Interesting
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23795303
Have to say that I haven't been OVER impressed with the stuff that much more costly scanners and cutters have produced....Though they're certainly getting a lot better.
Works to a certain extent on straight line stuff at 20mm 'scales' and above....But there's a tendency for a 'corrugated' effect to be produced, especially on flat surfaces, unless the 'cutter' is incredibly fine. (At least on untouched masters that I've seen so far.)
This means a 'master' has to be cleaned up by hand, by filling in the pits with a super fine putty and then painstakingly 'glass-papering' it down.
But it is an interesting technology.
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Techno on 23 August 2013, 07:43:44 AM
Have to say that I haven't been OVER impressed with the stuff that much more costly scanners and cutters have produced....Though they're certainly getting a lot better.
Works to a certain extent on straight line stuff at 20mm 'scales' and above....But there's a tendency for a 'corrugated' effect to be produced, especially on flat surfaces, unless the 'cutter' is incredibly fine. (At least on untouched masters that I've seen so far.)
This means a 'master' has to be cleaned up by hand, by filling in the pits with a super fine putty and then painstakingly 'glass-papering' it down.
But it is an interesting technology.
Cheers - Phil
Well if this is the first of a cheaper range coming out then hopefully in a few years they will be a lot better, same as 3d printers...The original OCR's were pretty awful but there a lot better now
I've seen various ships (in about 1:2000th scale I think) done on a 3D printer and they were very well done. Whether the device will ever attain the twin goals of detail and reasonable price remains to be seen.
Well if you think back 30 years to the releative costs of phones and Pc's for example and what they cost now, hopefully we will see a radical reduction in price
I'm sure at some stage they could reduce.....But I'm wondering if there'll be enough call for them; for the price to drop to that extent ?
Maybe. :-\
Cheers - Phil.
Wasnt it the head of IBM that said he could never see the need for more than 5 computers in the worlld
3D is the future in miniatures. BUT currently it takes so much time to transfer a digital scult into a moldable master you save no time over traditional sculpting.
Scanners and Printers for home use are still not good enough to get good quality minis. A decent printer would still cosst about 50 grand and 15mm would be about the smallest it can do.
But alas, there will be minis homeprinted some day.
PLUS : Decent 3D sculptors are rare.
So far, I haven't been impressed by any 3D work (except vehicles and robot).
Quote from: barbarian on 23 August 2013, 05:35:19 PM
PLUS : Decent 3D sculptors are rare.
So far, I haven't been impressed by any 3D work (except vehicles and robot).
Definitely agree with 'B' on those points. ;)
Cheers - Phil.
The main factor, as Phil mentions above, is the demand for them. Printers/scanners/digital cameras/etc/etc have all come down to a good price level because every household needs them, it creates competition, and the product can be mass produced. With 3D scanners and printers, there isn't going to be anywhere near the same level of demand, and the majority are going to be bought for businesses and educational use. This will keep the prices artificially high for a long time to come.
Also, like barbarian, I've not seen many convincing digital human sculpts. The proportions never seem quite right, and the physical prints tend to look like the plastic railway figurines. I think you need that human eye input to get a truly great figure, so for now, 3D sculpting for figures would be a step backward.
Vehicles though have a lot more potential, and the ability to use the same design in any scale with the click of a button is a huge plus.
Scalewise would you agree that it is partly due to 32mm being called 28mm (heroic) and proportions are messed there? :-\
I won't bore you with all the details, but the harsh reality is that 3D printing/scanning etc at home is not a realistic prospect for at least a decade or so, more likely an awful lot longer. 15 years ago the RP industry was promising us the ability to print food at home in a few years. It never happened. As I've been in the design and prototyping industry for over 25 years, we hear this stuff every few years as it makes good column inches for the press and pushes up the share price of the company involved. We just laugh when we read it.
With Z brush, a very good sculpting package, you can get some amazing stuff created, but as with all things, it depends upon the skill of the sculptor. Again, using a very good high definition printer, such as is used by the jewellery industry, you would be amazed at the level of detail achieved. However the print price is prohibitively expensive for most figure companies such as Pendraken.
