Hayfields 7mm 3D Printed Turnouts

[martin_wynne]

What are electricity running costs of these machines please? Many say they run for several hours or even a day to print one item.
Thank you
Tony

Install your 3D printer in a thermostatically-controlled living room, do your 3D printing during the winter months, and the energy cost of running the printer is effectively nil. The energy drawn by the printer will end up contributing to the room heating, reducing the heating cost by the same amount.

Martin.

 

[DonWillsmer]

Very true Martin but even in warmer days at 25p per KW it is not going to add much to the cost of a turnout.

On the subject of the Bambu A2 you say 60% bigger but will it take 60% longer to print? I found the A1 very good at specifying print times. I wanted to print some of the flexi sections because I needed to line up with a sector plate. I just printed on section at a time using repeat print to start then next. I thought should I have put two on the plate but then thought would it take twice as much time to print assuming the flow rate of the PLA is at the best rate for speed and quality. i.e thinker layers might increase speed and would a wider nozzle but both would be at the cost of quality.
I am delighted with the quality of the prints and no fettling adjustments needed. We are in debt to you again firstly for Templot itself being able to create drawings of turnouts etc. and additionally for making 3D printing them so easy. It is a game changer. Much is made of the cost and time saving but there is another benefit the sheer accuracy of the prints. I started building track in 1980 and have built it in EM, N, 2mm, 0 gauge and 16mm so know what I am doing but I cannot match the accuracy of 3D printed Templot track. The most tricky area is the crossing area and getting both sides exactly the same and positioned accurately needs a lot of care. Whereas 3D printed they come out exact making it available to those with less skill.

Don

 

[martin_wynne]

On the subject of the Bambu A2 you say 60% bigger but will it take 60% longer to print? I found the A1 very good at specifying print times. I wanted to print some of the flexi sections because I needed to line up with a sector plate. I just printed on section at a time using repeat print to start then next. I thought should I have put two on the plate but then thought would it take twice as much time to print assuming the flow rate of the PLA is at the best rate for speed and quality.

@DonWillsmer

Hi Don,

There are a dozen factors affecting print time, but the size of the build plate isn't one of them. The same .3MF file should take the same time to print on an A2L as an A1. If sliced specifically for the A2L it might be a bit faster because I believe they have speeded up some of the default print speeds. I would be a bit suspicious about that as purely a marketing decision because generally print quality is inversely proportional to print speed. In any event we can change the print speed to whatever we want.

Putting two copies of a file on the build plate (i.e. cloning) will generally print faster on Bambu than repeating a print because of the startup calibration, levelling and purging process at the start of each print, which typically takes 8 or 9 minutes every time.

On the other hand printing two copies at the same time means waiting longer for the first one, and having the printer tied up for longer if you need to print something else.

Specifically for 3D-printed track we are not interested in print quality below ballast level. In Bambu Studio the "Height range modifier" function can be used to increase (say double) the layer height for the lower part up to maybe 0.5mm below the timber top. This can save a lot of time.

Otherwise for 3D printed track the single biggest factor affecting print time is the choice of timber thickness. In the next program update there are some changes which can affect print time. The wood texture option means there is no need for the lengthy ironing process. And using the strut timbers option to accommodate dropper wires saves on both filament and print time:

This doesn't unduly affect the strength of the timber and makes a good pattern for glue-grab on the underside:

The wood texture setting is "branch lines" in the photo, and KEY-COT chairs. See also that at long last we have the slab & bracket chair option for the crossing nose, with two options for the slab -- REPW or REA, above is REA.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[76043]

Install your 3D printer in a thermostatically-controlled living room, do your 3D printing during the winter months, and the energy cost of running the printer is effectively nil. The energy drawn by the printer will end up contributing to the room heating, reducing the heating cost by the same amount.

Martin.

I got the £ monetary answer elsewhere thank you which also included filament dryer costs for damp (increased Rh) winter living room operation. It's clearly cheap to run whatever the weather.
Tony

 

[DonWillsmer]

What you say confirms for a particular turnout whether done on two bites on an A2 or three on an A1 is likely to take much the same time overall.
I find reasonably short print times work better for me. I can work round taking the dogs out or other things.
That print looks very good. I have not investigated new features like wood texture I wanted to get the layout progressed. When I get round to the big project I think that will be worth using.

Don

 

[Hayfield1]

What are electricity running costs of these machines please? Many say they run for several hours or even a day to print one item.
Thank you
Tony

I can only talk about the Neptune 4, I see no real material difference in my electrical costs when using the 3D printer. Seemingly our washing machine, dish washer or kettle uses more

I doubt if it uses anything like 1kwh** to print a turnout base, even if it did its only 25p, add this to the cost of the print. Even if a 4mm turnout print totaled at 50p look at the savings. A C&L pack of plastic turnout timbers is £12. A pack of Exactoscale turnout timbers is £7 which will build several turnouts

I would be more worried about soldering irons !! I am interested in power usage as I have solar panels and soon will have a battery pack, but as I said the printer is quite efficient and seemingly uses not much power

** I think to print a turnout base will be far less than a kwh

John

 

[Hayfield1]

What I can add the case for the 7mm modeller is even better. From memory the cost of a 7mm print is in the region about £1.50, the energy used to print it may be nearer a kwh, but even if its that much its only 25p

The benefits are far wider for the 7mm track builder
The prints have the correct chair detail (unavailable elsewhere)
With CARROT prints the accuracy of the common crossing is better than scratch building (in form and placement)
Build process is very much simpler than other methods
Build is so much quicker
Bespoke geometry available
Easy to use bespoke filing jigs for Vees and switches available
Cost is a fraction of both other methods or RTR

As I said a turnout base will cost £1.50 A C&L turnout Timber pack £12 (better value than 4mm)

I have costed out building a turnout (B7 or B8) which costs around £10, but you need to file the vee and switch rails (easy to use, and reusable filing jigs can be printed). If you are not using a C&L kit you would have to both do the filing, then spend extra time building the common crossing. Not considering not having all the special chairs available

C&L full kits from £113 (these do include gauges, preformed common crossings and switch rails)

Simply the cost of energy use is minimal, one thing we have not taken into consideration is the cost of energy used in light and soldering iron usage during the scratch build process, now it might even be cheaper to 3D print, especially in winter, though I would not rely on the 3D printer heating up the room

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but the amount of power the 3D printer may be a red herring. It could actually be cheaper than traditional building methods, plus unless you have a very well insulated property< I would not rely of the printer to heat your room (sorry Martin but I have a 100 year old house)

John

 

[John_B]

Not a turnout, but I've just done a 65 minute print of a stepper motor mount on my Qidi Q1 Pro, with a filament drier running as well. It used 0.236kWh.

 

[martin_wynne]

I would not rely of the printer to heat your room (sorry Martin but I have a 100 year old house)

@Hayfield1

Hi John,

I didn't suggest that.

I meant only that the printer will help a little bit towards the room heating, reducing the heating cost just a little. Making the energy cost of running the printer effectively nil in winter. In practice it's hardly worth thinking about for printing track, but the question was asked.

If you were printing a large solid object say 9" thick and filling the bed area, running for many hours, and using a filament which needs high temperatures, the printer running costs might start to build up.

Martin.