A picture speak a thousand words right? Well, how about two pictures? That's right! Upgrade to the Full Color Sandstone material! Whiter whites, clearly definition in color, movable parts, and more. Read the official annoucement... Nancy PS. A big thanks to Stony & Magic for helping out with the material's research process. You guys rock!
Looks very cool, especially the moving parts! Just one question, is that right, minimum 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 CM? - that'll scupper my Eyes D6
Yeah, I should mention two things to be aware of: 1) There is a minimum bounding box of 2.5x2.5x2.5 cm. This is because with the new method (dipping in CA), it is difficult to apply an even finish and hold the model for anything much smaller. 2) Hollow models need an escape hole of at least 2.5cm in diameter. This is so depowdering does not take a long time (long time = pricier model) (for the rest please visit the new design rules page) We are also considering doing something like a Premium Full Color Sandstone, which allows for smaller items, thinner walls, and all the things that you guys like. But the catch there is that there would be a really high labor fee, something like $20-30, maybe even more depending on how liberal we make the design rules. Anyway, we will not be implementing the new design restrictions until next Friday. We want to give you some time to re-adjust your designs. Hope that helps! Nancy
At first i thought it was a typo... 2.5cm? - isn't massive suction equipment involved with de-powdering? 2.5cm escape hole on a 5-10cm sculpture wont look good... especially if there is no base or a hidden surface for it. On larger sized models maybe... but it would still be unaesthetic :confused edit: i guess i need a clarification on "ratio to part" ?
That's a good point, let me get back to you. Maybe something like ceramics, where the dimensions add up to x cm? That allows for thin pieces and flat pieces that are smaller in one dimension but make up for it in other dimensions.
Nancy, a 2.5cm (one inch) hole sounds a touch excessive. As Mitchell pointed out on a previous post, it is far more helpful to have two small holes some distance apart than it is to have one big one, so that you can blow air into one hole and it comes out the other. Can we agree on some smaller number when using multiple drain holes? Something like 1.5cm for two holes and 1cm for at least four holes?
Nancy, take a look at this model. http://shpws.me/KPG Each of the four peices is 15mm by 35mm, but they are only 3mm thick. I assume that this means it'll be rejected by the new design rules? Is there any way to deal with such an item?
All right, we can change the min bounding box to one such that all dimensions have to add up to 6.5cm. This allows room for things like flat objects and poles. Huzzah! Ok, let me see what I can do about the escape hole issue...
All right, you guys are good. Escape Hole rule: The basics is that we need to be able to get the sand out, to increase your chances of having a depowder-able design, we recommend that you do either: - 2.5 cm for one hole - 1.5 cm for two holes - 1 cm for four holes Note, even if you follow these rules there are always ways to make designs that are difficult to depowder. In short, keep this question in mind: if my structure was solid and filled out compact flour, would I be able to get everything out in a few minutes? Enjoy! Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks, Nancy
Just a curiosity, with full color sandstone, can it print in any color of the rainbow or are there fixed limits? I'm thinking of making an action figure of one of my models one day.
That kind of sucks really. Also, why not make both full color sandstone finishes available as an option, for models that don't really care about whiteness, that need to be a bit stronger, or just don't want a super glue finish?
Wizzard419: The color process here is the same as a dot matrix printer with CMYK ink. You get a full range of colors, but it's a lower DPI than you get with most home (paper) printers today. I'm attaching three photos here. The first is the original artwork that I applied to the model, and then the old process compared to the new process. You can see that the colors are much better in the new process, but they're still not as vibrant as in the original artwork. If you only knew how BAD I am at painting, you would understand how "good" even this new process looks to me. <grin>
If you deal with the fact that the disk must be at least 2mm thick, this should work fine as pocket watch dials. One option might be to sand the back side off after printing.. thereby making it thicker.
That'd be a big dial, 65mm minimum x + y + z dimensions... unless the dial is sat upon a post that can later be broken off
the thickness wouldn't be too much of a problem, some dials are very close to that. I will have to mull that one over.
A Q for Nancy, If moving parts are allowed, does that mean it is also ok to create multi-but-seperate-part models as long as all the parts fit the bounding box? What I'm thinking of would be a model like an open square tube so it fits the requirements for cleaning and with a lid that is a seperate part. Would both parts individually need to be made to meet the bounding box requirements? Cheers, Paul
Are tube holes < 1.5cm allowed? Those shouldn't be as hard to clean out as holes to large empty volumes. What would be the minimum then? Also, is trapping powder still not allowed for FCS, or is that trick allowed again now?