Today I started to rebuild some of my buildings after a tough winter - some of the corners from my Piko factory / brewery were missing and I opted to 3D print replacements.
The design was done in Sketch Up and the printed pieces fit nicely and should last for years & years. All I have to do now is paint them to match.
More info and the source files are here:
http://trainelectronics.com/3D_Printer/Piko-corners/
dave
This brings up a couple questions that I have been wondering about. What kind of plastic does it print and is there UV protection? What about summer heat and warping?
Paul - the plastic is ABS, same stuff that is used to make Legos - I have garden signs that I made from it two summers ago and they have been in the garden, unpainted, since then - there is no sign of color fading, warping or deterioration - I painted the corners so that is even more protection from UV - should last quite some time.
I suppose that darkly colored ABS could soften in direct sunlight, especially in southern states, but so far I have not seen any such issues.
dave
PLA is not supposed to be UV resistant. It’s also not supposed to glue very well. I’ve got a thin piece of PLA (a raft from a 3D station I’m building), screwed to a fence to get maximum exposure to Sacramento sunshine to test its resistance to sun. Unpainted, it’s been up about a month and no sign of damage … yet. For my station, though, I’m priming and painted the parts to closer match the prototype.
As for glue, thin styrene cement holds, but doesn’t have much strength. PLA 16 (like model airplane cement) is thick and holds like IRON. I’m testing it in the sun as well.
I wonder how many members have multiple missing corners on the brewery building(s) I know I’m missing a few… great solution! thanks for posting