Laser Cutting

[Chris]

Just wondering if anyone has much experience in using laser cutting services?

Ive made a CAD file of the DMU sides and wondering about laser cutting to get a nice accurate shape, smooth curves etc

What material would be best?

or would developing the drawings into a 3d for printing be a better idea?

Any thoughts would be appreciated

[Tricky Dicky]

The clue is in the word cutting. A laser cutter is good for cutting out flat shapes but I have not seen one that can cut profiles. That means if your DMU sides have any curvature in them you will have to use thin material that can be curved to a profile after cutting. At the last show I attended in Doncaster next to our layout was a guy selling laser cut buildings, I at first thought it was thin ply he was using but it turned out to be a thin but very stiff card out of which he had cuttings of things like lattice work and many intricate features you find on buildings. Unfortunately I cannot remember the company name.

My own preference would be to 3D print you could probably print out your body in one piece whereas laser cut models would involve additional assembly. Of course the quality of print will depend on the quality of 3D printer especially if you want to minimise layering lines but that might not be an issue if you are using a printing service who might have industrial quality printers.

Richard

[Chris]

My issue with printing is i have no experience in 3d drafting but 2D is rusty but possible.

My thoughts for the very slight curve at the bottom of the sides was to simply use a material that would be thick enough to sand/shape to the correct profile.
currently working on the bulkheads as that turns my sides into a coach and will let me see where a drive can go.