Train Simulator & Railway Modelling...

[sem34090]

Hi All,

I've been having an interesting discussion, a few days ago now, with a creator of 3D CAD to be 3D Printed for Railway Modelling as to how Train Simulator and Railway Modelling fit together, and perhaps how the two should intergrate more.

I've also had this idea:
Could 3D Artwork created for Train Simulator be used by model railway firms to create models? In the same way as, say, a 3D scan? As a few examples, Victory Works (one of the TS developers) has released a terrier pack which covers absolutely every variation of the class. Could this artwork be used by someone to develop a model from? Or (as another example) the forthcoming Caledonian 812 0-6-0 from Digital Traction?

Just a thought.

Also, It'd be interesting to hear who else on here straddles both sectors. I do, quite a lot, being a member of two model railway clubs and exhibiting regularly at shows. I'm currently devising an industrial layout inspired by NCB systems such as those at Mountain Ash, but partially inspired by Maerdy and Weardale & Teesdale! Hence why I asked on here about Mountain Ash...

I know of someone on here who was inspired (and did!) to build the Forth rail bridge in 1:450th scale after driving the MSTS route.

All the best,

sem34090

[TrabantDeLuxe]

Could a video game asset serve as a basis for a 3D-printed scale model? Yes. Are they then in essence the same thing? No. Would you be better off just starting from scratch? Quite probably.

Video game models tend to employ loads of 'smoke and mirrors' tricks to make things work at acceptable performance - you'll need to fix those before sending things off to be 3d printed, which is basically just tedious work. Then you've got to ensure that all the little greebles have an acceptable size for the printer. All of this is a rather uninformed opinion by the way.

Having said that, high-poly artwork might be somewhat more usable, but I don't think all artist do a complete hipoly for a complete model. I certainly dont.

[sem34090]

Hi Trabant,

I thought as much. I was slightly more thinking along the lines of the 3D scans that the main manufacturers use nowadays. Those certainly aren't fully-fledged 3D-printable models! 3D printing requires many things a TS model doesn't and vice-versa. 3D printable CAD could possibly form a basis for a TS model though...

All the best,

sem34090

[TrabantDeLuxe]

I'm not really at home in the model railroading bussiness, but these scans, what purpose do they serve other dan being a reference image? Surely, a train sim model could serve as a reference, no doubt about that. Although, one has to ask, aren't there better references available?

[sem34090]

Hi Trabant,

The scans are used in place of traditional measuring. The scans then form the basis for a CAD model, from which the injection moulding tools are created.

I'm not sure of the details, but I'm sure somebody somewhere on here will know.

All the best,

sem34090

[AndiS]

The key here is pixel-based vs. vector-based.
A 3D scan is the same as a 2D scan, it gives you information for each cube (of some fraction of a mm in size) whether the model is there or not. Since this is all the 3D printer wants to know, you are done as far as 3D printing is concerned.

If you want a model in the computer, you need to vectorise it. That means that you send a ton of clever algorithms that find out which pixels (or voxels in case of 3D) are next each other and how they can be abstracted to surface descriptions that resemble what you have in any 3D editor. Like "cylinder of length L and diameter D located at X, Y, Z, oriented E,F,G". Or at least a series of triangles or quads in 3D space of some reasonable size. This is something computers can process efficiently.

Then you need to unwrap and texture it. Now you could imagine a very clever device that takes photos together and in sync with the laser scan. Actually, I believe this is done in a slightly different way, with the scanner and a camera rotating around the object on their own mounting, but adjusted to face the same way.

They do such things with artefacts and historical sites. But I guess they end up with higher production cost per item than what is usual in train simming today. And there may be less performance issues in a viewer that does nothing but show the preserved item than in a game that runs lots of vehicles through crowded places like stations.

[davep]

Don't know anything about CAD, scans etc. but I do railway modelling.
Currently building a layout, Whitedown Jn, along with some other chaps
hopefully to be exhibited at some stage.
(Search FB for the layout name if interested).

[sem34090]

It was just a thought...

Now, let's see your modelling ( ). Nice to hear someone on here's building a layout. As I've said, I've got a colliery layout in the planning (Mucking around in TS!) stages, and the first loco bought for that layout arrived early from Hattons today:

Littleton Colliery No.7, DJ Models (Hattons exclusive Ltd Edition of 200) Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST.

The colliery layout has come into being through a combination of factors, the first being visits to the Tanfield Railway (IMO One of the best preserved lines I've visited. Haven't got to Foxfield yet though...), another being my love for unusual subjects, and the third being my ownership of 'Return to Maerdy' in TS!

Anyone else been inspired to build a model railway based on something they've done in TS?

All the best,

sem34090

P.S. I hope the image satisifies the forum requirements, as I've had a few issues with this recently. It should be about 800p x 300p, if not then please tell me!