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You’ve seen all the cool custom parts other guys are making for their vehicles and now you think you might be ready to delve into the world of 3D printing. But then you look at all the different specifications and details involved in choosing a printer and the cost that can be involved. And then there’s mastering the software needed to create the designs themselves. Now you’re wondering if this is really for you after all. Well, don’t get spooked—we’re here to help!

We’re not going to tell you that you can just jump right in and start printing professional-grade parts in your workshop on day one, but there are actually some ways to get into 3D printing that don’t require a steep learning curve or huge piles of cash. Let’s take a look at some things virtually anyone can do to start taking advantage of the benefits of 3D printing right away. Then you can gradually build your skills so that you will eventually be that guy designing and printing your own parts from scratch!

PHASE I: ONE-STOP SHOP AND PRINT-ON-DEMAND

The easiest way to go about getting 3D-printed parts is to let someone else do the work for you! That’s one of the main concepts behind Shapeways. The company has developed its site into a digital marketplace where its community of designers put up their 3D designs for you to buy. There are literally millions of 3D-rendered designs on the site, with thousands more posted every month by its community of DIY designers. Those include countless designs with RC applications—everything from model-specific chassis or suspension components to scale or custom parts and add-ons of every description. Chances are, if you’ve thought of it, somebody has made one—and it may well already be in Shapeways’ library of designs. (Need a narrowed RC4WD TF2 Toyota Hilux axle with bottom leaf mounts? No problem—it’s there.) When you do find that special part for your build, you simply select it, choose among various options—which can include different colors and materials (including metal for some parts!)—and then have Shapeways print it on demand and ship it directly to you. We live in the future!

PHASE II: YOU DO THE BRAINWORK— THEY DO THE LEGWORK

At some point, you will probably move up to wanting to design your own parts—either because you have a wild, one-of-a-kind build that no one else has ever done that requires something hyper-specific or because, through experience, you’ve come up with a way to build a better RC mousetrap. Whatever the motivation, when it’s time to design your own parts, there are a plethora of software applications out there for the purpose, and a surprising number of them are actually free! They range from simple— like Tinker-cad or Sketchup—to the more complex and full-featured open-source CAD programs like Blender or OPENSCAD. And then there are numerous commercially available programs, which we may explore in future installments of RC Maker. What you choose will ultimately depend on your personal taste and the needs of your particular project, but once you’ve mastered the software well enough to produce a 3D rendering of your desired part, you can then upload your virtual design to a service like Shapeways or Sculpteo. For a fee, these companies will professionally 3D-print your design and send it back to you. You handle the software, they provide the hardware, and you end up with your part. You may even be able to register it on their site and collect a share of the profit if someone else sees your part and wants the company to print one for them too!

PHASE III: PRINT AT HOME, START TO FINISH

This is what most people think of when they talk about 3D printing. And home-use 3D printers have gotten massively more capable and remarkably more affordable in recent years—so much so that it has become a practical option for many RC enthusiasts. The parameters in selecting the right 3D printer are far too numerous to delve into here in our first edition of RC Maker, but we will be looking at that in future columns, where we will tackle topics such as multi-axis resolution, speed, media/ materials, and printer type (stereolithography versus fused deposition versus selective laser sintering). Don’t worry if it all sounds like a foreign language right now— we’ll get there! For now, just know that you’re not as far away from printing your own parts at home as you may think. And once you own your own 3D printer, you can not only print your own designs but also take advantage of the myriad 3D designs that are already out there being shared among RC enthusiasts.

THESE COMPANIES WILL PROFESSIONALLY 3D-PRINT YOUR DESIGN AND SEND IT BACK TO YOU ... YOU MAY EVEN BE ABLE TO REGISTER IT ON THEIR SITE AND COLLECT A SHARE OF THE PROFIT IF SOMEONE ELSE SEES YOUR PART AND WANTS THE COMPANY TO PRINT ONE FOR THEM TOO!

Shapeways uses professionalgrade 3D printers to produce pieces from your uploaded designs.

There are several free 3D design programs available. Tinkercad is one of the easiest, and there are a bunch of RC designs in its user database for you to tinker with.

Designs can be uploaded from literally anywhere. Pawel Krupecki out of Warsaw, Poland, is the designer behind RC Nerds. (He also supplied the pics.) 87

Shapeways prints in various materials—including some parts in metal, such as this Scx10-compatible bumper designed by Knight Customs.

Shapeways.com is a digital marketplace where anyone can buy parts designed by its community members and professionally 3D-printed by Shapeways itself.

One of the great benefits of 3D print-on-demand is the ability to make highly specific parts economical for almost anyone. This hyper-detailed ’85 Toyota Hilux dashboard from RC Nerds is a perfect example.

Senior Editor Kevin Hetmanski achieved the look he was looking for with his Yeti MT Project Truck using several parts he 3D-printed through Shapeways.

SOURCES Dremel dremel.com Sculpteo sculpteo.com Shapeways shapeways.com When your skills are sharp enough, the detail resolution from 3D printers like the Makerbot Replicator 2 will amaze you. But it comes at a price: about $2,500. 89

Prices have come way down on consumer-grade 3D printers. Units like this 3D20 Idea Builder from Dremel can be had for about $800.

When you’ve progressed to the point where you start designing your own parts, you can upload them to a 3D-printing service like Shapeways or Sculpteo and they will print them for you, like Kevin did with his headers and wheels.