resin parts that are about as straight as a corkscrew, and the other issue is fragility that gets worse with age, had a little accident with a small loco body on a Hornby peckett chassis and it blew into a million pieces, as well as suffering with cracks when hand drilling holes for handrails with a pin vice. Also bought some unpainted figures made with resin for the railway, detail is amazing but several lost their feet before they’d even seen a paintbrush!! It would be good to know if any resins, for instance the plant based one, prove to be more rugged?
Welp Sam . Perhaps you should try printing a N scale item perhaps . I mean from the ground up a little N scale piece of rollingstock . Like open wagons or coaches . And it would help expand your N scale collection . And for wheels you can use Peco metal wheels
22:40 yours came out much better than mine Sam. I think my resin 3D printer was faulty and I had to send it back, that happen about 3 month ago. Cheers Jasper & Willow
Very interesting and informative video, Which helped me understand what's involved in getting started in Resin 3D printing and with using this machine in particular. The plant-based resin seems a lot safer and produced great results - a definite plus. Thanks for another great review!
For washing: even if you let drop off the print carefully, there still is a lot of unvured resin on the print. So the isopropanol gets saturated quite fast. And the box of the washing mashine isnt'so easy to clean. So I optimized the cleaning process by using 3 containers extra: first to pre wash, second to pre wash again, third is the container of the washing mashine and forth is to "cure" saturated resin in the sun. After about 5-8 prints I swap: 1st container is put into sunlight, so the resin get hard and fall out of the isopropanol. Second pre-wash iso becomes first one, and the iso from the washing mashine is used for the second pre-wash. The washing mashine is filled with the Iso I cured in the sun and filtered, + some fresh isopropanol. This works great.
Thank you for making this video. I have recently bought the same equipment to dab my toe in the water. Have you found any sites that have useful files for model layouts (O, 027, and HO)?
they do actually make removable, flexible build surfaces (magnetic too). A lot easier to bend a flexible build surface to remove parts, than it is to have to cave man them off with a scraper.
It almost looks like injection molding Without that seem line through it The only locomotives I know that don't have the seem line through them. Are the proto 2000s
Exactly - it's capable of all the detail of injection moulding without the complexity! You lose the capacity of moulding, but you don't need that anyway! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Looks fun, from what I've seen from other youtube modelers it seems like these 3d printers (especially the resin one) is almost a necessity to do much of any detail work on either trains or your towns. I do have to wonder, UV curing is an absolute necessity, so how does that work when the lights can't shine into spaces inside your print? For instance that test piece only the outside and perhaps just inside the rim was really exposed to the UV lights it seems unless there's also an overhead light I didn't see. Either way, I can't wait to see how this gets your creative juices flowing.
Liked and subscribed on this first video I’ve watched. I have filament and resin printers and they both produce viable items depending on the requirements. I do like the higher resolution of the resin printer though. I’m looking to use it for making replacement parts for die-cast models. Good luck with your printer. I’m looking forward to seeing what else you produce. I use the water-rinsable resin.
Great video as usual, so just ordered mine, looking forward to printing my own 3D models soon, once again very informative video. I was sitting on the fence as to buying one, also ordered the same plant based polymer