As others have said, for vehicles etc RP is a very viable option as the detail that can be currently achieved is more than adequate for our gaming needs. Look at AngelBarracks 6mm vehicles, just perfect (I've seen them in the flesh). Again however the unit price can be too expensive for one off items due to the high overheads/minimum unit price that comes with these systems.
Sounds a bit like making artificial diamonds - the manufacturing process is more expensive than digging them out of the ground and cutting them.
Quote from: Hertsblue on 24 August 2013, 09:21:16 AM
the manufacturing process is more expensive than digging them out of the ground and cutting them.
But with less child slave labour and armed gangs ****** and killing the local populace
Quote from: Fenton on 24 August 2013, 09:24:23 AM
But with less child slave labour and armed gangs ****** and killing the local populace
Apparently r'a'ping is a censored word
Quote from: Fenton on 24 August 2013, 09:24:23 AM
But with less child slave labour and armed gangs (...)
Yes, That's also what I thought while reading.
Should they be paid and get a real life, diamonds would be much more expensive..
Debateable. The diamond-producing nations stockpile them to keep the prices artificially high. Industrial diamonds are relatively cheap.
QuoteDebateable. The diamond-producing nations stockpile them to keep the prices artificially high. Industrial diamonds are relatively cheap.
I work in the jewellery industry and this is correct. But it is not the diamond producing nations that stockpile it is the large diamond houses that control the supply.
I remember watching a documentary last year about gold mining conditions in the third world and some stupid reporter women going on about how we could end all this by just recycling more of the old gold we have. I ended up shouting at the tv, stupid women we've been doing this for donkeys years.
Back to 3d printers, I remember when we started using them in the jewellery trade about 15 years ago and yes they are pretty useful for making master patterns but in a lot of cases they still need to be finished of by a skilled model maker by hand. For any master I get made I use a 65 year old chap who has being doing it for decades and is bloody amazing. A design technician using CAD just doesn't have the same knowledge of production and what can go wrong.
Even if the price of the printers comes down it will still be more expensive to print a tank at home rather than Leon to spin you one off for £2.50. But it will be cool to print of those obscure things you always wanted but too niche for a company to mass produce (like centurions ;D)
QuoteBut it will be cool to print of those obscure things you always wanted but too niche for a company to mass produce (like centurions Grin)
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Would someone enlighten this poor German fellow. What is a Centurion? :d
I believe a Centurion was the leader of around a hundred Roman Legionaries... :P
42 days and you'll all know. You'll all know!!
<maniacal laughter>
Only if I give the nicked mould back to Leon :d
Quote from: Steve J on 24 August 2013, 11:43:31 AM
I believe a Centurion was the leader of around a hundred Roman Legionaries... :P
Nearer 80, the hundred is a common misconception. Unless the centurion is prima pilum and serving with the first, double strength century (c.160 legionarii) in each legion. Up until c300AD/CE anyway.
I thought it was less than a hundred, but now it is confirmed. Thanks Lemmey :).
Quote from: sebigboss79 on 23 August 2013, 09:06:52 AMBut alas, there will be minis homeprinted some day.
Not in my lifetime ;)
Quote from: fsn on 24 August 2013, 12:33:45 PM
42 days and you'll all know. You'll all know!!
<maniacal laughter>
We could have a sweep on the
actual number of days, I suppose.. ;)
Cheers - Phil.
53
Quote from: mad lemmey on 24 August 2013, 12:56:34 PM
Nearer 80, the hundred is a common misconception. Unless the centurion is prima pilum and serving with the first, double strength century (c.160 legionarii) in each legion. Up until c300AD/CE anyway.
Yes, but wasn't the entire first cohort, the veterans' cohort, double strength? So all six 1st cohort centurions would have commanded 160 men (Inasmuch as any legionary unit was ever at paper strength) .
to total 5500, yup. But the Prima Pilum was the senior centurion.
Still say 53 days
Quote from: Hertsblue on 24 August 2013, 04:27:07 PM
Yes, but wasn't the entire first cohort, the veterans' cohort, double strength? So all six 1st cohort centurions would have commanded 160 men (Inasmuch as any legionary unit was ever at paper strength) .
5 double strength centuries in first cohort. 800 men in total
Been fifteen years since I've even considered this. It all changes in the later empire when legions are either shrunk or split into formations about 1200 strong. So much for my MA in Later Roman Military History.
;D