AGREED. as you tend to print smallish stuff a cheap resin printer (under £200) would be ideal. the quality of resin printers is amazing......a sub £200 resin printer will easily print higher quality than a £1000+ FDM printer
@@TDax Due to one of my friends highscools large suplly of resin printers cause no one else can get them to work he played around and was resin printing small replacement parts for one of my models. afterpainting you couldnt tell what was new or old.
No I wouldn't bother it's not good for trains.... I own a resin printer and trust me it's not for playing ... great for scale models where you paint and place on a shelf and never touch it. Something that vibrates and could get knocked .....nah your setting yourself up for pain.. but for scenery stuff yeah man do it
Sam I’ve just thought of an idea that might fix you’re railroad 9F, maybe you could print a new chassis for the tender. Just a thought but it would be cool to see a video on that project.
A very good review, thanks Sam. I'm new to 3D printing. It was good to see the fine detail of the printed model close up. There is still the slight layering effect of the plastic, but with painting I expect that would smooth down. This looks like a good entry-level printer to get started with. One question please, - how to you get your 3d files or wagons etc? Do you scan original models or can they be purchased ready to print? Cheers, Angus.
I saw a 3d printing video long time ago where the article he made was put into a container with some acetone next to it in a dish, after being left for a while the surface lines made by the printer dissapeared because the acetone dissolved the surface and made a smooth finish, Could be worth a try,
My Magician X assembly didn't go smoothly. Mingda support were very helpful and quick. One of the large screws wouldn't engage. It's a deep hole - at the bottom the case plastic and support metal holes didn't line up. After some perseverance the screw finally engaged. The pack also contains two small screws that are not mentioned in the manifest or instructions. They fit in the plug shroud at the back of the bed to stop it being pulled out. You have to make sure they engage with the captive nuts - as the bottom plastic can bend instead. Looking at Sam's video - it seems mine is an enhanced bed plug shroud with added screws for extra security. The final confusion was a thick-ish sheet of clear plastic covering the bed - very strongly stuck. Loose on a couple of edges - but no obvious tabs or markings that normally indicate a protective film. However - that is what it is - so remove it. Now getting close to printing click-in adapters for a (Sam £3.50) 8x16mm or a 10x20mm coreless motor in an early variant Mehano/Model Power RS-11. In hindsight it would have been quicker to have shaped one with front lugs out of a small piece of wood. Instead of needing the complication of a rear clip - possibly use a longer 2mm self tap pan screw through the under-chassis weight screw hole which is clear all the way into the motor compartment.
Sam thanks for the review I just backed the Kick starter and was starting to worry if it would be good or not because of the low price . I decided on FDM instead of resin because of cost but mainly for increased bed size and ventilation and noise ,it will be in the living room of my condo and I don't want to bother my neighbors or die of the Resin fumes . But thanks to you I think it should be great for my Traveller and D&D work This is my first 3D printer experience ,so I am sure that was why I started to get nervous Again TY for the great review
Hi Sam, hope this isn't preaching to the choir: To combat the warping you can try a few things: 1) clean the bed with warm water and a small amout of dish soap to eliminate any excess grease/muck, 2) clean bed with 90% (or higher) IPA, 3) check your bed temperatures, 4) build your skirt up higher to act as a semi-enclosure (another 4-5 layers should do in most cases) and help prevet drafts, 5) lower the cooling settings on the hotend fan (if there is one and it's not a one speed job) so that the corners don't cool down as quickly. However, if there are Z-height bed levelling inconsistencies from the auto level, then you may have to put a couple layers of raft down. If you don't want to waste filament on a raft, a brim may help keep the edges down (not sure if Cura allows brims to be selected to just be on the corners like Prusa Slic3r does though).
I think I might understand the random small shifts in the Z axis between prints that appear to be a common user observation. My touch screen is not just randomly apparently unresponsive - but often acts as if a nearby icon has been pressed instead. One of these is the Z height adjustment which I believe I saw it do instead of "back". If not this root cause - then certainly a problem. A more visible muddy footprint case is "Runoff On/Off" toggling. Sorry for all the posts but it is a likely place new users will look for pointers.
I bought for £40 a customer return Flashforge Finder, the only faults being the X and Y endstop switch boards are damaged and bought a pack of six endstop boards for £6 as everything else works beautifully... I'm very keen to make some model rail stuff up as well as stuff for my watch work.
I'd your ever looking at other 3d printers could you try and look at the easythreed Minnie/nano. They are very cheap at £130 but are meant to be very good so I would be interested to see how they print. Great video Sam. Many thanks
Caution: when using a loose roll of filament - there is nothing to stop it coming off the back of the holder. The filament can then become tangled round the support and stop feeding smoothly. Not sure why the Z axis movement is so clunky =- in between clunks the screw rotates smoothly. Both motors are synchronised - so it is presumably the way they are driven. The head actually gets stopped by the end of the previous layer and forces its way past that point - the vase and head shake.
