Our FAQ’s include some affiliate links…If you use them we get a small kickback from amazon and we really appreciate it! Again, As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
01. How much to have a body/shell printed?
Scale 3D RC, Inc does not offer a 3D print service or 3D printed body/shells ready for assembly or pre-assembled. Scale 3D RC, Inc only produces and sells files that can be printed using additive manufacturing such as 3D Printing. You will need to have access to a 3D Printer, know some one that does or find a print service provider either locally or online.
02. How much filament is required to print a body/shell?
This will depend on the size of the body/shell of course. A long SUV type body will use more filament than a Cab alone. In our own experience we typically purchase a single 1 kg spool of filament and print an entire SUV shell. Granted that is, as long as everything goes correctly. Learning curve can have an impact on filament usage as well.
Below are Paid affiliate links to HATCHBOX filament on amazon you can use to check pricing or purchase. This we can recommend as we have had excellent results with their product.
PLA filament has a lower heat resistance while ABS, though harder to learn to print, has a higher heat resistance. Other types of filaments are also available.
03. I don’t know the first thing about 3D printing! What do I do?
Neither did we when we started this adventure back in 2016. But with some perseverance and the help of a “Massive” 3D print community online we were able to get to the point we are today. The shear amount of helpful websites and forums is incredible! The hardest part for us was learning how to ensure the first layer was on the build plate in the correct fashion. It needs to go down as a ribbon not a tube. Then came learning about increasing adhesion. Now we have difficulty getting the parts off of the build plate, but the parts always stay put (A little glue stick goes a long ways). We have dealt with warping, cracking, clogged nozzle, print shift and even a motherboard melt down (Why it is so important to do your homework before you buy a printer). We have even seen people just like you buy their first printer just to try our body/shell files and have there first one printed in a couple of weeks. So with time and some patience we have truly enjoyed learning what is possible with 3D Printing and so can you! The sky is the limit.
Here is a link to the 44 problems with 3D printing and some suggestions on how to work through them. “44 Issues explained - by rigid.ink”
Beyond that, the vast amount of YouTube content on 3D Printing will keep you busy for years.
04. How large of a printer do I need and how much will that cost?
The minimum build volume size that you will need to print our body/shells at home in an approximate 1/10th scale is 200 mm W X 200 mm Deep X 180 mm H.
The cost of printers large enough can vary widely depending on the feature set and construction of the model.
Below are Paid affiliate links to 3D Printers that are large enough to print our default 1/10th scale (roughly) body/shells and each is less than $400.00 at the time of this page creation, the majority below $300.00. This means you can pick one up for as much as a new High End RC Crawler Truck kit or less, such as an Axial SCX-10 II, RC4WD Trailfinder 2 and the like. This of course begs the question,”Do I get a new Truck kit, or a 3D printer and start learning how to print bodies/shells for the chassis I already have?”
You can use these links below to check pricing or purchase, however, do your home work! We are not going to indicate that we are recommending any of these printers. These are examples of partially assembled 3D Printers that are large enough with lower setup times with fully DIY (you fully assemble) kits for less, so as you narrow down the selections go to the manufacturer’s forums and find the fan pages on Facebook or other social platforms and try to find out what the user base is complaining about. We do not believe that any one printer will be perfect, so being prepared for what can go wrong and knowing how to overcome it will go a long way to keep enthusiasm high and downtime to a minimum. The only other thing to consider would be features that may be valuable to you.
If you have purchased a wider chassis that, for example uses Portal Axles increasing the width of the foot print, you would benefit from a larger print volume unit such as the example Tevo Tornado below. With the 300 mm W X 300 mm D by 400 mm H build volume, this would allow for scaling up and printing shells at the wider widths.
05. That seems quite the investment to print a body or two….. are there other alternatives?
Yes, though we believe the best long term value is found in the DIY route with your own printer at home. The alternatives are to find a local 3D Print service provider, check for groups on Facebook that offer 3D print services or upload the purchased file to sites such as www.shapeways.com and get quotes.
Also, keep in mind that we do not have a limit to the number of times that you can use the files to print a shell. This is not a license to print a shell for all of your friends, they need to purchase their own files to print their own bodies, however if you do happen to damage a shell beyond repair you can print another, try a new paint scheme, hone those finishing skills.
Lets just be sure to be mindful of keeping this responsible, it is likely OK to have a different shell for each day of the week, but likely not necessary to have one for each day of the year. We also do not want to see land fills full of broken or unfinished body/shells. Lets be responsible.
06. Once I buy the files can I have multiples for myself and print for my friends?
As stated above, we do not have a print limit on the files, however we want the community to remain responsible with the printing of files. We can see users wanting to have more than one of a given body and we figure that up to 7 would be acceptable for a given model at any given time, but lets keep it responsible.
Regarding printing for friends, we have no problem with you offering your printer and skills as available to your friends to print bodies, however we do not give you permission to use your own files purchased from us for their body/shell prints. We need to pay our bills and feed our families too, so each user should be purchasing their own sets of files. When you print for them, you should not be retaining a copy of their files for your self but you should be ensuring that they do have their copies of files they have purchased when the printing is complete. This will ensure that they have the option and a reason to consider getting their own 3D Printer if they decide they want to give it a shot. What, if any amount, you charge for your skills and equipment time is between you and your “Friends”. What your “Market” will bare for you is for you to figure out.
