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Post by joanlluch on Oct 3, 2015 11:56:44 GMT
Hi All,
I have been a subscriber of "Model Engineer" for a year now and I'm mostly happy, but I need to renew my subscription now and I wonder if there's something else that would match better my particular interests or that would compliment said magazine. My main debate is that "Model Engineer" seems to cover well the traditional ways to make things, but it rarely focus on the opportunities that new technologies can offer. For example -just to mention the most obvious- I am not aware of any single article that covered the use of CAD or CNC. Much less 3D printing or new materials. Also, the number of articles discussing conceptual subjects is very scarce as most of the magazine seems to be devoted to "builds", which are of course interesting but they look to me like the same known old stuff.
So, I recently became aware of "Engineering in Miniature" and just wondered if there's any difference. What do you think? Any suggestions?
Thanks.
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jasonb
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,209
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Post by jasonb on Oct 3, 2015 12:14:08 GMT
Have you not been reading the "mastiff plus" series that is currently running, plenty of CNC there. There should be an article on 3D printing and casting from prints soon, well as soon as I pass on my drawing to the chap how is printing and getting teh casting done.
MEW has a long running series "CNC is the workshop" and generally has more CNC related topics than ME
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Post by ettingtonliam on Oct 3, 2015 13:05:39 GMT
Hi All, I have been a subscriber of "Model Engineer" for a year now and I'm mostly happy, but I need to renew my subscription now and I wonder if there's something else that would match better my particular interests or that would compliment said magazine. My main debate is that "Model Engineer" seems to cover well the traditional ways to make things, but it rarely focus on the opportunities that new technologies can offer. For example -just to mention the most obvious- I am not aware of any single article that covered the use of CAD or CNC. Much less 3D printing or new materials. Also, the number of articles discussing conceptual subjects is very scarce as most of the magazine seems to be devoted to "builds", which are of course interesting but they look to me like the same known old stuff. So, I recently became aware of "Engineering in Miniature" and just wondered if there's any difference. What do you think? Any suggestions? Thanks. I don't think you'll find Engineering in Minature any better than Model Engineer in these matters. IMHO, Model Engineer's Workshop is the magazine to look at. |
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Post by Roger on Oct 3, 2015 15:28:02 GMT
I've bought one or two Model Engineering type magazines over the years, but to be honest, I think they're a waste of money that I'd rather spend on tools and materials. If you're building by traditional methods and you have little workshop experience then they are probably interesting and useful. The only CNC things I've seen have been very 'knife and fork', assuming that you're going to be creating programs manually with G-code or perhaps 2D CAD.
Since I don't do things that way, and I'm not a traditional builder, I don't get much from them. If there are any specific questions, you're better off asking them here in my opinion.
So it really depends very much on what you're expecting to get from them.
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Post by joanlluch on Oct 3, 2015 18:10:33 GMT
I've bought one or two Model Engineering type magazines over the years, but to be honest, I think they're a waste of money that I'd rather spend on tools and materials. If you're building by traditional methods and you have little workshop experience then they are probably interesting and useful. The only CNC things I've seen have been very 'knife and fork', assuming that you're going to be creating programs manually with G-code or perhaps 2D CAD. Since I don't do things that way, and I'm not a traditional builder, I don't get much from them. If there are any specific questions, you're better off asking them here in my opinion. So it really depends very much on what you're expecting to get from them. Hi Roger, That's about the feeling I get every time a new magazine issue pops up in my tablet. I may still pay one more year and gave them the benefit of doubt, but so far I think that there's room for improvement. I do not think that the "Model's engineer workshop" would really make any difference for what I'd like to find. CAD, CNC and CAM is just one among several things that could be covered in such magazines, but just that would not make them more appealing to me. To make my point clearer, I get the impression that the coverage of conceptual subjects, or experimental designs, was much better in the past than in recent years. Unfortunately I have not easy access to old issues -except when one of you have kindly sent a copy- and anyway most of these old issues may already be outdated. I miss the kind of articles that -for instance- studied the temperatures and efficiency of a boiler, or the performance of several piston ring materials or configurations, or the series about firing a loco with propane/butane gas, or the benefit of superheaters with a look at their various designs, and so on. All this kind of stuff seems to have disappeared of the convenience of a magazine, and now you have to find your way through the mess of internet blogs and forums. |
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Post by Roger on Oct 3, 2015 18:22:42 GMT
Hi Joan,
I think the problem is that it's a shrinking market. Years ago, the only sources of information for the hobbyist were Magazines and Books. Now if you want to know something, you just google it. Those brought up with the magazine era of Model Engineering are probably the ones who are still buying it, and most of them aren't interested in anything that involves new technology.
The future for niche magazines is bleak in my opinion, an E-zine would be more appropriate in this day and age. The cost of printing and distribution of a magazine adds nothing to its content, so I think it would be better off being online. If you could subscribe to the entire back catalogue online, it might be worth paying for, but not one issue at a time when it's so expensive.
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jasonb
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,209
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Post by jasonb on Oct 3, 2015 19:36:19 GMT
Did you miss Andrew Johnsons two part series on hollow piston design? CAD design and drawings including computer stress analysis, 3D printed parts to see what they would come out like and then mostly CNC machined.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2015 19:42:42 GMT
I can't remember which magazine but I do recall reading a number of articles on CNC etc...iirc there was one showing how to convert a manual machine to CNC..