Fascinating stuff! This is an amazing new dimension in modelling. Do all of the prints have that stratified look showing where each layer was added? Can they be sanded or filed to produce a smoother finish? Can you add rivet detail?
Thanks James! Yes there's quite a bit you can do to reduce the layer lines... and you can reduce the height of each layer too, which improves quality but obviously takes longer! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
As you get more proficient with 3D modelling, you'll learn what's good to print in one go and when to separate parts to print individually and then snap/glue together. Rivets don't resolve well if they're facing out on the x/y planes, but if they're facing up/down the PLA layering can deal with their resolution much more accurately.
I would recommend using a layer of Blue painters tape over the print bed, rub it down with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol. This should help get prints to stick better to the print bed, some people like to use hairspray on glass beds, I wouldn't recommend this because it can gum up parts over time.
I think the slight warping adds a degree of realism especially to that plank body. Real rolling stock certainly isn't millimetre perfect. Fascinated to see what you print next. Mk1 coach?
I am impressed with the models produced. Yes you can see the layers at the high magnification, but when you've enlarged an 00 gauge model to 21" monitor size you're gonna see that!
Could I suggest designing and building "coupling link converter" rolling stock? To deal with disparities in coupling heights or, perhaps, more interestingly,with US coupling at one end and UK at the other.
I would be warry ordering this printer. I may have just got a bad one. I ordered a Magician X about 3 months ago. I have only been able to do a few prints. First my bed belt broke, took 3 weeks to get the right belt to replace. Now I am having issues with the extruder motor functioning properly. And have been fighting with Mingda for about 2 months for them to send me a new motor. Finally 3 weeks ago they said they were sending me a new motor and well it has yet to ship out to me... When the printer does work, it is a great printer needing very little maintenance and tinkering. The print quality is pretty great right out of the box.
As a 3D newby - I am well on the way to becoming an "expert - someone who has made all the mistakes". Warning: the manual seems to omit several steps in the menu navigation - and the current UI is slightly different. Not helped by my screen touches always bleeping - but usually requiring several unpredictable attempts before the menu changed. Waited for ages for the Preheat to tell me it was ready - the option buttons were "Stop" and "Back". You use the "Back" to return to the main menu to see its heating progress. Finding "Load" was another exercise in navigation hit & miss. Be careful of the manual's red arrow indicating you rotate the knob - it will soon unscrew completely. Another video shows you have to ease the lever back a little way to get the filament into the wheels. It initially feels like you risk breaking something. The "Load" button seems to feed in increasing increments - one for each press - so more experimentation needed to see if Sam's continuous press will work. The levelling had parked the head at the extreme bottom left of its travel - not the best place to see the filament coming out and sticking slightly to the base (not the plate). It is now printing the "vase" test to check that it can reach a reasonable height. So far so good - the vase stem is looking a very smooth surface. If the sample is plain PLA - then possibly eSun PLA+ will be even smoother. However - there is a distinct click presumably when it lifts the head for the next layer - and that has created a vertical seam in the vase. Still - I expect to be a happy bunny now.
You should try out resin printing, since it allows for much finer details than fdm printing. Also you might want to try filling and sanding your 3d printed models to remove layer lines and give it a smooth finish
What a stunning printer, with this you could probably create an army of 3D printed Sam’s and never have to do any model work again! Great stuff, quite surprising how good this printer actually was! -TheImperialDiamondSpinosaurus
I have been looking at something like this, not for the rolling stock (in N I think a resin one would be way better) but for retaining walls and other buildings, platform sections and so on where I think it will be perfect. Also for Scalextric bits really helpful review
This seems like a reasonable beginners printer based solely on little things like auto-levelling. I have a CR-10S Pro v2, and it has many of the same features at double the cost, but it does also have a larger build plate. I do wonder how the quality of the electronics compares. The X carriage power cable looks decent, but I wonder how that feed system, extruder stepper and stepper drivers will hold up with some use. Time will tell!
Hi Sam I recently bought the Flashforge Adventurer 3 after watching your review, as I also was nervous about whether to jump in to 3D printing. I have been like a kid in candy store ever since. I have finished my fourth 5 plank wagon and printed everything except the wheels complete with "separately fitted" brakes and fine buffers. Then started a house that morphed into a factory with "skaledale" brick relief and 0.4mm fine window frames. And because I'm a Grandad One TRex, 2 Bey Blades (semi fail) nah! fail. So thank you for getting me started. Also I use Blender which I have played with for years on and off.
Hi Sam, great video with some good tips on set up, my question is how to fit wheels on the printed wagons ? I have had some problems with the axle box frames breaking of trying to fit axles in, what would you suggest, Warming the chassis up in warm water To make them a little more flexible ? Any help you could offer would be much appreciated. Paul
I think it would be more interesting for you to feature 3D printed models that are not readily available as RTR and kits. Things like trucks and oil wagons are so easy to obtain it is hardly worth the trouble of 3D printing them! On the other hand, something such as a curved bridge or viaduct would add an interesting feature to a layout without great expense, given that you've already forked out for the 3D printer! Thanks for uploading.