If you are a business that offers a 3D Print Service, you are welcome to print our files for those that do not have a 3D Printer of their own. We ask that you either ask them to show you proof of their purchase prior to the print or buy the files for the customer, along with a USB thumb drive and provide the customer with the files, jump drive and digital copy of their receipt when they pickup and pay for the completed print, passing those additional costs on to the customer appropriately. The end result being the same, the customer has the files in hand to provide them with the option and reason to potentially try 3D Printing themselves or bring them back to you on the provided thumb drive for another print if needed.
We know this is an honor system, some will value this and some will not. We hope that our entry level price point will out weigh those feelings of cost savings.
07. Why is it that some bodies differ in what accessories/parts are included or do not quite look right?
From the very beginning of our inception, we have recognized that 3D Printing for RC and 3D Design for RC are going to become an ever growing valued skill set for the RC enthusiasts of tomorrow. We may find this hard to believe now, but the enthusiasts of the future will need to have these skills as nearly 2nd nature. To that end, we have purposely left every model as incomplete and without a mounting system. We ensure you get a basic shell with basic accessories and we also vary those accessories from model to model. We do however expect that those that have already acquired or those with the desire to acquire these skills to fill this gap.
We have also published some basic getting started in 3D Design videos on our YouTube Channel to get you started in design. We want to pass on the starting point that we started with and encourage the community to design accessories and mounts for the body/shells. Make them available for us to purchase from you by getting them uploaded to sites such as www.shapeways.com or www.myminifactory.com. We believe that you should benefit from your involvement in our adventure.
It also allows us to keep our design time and therefore our file set costs to a minimum.
Why do they look like they do? 90+% of the work is done by eye, looking at different references. Who is to say our eyes are the best for this…..we wont say it.
08. What are you using for the windows/glass?
We have had excellent results using 3/32 Lexan/Poly-carbonate. Of the clear plastics available it is the one that seems to heat to a pliable temperature without shrinking using a heat gun. This allows for roughing in a pane and if needed heating and bending it to fit an opening where needed.
Beware! Overheating can cause boiling or bubbles to appear inside the structure of the Lexan/Poly-carbonate. Also, we have never made a single bent windshield in a single take, it is pretty tricky when doing it by hand.
Below are Paid affiliate links to similar product as we have used. We have been buying ours locally at our local hardware store.
09. Scaling! What if my chassis of choice is only 1/18th Scale or maybe 1/5th Scale?
That is the beauty of 3D Printing. Parts can be scaled prior to print right in the slicing software. It really is that flexible! We have users that have printed down to as small as 1/35th scale for Orlandoo Crawlers using .04 mm nozzles with nearly adequate results, as well as attempts down to 1/72nd scale that failed. These results could be improved by using a smaller nozzle at the extruder/hot-end of the printer. The issue is that when scaling parts, everything scales including wall thickness, so you can go so small that the nozzle can not print a wall since it now to thin.
On the other end of the spectrum, going larger will be most impacted by the size of the build volume of your printer (although a larger nozzle will also help allowing for shorter print times).
The options available are to hack up the parts in 3D software to make the parts smaller or get a printer with a larger print bed.
10. What software do you recommend for those just starting out in 3D Design?
There are many software titles out there that can be used to create models for the RC Community. Fusion 360, TinyCAD, FreeCAD, TurboCAD, AutoCAD(Makers of Fusion 360) and honestly the list will continue to grow.
Our suggestion is Blender from www.blender.org since it is free to use on Windows, Mac or Linux and can be used for both personal and commercial purposes. We know! The Learning Curve! But it is free, and we have done our best at this point to provide the starting points to make it easier with our YouTube content. So with some perseverance it is possible to get great results.
They are also nearing the release of version 2.8 which is really going to revamp the interface. It sounds like it will really reduce the learning curve. Looking forward to testing it.
11. I tried, but my computer just dies when working in 3D!
Not every computer will be able to handle 3D printing or 3D Design. Google Chrome books are likely not powerful enough and may not have access to software needed via the google play store! You will want powerful graphics for 3D design and a faster processor is better than slower when it comes to slicing and just daily use.
Our recommendations :
Nvidia Dedicated or Integrated Graphics or AMD Radeon Dedicated or Integrated Graphics with modern processors makes working with 3D parts smoother.
Intel 8th gen i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 processors or better should do the job nicely even if mobile in application.
SSD Hard drive Storage is faster then mechanical Hard Drive Storage. This will make loading and saving 3D designs faster.
More RAM Memory is better then less RAM Memory and allows the computer to work with more information without loading it off of the SSD or the Mechanical Hard drive. 4GB of memory is at the lowest end of what is acceptable, 8GB or more will be a real benefit as model design gets more complex and makes working with them faster and smoother.
12. I have heard that the 3D Printed bodies are not strong enough or not TEMPERATURE RESISTANT enough.
Being totally honest, they are not going to stand up to as much abuse or heat as mold injected bodies nor be as resilient as Lexan bodies. Especially since you have multiple choices when it comes to the filament that is used to print the shell. We even have received reports from a couple of users that learned the hard way that PLA will become soft in direct sun light. But there are other filament choices with higher temperature resistance. All that being said however, a quick google search will net plenty of real life car parts melting in the sun as well. It is up to all of us to be mindful of the conditions we use or leave our bodies/shells in.
That being said however, recall we have no print limit on the files as stated earlier. So you do not have to be afraid to use your truck as well. You can always print another if you need to.