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05-13-2020, 08:43 AM #1
- Join Date
- May 2020
- Posts
- 2
3D Print - Topographic Maps / Terrains
Hi there,
I am completely new to the world of 3D Printing.
Currently in lockdown and I've always been fascinated by maps. I am looking to tackle a project.
I have 3 questions if you can help please..
Background - Engineer who hasn't used autocad in a long time.
I would like to 3D print a specific area which would contain road, mountains and rivers. Ideally the size would be around A4 paper size.
There is a lot of good information online about how to do this. For instance,
https://blog.prusaprinters.org/how-to-print-maps-terrains-and-landscapes-on-a-3d-printer/
Explains to use one of the below sites then upload this into a 3D design software like Tinkercad. https://touchterrain.geol.iastate.edu/ or http://jthatch.com/Terrain2STL/
My plan would be to spend time on the autocad drawing, then ask a company to print this for me.
Question 1 - Is this feasible / Challenges?
What should I be thinking about that may be difficult? Is this a project that I could feasibly create?
2nd Question - Colour...
Should I paint this myself or could I get this 3D printed in colour?
If this isn't possible then I would have to rely on 3 colours for mountains/hills, water and roads... Roads - create a groove in cad drawing then stick a wire (of some sort) into the model. Mountains/Hill - Dip this in paint Water - Somehow paint over the paint to show rivers. Does that sound feasible?
3rd question
How much would you think it would cost to get this printed? Is there a specific quality of printer that I should use for something like this?
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05-14-2020, 03:10 PM #2
1) absolutely - pretty straightforward for even a basic FDM 3d printer.
2) painting it yourself would be the cheaper opyion. But there are a lot of full colour machines around now, including fdm ones. So yep, it can definotely be made full colour.
3) ideally you'd want it made on a polyjet priunter. Thius is a machine the uses coloured 'binder' in much the same way a normal inkjet printers does. The difference is that it prints on really fine powder that is bound into a solid block.
These machines cost upwards of $150,000 - and most of the decent sized print bureaus will have them.
The only way to find out what it will cost is to upload a similiar model - you'll probably need to have the final file in an AMF format.
Presumably there is a plugin for autocad that should export to amf format.
I;d be surprised if there wasn't.
It will also need to be a 'solid' file. Not just 'faces'.
Best way to get a ball park cost is to upload to shapeways. https://www.shapeways.com/
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05-14-2020, 03:12 PM #3
The hp multijet fusion machine listed on the shpeways website is full colour.
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06-09-2020, 11:50 PM #4
- Join Date
- Jun 2020
- Posts
- 1
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06-11-2020, 08:48 AM #5
Ender 3v2 poor printing quality
10-28-2024, 09:08 AM in Tips, Tricks and Tech Help