Hey Sam -£220 ?? Print say 10 seven plank coal wagons and that's the printer paid for! For anyone starting in the hobby that piece of kit would be a great investment! Regards Terry.
I have the creality LD 002r resin printer with a 2k LCD and prints at 0.05mm res only cost £175 and I would love to be able to design rolling stock or even locos but I really struggle with the design software side so I have found 2 or 3 things on thingivers. But would love to print off what I've made they look amazin
Sam, the layer lines are showing more than they should. There are some videos on RU-vid about how to print with less showing. Worth a look. I like that printer with self-levelling. At the end of this month, I am buying an Ender 3. Like the one I borrowed from the college, it has all the updates and a stepper motor silencing board. The fan housing around the nozzle has also been modified. I am using the same filament as you are and I have had no problems with it. I will take some photos of what I made with the one from college and email them to you. Unless you have a Line account and I can them that way. Martin. (Thailand)
Seems a really good machine and for that price also. Btw, I had the same exact issue with the protective plastic on the screen of my Ender 3 V2 that the plastic is pinched between the screen and the cover so could not get it off completley instead having to cut it with scissors leaving an ugly edge I cant get out from there in any way. Need to get the cover off in some way to remove it i guess. At least the machine works great. just like yours.
Thanks for uploading this intresting video about the mingda 3 d printer. It has had helped me a lot in choosing witch one of two models i am going to buy. I liked your new wagon and body print and the tank wagon. 👍👍🇸🇪🇸🇪👍👍👍
Heya Sam; with all this knowledge you're getting on 3d printing, have you thought about making something more complex, like say, a main-line bogie coach?
@@SamsTrains Actually, that could be an interesting future project; something unusual and eyecatching- maybe like one of the Great Central Railway's 60-foot "Barnum" coaches.
Would you be able to share your print settings for this please? I picked this machine up the other day and have gotten it close but I just can’t seem to get it like you did.
Sam, are you able to share any of your STL files, be interested to see how your models print on my £700+ Original Prusa MK3S+ and what the difference is in quality!
@@SamsTrains Thanks Sam I hope also I brought the Aveturer 4 and here in Australia where everything 10 X expensive I was just worry i fork over $1000 for an inferior machine sorry if I came across upset I really enjoy your videos
Just watching this video and wanted to ask - how is this printer for someone who is brand new to 3D printing, and is looking at loads of video reviews for something suitable? 🤔
This looks like a fine machine. Compared to you're other printer this printer looks like its has more trouble with ringing and aligning the layers properly. Also, look into DLP 3D printers if you want to make models without visible layers.
Yes it does look that way - though check out the print at the end... that one was done with acceleration and jerk control enabled, and all of the sloppiness went away! I'll be showing more produced with this soon! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hi Sam Thanks for uploading another 3D print video. Just wondering, comparing it to your first video on 3D printing. Can you use the same program to draw the models up on this new one? Or do you have to concert to another program? Many thanks Ben
Glad you weren't playing with trains. It's too hot for that. By the way, you agreed to try creating a Ruston Shunter with the 3D printer. When are you going to do it? Do it soon, or you won't hear the end of it.
I'd really recommend looking at resin printers at that kind of scale. You'll never match the level of detail using an FDM machine. It is messier and a littler more effort, but it's worth it
Interesting video Sam, really quite informative. Is it possible to reduce the 'ribbing' effect - limiting needs to trim manually? Is that simply adjusting the time and temperature? Answered in the main at the end. Can you print the wagon bodies with more-acceptably thin doors - they look about 2mm thick on your trials? Is this too weak / difficult to print when thinner? You did mention 'warping', so I suppose this is a possibility when pushing the envelope. Interesting. Thank you. Al.
Hi Alan, Yes those are the layer lines - this printer *can* produce models with very thin layers, but of course they take longer... so everything printed in this video was done at 0.18mm layer thickness... whereas it can do 0.08mm and lower! Alternatively, you can spray models with filler, or bath them in acetone which will help to hide the layer lines! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I definitely like this printer. I would have to say it is equally as good, maybe better, than your previous one. Definitely time to make a lot more rolling stock and to start learning how to paint :)
HI Sam. would love one of these one of these but understanding the jargon would be bind blowing I noticed on some of the instructions you showed in the pamphlet abbreviations they take it for granted you know what they mean .dose 3d printer scan the item you want copy. great video Sam thank you.
I think we're looking at the future of model trains. New trains costing near £200 why pay that when you can print your own buy an motor and wheels print the chassis for less. The hobby will have gone full circle in terms of homemade items.
