UV printers

[Clarence3815]

A firm in Switzerland is offering model coaches with the body colour and lettering created by the use of UV printing. I`d not heard of this before. Does anyone have knowledge of this technique please?

Bernard

 

[simond]

Bernard,

3D printing is (at least from a hobby POV) either resin or fused fibre.

the resin is UV cured, and I guess that’s what they mean.

cheers
Simon

 

[Clarence3815]

They are specifically saying the colour of the coach and the lettering is done by UV. Not the structure of the coach.

Bernard

 

[GrahamMc]

A firm in Switzerland is offering model coaches with the body colour and lettering created by the use of UV printing.

Here's a website that describes it and a quote from the website.

'UV printing is a distinctive form of digital printing that involves the use of ultraviolet (UV) light to cure or dry UV ink almost as soon as it is applied to a prepared substrate. The UV printing process is unique. The substrate can include paper as well as any other material that the printer can accept. This can be foam board, aluminum, or acrylic. As the UV ink is distributed onto the substrate, specialized ultraviolet lights within the printer are immediately applied to the material over the top of the ink, drying it and adhering it to the substrate.'

HTH.

 

[NickB]

Thanks for the info. It's an example of how quickly 3D printing technology is moving. Another example that's had publicity recently is "cold fusion", in which metallic materials can be printed without needing a high temperature to fuse them. We won't be printing metal components in the garage for a few years yet, but it is a step towards it. Exciting times!

Nick

 

[Bill Bedford]

A firm in Switzerland is offering model coaches with the body colour and lettering created by the use of UV printing. I`d not heard of this before. Does anyone have knowledge of this technique please?

Yes,this has grown out of printinmg on to fabrics. There are a couple of machines that will do this, but they are too big and too expensive to be used by hobbyists. I saw a company selling these machines at TCT this year and it was noticable that all their sample prints were safely housed in glass cases, suggesting that the models were not particularly robust. Shapeways offer prints using this techique.

 

[Mike Trice]

From memory I think uv printers can print transfers using white pigment.

 

[Bill Bedford]

Try this page

 

[simond]

Presume that’s the method used for the trackside workers that @Jordan (?) posted?

price for printer appears to be €156k, though there’s a cheaper one that’s only £40k

 

[Rob R]

, though there’s a cheaper one that’s only £40k

Might as well get 2 at that price...

 

[Jordan]

Presume that’s the method used for the trackside workers that @Jordan (?) posted?

price for printer appears to be €156k, though there’s a cheaper one that’s only £40k

No idea, you'd have to ask Lyndsey a.k.a. @Ixion of this Parish.
According to their website (WestEdge 3D) it's a Stratasys J55 Prime printer.

 

[adrian]

Presume that’s the method used for the trackside workers that @Jordan (?) posted?

price for printer appears to be €156k, though there’s a cheaper one that’s only £40k

I don't think it's quite the same thing - the trackside workers are 3D printed and the colour pigment is blended in during the polymer deposition and UV curing. Whereas I suspect the coaches are not 3D printed but supplied as unpainted shells. The UV printing is then inkjet printing the livery on the coach shell, where it would simply air dry on paper on plastic it needs the UV curing to "fix" the ink to the coach shell.

 

[simond]

I can interpret it either way.

I can’t recall where I saw it but I’m reminded of the comment about “for every society there will be a technology so advanced that for all practical purposes it is indistinguishable from magic”.

 

[adrian]

I can interpret it either way.

I can’t recall where I saw it but I’m reminded of the comment about “for every society there will be a technology so advanced that for all practical purposes it is indistinguishable from magic”.

A quote I believe from Arthur C Clarke - however the original post didn't make any mention of 3D printing, that was your post. Maybe you missed the vital clue in Graham's post

'UV printing is a distinctive form of digital printing that involves the use of ultraviolet (UV) light to cure or dry UV ink almost as soon as it is applied to a prepared substrate.

It's applying an ink to a prepared substrate, i.e printing onto an existing physical item, not a 3D print.