Advice on 3d part

[ennisdavis]

I would like to create the nose of this train on a 3d printer using an autocad file. Is this possible?

[FLSUNNOTFUN]

The easiest way to do this would be to 3D scan the piece you want to replicate. I'm sure someone on this forum has a desktop 3D scanner that you could send the part to so they can scan it and send you an STL and possibly a STEP file of it.

Otherwise you would need to use some of the more advanced CAD tools out there such as CATIA Generative Shape Design...etc. I'm sure Fusion 360 has tools like this, I just haven't figured them out yet, but now I'm curious.

If neither of those options are feasible, you could draw up/print a rough shape of the nose and then start grinding it into shape from there. Obviously not how we like to do things, but when CAD tool licenses cost thousands and thousands of dollars it may be worth considering.

[airscapes]

Anything is possible give the correct resources, time and money, the question is, is it worth it. I would suggest looking into a designer who model figures for D&D gaming and such. They would have the cad software and knowledge/artistic ability to develop a model like that. This issue for those of us with basic cad skills are the curves.. The person doing the design would also heed the part in hand. Maybe as suggested a scanner.. but not sure how accurate they are, this part needs to fit together with the rest of the train so it needs to be somewhat accurate. Good luck!

[FLSUNNOTFUN]

If you know how to use it/take the time to figure it out, Blender can be used for stuff like this. Not exactly an ideal parametric 3D modeling tool that you would use for part designs, but people make some pretty cool things with it. https://www.blender.org/download/

[curious aardvark]

it's a simple shape - ANY cad program will let you do that - and easier and quicker than the post processing involved in low end 3d scanning scanning.
I'd use openscad - but anything from tinkercad on up would work fine.

To actually answer your question - yes.
Autocad can generate stl files for use with 3d printers.
But you need the full package not autocad lite (jut 2d).
And probably an add in to make the file 'solid' and generate the stl file.

[FLSUNNOTFUN]

it's a simple shape - ANY cad program will let you do that - and easier and quicker than the post processing involved in low end 3d scanning scanning.
I'd use openscad - but anything from tinkercad on up would work fine.

To actually answer your question - yes.
Autocad can generate stl files for use with 3d printers.
But you need the full package not autocad lite (jut 2d).
And probably an add in to make the file 'solid' and generate the stl file.

Could you please post a video and or briefly explain how you would create that type of shape with simple CAD tools? Maybe I'm over complicating this, but I don't see how you would create/replicate that swept back nose piece that easily. If you could please show us, I'd learn and benefit from it.

[curious aardvark]

video ?
me ?
lmao.

It's a series of stretched and resized spheres.
You measure it with digital calipers and then you hull a series of resized spheres and cylinders - print and fiddle with the numbers till you've got it right.
Then shrink the shape and remove from the original solid to create the hollow shell and chop the back off.

With any other cad package surely you can use a sculpt tool and then size to correct dimensions.
If you knew what you were doing sculptris would do it easily.

Don't see what your problem is ?
It's just a series of reshaped spheres and cylinders.

One thing with using openscad a lot - you pretty much start to think in shapes and what you do to the starting shape to get the different shape you actually want.

The 'hull' command is brilliant. you basically stack a few shapes and it then wraps a smooth skin around them.
So for the nose of a train you just stack in the basic shape and add your skin. Adjusting where necessary.

I'm not saying it's ultra quick and I am certainly not going to do it just for you :-)
On other hand if there's money in it - no problem :-) send me a train shell and I'll reproduce it. (I need the original thing as most people almost never measure things correctly or accurately.)

Because YOU can't do something, NEVER assume someone else can't either.

[6Ternes]

Hey there,

As I am a hands-on person and I think that knowledge needs to be shared, I attach a quick proposal that could work for you as initial shape.
You need accurate measures so the part fits, but I modelled this in less than 10 mins, just to show it can be done easily.

Steps followed:
1- Draw the profile like if you cut the figure in a half.
2- Set horizontal planes in points that define the shape (like when it changes the surface direction).
3- Place a surface that join the first profile (guide) with the horizontal sketches.
4- Done simmetry to get the other half of the train's nose.
5- That's all.

HERE I uploaded a PDF-3D of that part

[FLSUNNOTFUN]

Hey there,

As I am a hands-on person and I think that knowledge needs to be shared, I attach a quick proposal that could work for you as initial shape.
You need accurate measures so the part fits, but I modelled this in less than 10 mins, just to show it can be done easily.

Steps followed:
1- Draw the profile like if you cut the figure in a half.
2- Set horizontal planes in points that define the shape (like when it changes the surface direction).
3- Place a surface that join the first profile (guide) with the horizontal sketches.
4- Done simmetry to get the other half of the train's nose.
5- That's all.

HERE I uploaded a PDF-3D of that part

Thank you! As I suspected, I was way over thinking this. Exactly what I was looking for.

[curious aardvark]

oh yeah - you can do 2d - 3d extrusion in openscad as well.
But as I can't draw in 2d - I never consider it as an option :-)