GTX mold thread

[Fathead59]

Dave , I know what you mean by them being just toys after all , but when you put the time and effort into building them you want them to look good all the time . I understand that accidents do happen , but I figure to let that happen to all of the other cars that I have , not the ones that I put work into .

[Fathead59]

And Dave , I had to buy a second car from you because I accidentally knocked it off the table and broke it in half . that was before I beefed up the bodies with big popsicle sticks and shoe goo .

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I have to ask... Fathead, did that really happen?

[slothead]

Ken - I want to make sure I'm following your progress correctly. The Oasis Blue car in your photos above is a 3D printed GTX? I'm asking because I had no idea that degree of detail could be produced with a 3D printer. Perhaps what you are using is not like what has been talked about here as 3D printers that guys starting out are trying.

Am I correct in assuming your using printed prototypes as a first stage of developing molds for eventual injection molding like with the Cyclone?

You mentioned being interested in doing the Torinos from '72 and '73-'74, will you have access to 3D files of these to get started? If we are at a point technology-wise where these things are available in a variety of scales, or can be scanned and easily re-scaled, I'm truly living in an ideal time for the hobby. Items the big manufacturers would never make due to lack of mass market demand might just be possible for those of us who love our niche.

[proxieken]

[2fast4u14]

I have done the # 15 r/c cola torino.i posted pictures on home racing world facebook.i cant post pictures on this site.

[FC47]

I bet that RC is nice! :D I can’t see it from here :lol:
I bet Harry knows how to tie link to it for here..

Where did you find the decals for it at?

[slothead]

Here's one of the photos from HRW Facebook.



Where did you get the body for this, and the other cars you posted pictures of?

[2fast4u14]

resin bodies bought on ebay.decals from pattos.some of the resin bodies have been modified...by me.

[FC47]

That’s cool!, thanks for the scoop!

[Fathead59]

And yes Way , that really did happen . I had a stroke 2 years back . That is what got me back into slot cars . Figured that it was a good way to try and keep my mind off it . I was reaching for the car body , but I was trying to use the effected hand , well I couldn't get ahold of it and accidentally knocked it off the table . When it hit the floor it broke in two , what sucked is where it broke , right at the front pillars . That was when I started using Shoe Goo and different size popsicles sticks to beef up the sides and body .

[waaytoomuchintothis]

That truly and sincerely sucks. When my mother had her first stroke, years and years before her second, the most irritating thing she dealt with was that left hand that would just let go of things. It was something she could never remember to avoid, so plates were broken, bags fell, all kinds of things happened.

[proxieken]

More pics and info on 3D printing.

Turns out I was wrong about the Photon. It can fit a 1/32 scale car such as the GTX inside the build box if the car is turned diagonally.



So this came off the printer this morning and really helps to find problems now rather than later. I will point out some issues needing corrected and if you see any more please let me know.

To save time I picked one hood and printed it in place. The slicer did not leave a very defined edge. This should not be an issue because the hoods will be separate parts when it comes in plastic. The cowl vents are simply not going to work and will have to be redone to make them larger. This should hide well.



These sides tucked under are a bit of a concern. The parts has to flex enough to pop off, meaning that has to bend enough to clear the part that is not undercut. This is a tricky issue and with no real software or expertise to guide it is going to have to be a matter of just seeing what happens. If the plastic starts to stress crack the cooling time can be shortened so the plastic is bendable when it comes out.




Notice the body is setting on integrated posts for the Pioneer Chassis. When time allows I plan to create an adapter, that you just cut the lower portion off the post and attach the adapter over it to -relocate the post for a different chassis. That adapter will have very sturdy posts to allow for screw inserts.

The trim and door handles are exaggerated to make it easier to see and paint them. However, the windshield trim looks too big and will have to be resized.



Some more thoughts on 3D printing-

The Photon delivers some good results and it is remarkable that for around $400 you can print off things like this.

However, it took 12 hours to print a single car body last night. The body is brittle but I did buy and order some resin that claims to be less so. It seems heavier than the plastic body.

Maybe the printed method is best for stuff with limited demand. While the material is not as good as plastic the effort to create a plastic mold is pretty time consuming. While this little machine sets there humming all night- ( and stinking like crazy) and in the morning I got a car that with a little cleanup and paint would not be out of place on your track. I am going to paint this and see what it looks like.

The resin is also very expensive. The grey used here is $25 for a small bottle, perhaps a pint? (500 kiloliters or something like that) It seems you will get few cars out of a bottle, maybe 2-3? Just guessing here. And failed prints are wasted resin that is scrapped.

Just in my estimation, making car bodies in plastic is very difficult and will not really be cost effective until around 100-200 kits sell. If you have a total demand of perhaps 20 units worldwide printing the bodies might be a much better option.

My personal preference it styrene plastic for my own cars. But this is a pretty amazing method to play around with.

[arroldn]

This is great. My comments are that as you reduce the windshield trim also reduce the rain lip on the side.

[Fathead59]

Hey Way , sorry to hear about your mom , and that is how it is with me . The only way I can describe it is , if you were to split me down the middle , one half would work the other side not so much . I was told during my rehab that I need to use my left hand as much as I can , and trying to pick up a screw gets a little frustrating , but I keep trying .