Pete
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Post by Roger on Oct 3, 2015 20:07:53 GMT
Did you miss Andrew Johnsons two part series on hollow piston design? CAD design and drawings including computer stress analysis, 3D printed parts to see what they would come out like and then mostly CNC machined. Well, I missed all of them because I don't read magazines. I converted a manual machine to CNC, taught myself CAD and will do the same with the 3D printer that's on order, with help from YouTube and appropriate Forums. These things are perhaps new to Model Engineering, but in the wider Engineering world I've been interested in them for decades. The point I'm making is that you don't need niche magazines like Model Engineer for any of these things. If you're interested in them, it's easy to find out what you need to know from the internet and its community. I'm sure it's a good idea to show readers that there are other ways of making things, but I'm not sure many of them want to know. The problem with magazines and Forums for that matter, is that by the time you've spent a few years with them, you can't help but think that you've heard it all before. Things get repetitive and stale without new things, but die-hard readers don't like change. I really don't think you can square that circle. |
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Post by joanlluch on Oct 3, 2015 20:24:07 GMT
Did you miss Andrew Johnsons two part series on hollow piston design? CAD design and drawings including computer stress analysis, 3D printed parts to see what they would come out like and then mostly CNC machined. I would be interested on that. What issue was that?. The first I have access to is number 4491 (vol 213) from September 2014. Maybe I missed it? Thanks |
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Post by joanlluch on Oct 3, 2015 20:30:30 GMT
Hi Joan, I think the problem is that it's a shrinking market. Years ago, the only sources of information for the hobbyist were Magazines and Books. Now if you want to know something, you just google it. Those brought up with the magazine era of Model Engineering are probably the ones who are still buying it, and most of them aren't interested in anything that involves new technology. The future for niche magazines is bleak in my opinion, an E-zine would be more appropriate in this day and age. The cost of printing and distribution of a magazine adds nothing to its content, so I think it would be better off being online. If you could subscribe to the entire back catalogue online, it might be worth paying for, but not one issue at a time when it's so expensive. Hi Roger, I think it is exactly as that. Actually, I have been subscribed for one year to the 'electronic' version of the magazine because it's cheaper, and works for me. So I have no paper, just access to ME editions from my tablet or computer, with no ability to print them in paper (not allowed the proper way) |
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Post by joanlluch on Oct 3, 2015 20:45:02 GMT
... will do the same with the 3D printer that's on order ... That's interesting news, and something that I thought you could live without. I suspect you will be using the 3D printer in a way inspired on the way Adam uses it. I suppose you plan to produce castings out of 3D printed parts. That's surprising to me, as I thought you wanted to (or aimed at) making everything from solid, or at most soldering machined parts together. If you achieved that, your locomotive would be unique in the sense that it won't have any casting, while still looking as if it had them. What am I missing?, is there any part that you can't do by CNC milling, or you're only buying the printer to experiment and learn? |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2015 21:14:30 GMT
... will do the same with the 3D printer that's on order ... That's interesting news, and something that I thought you could live without. I suspect you will be using the 3D printer in a way inspired on the way Adam uses it. I suppose you plan to produce castings out of 3D printed parts. That's surprising to me, as I thought you wanted to (or aimed at) making everything from solid, or at most soldering machined parts together. If you achieved that, your locomotive would be unique in the sense that it won't have any casting, while still looking as if it had them. What am I missing?, is there any part that you can't do by CNC milling, or you're only buying the printer to experiment and learn? Hi Joan There are plenty of things that you can do with 3D printing that you can not do with CNC...it's mainly down to the resolution that you can work to. Adam's speedo covers are a good example, you couldn't CNC the wording as it's far to small. Also, you can 3D print things that are far too delicate for CNC, in fact you can 3D print items that are impossible to do by hand. 3D printing is becoming the norm in film work today as it can not be matched in any other way for accuracy, speed and cost. Pete |
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Post by joanlluch on Oct 3, 2015 21:33:46 GMT
That's interesting news, and something that I thought you could live without. I suspect you will be using the 3D printer in a way inspired on the way Adam uses it. I suppose you plan to produce castings out of 3D printed parts. That's surprising to me, as I thought you wanted to (or aimed at) making everything from solid, or at most soldering machined parts together. If you achieved that, your locomotive would be unique in the sense that it won't have any casting, while still looking as if it had them. What am I missing?, is there any part that you can't do by CNC milling, or you're only buying the printer to experiment and learn? Hi Joan There are plenty of things that you can do with 3D printing that you can not do with CNC...it's mainly down to the resolution that you can work to. Adam's speedo covers are a good example, you couldn't CNC the wording as it's far to small. Also, you can 3D print things that are far too delicate for CNC, in fact you can 3D print items that are impossible to do by hand. 3D printing is becoming the norm in film work today as it can not be matched in any other way for accuracy, speed and cost. Pete Hi Pete, I think you may have overlooked the intention of my post . I am fully aware of what you say and I'm in fact using 3D printing technology for my own locomotive build. However, my point was about Roger's approach to his loco. To me this sort of distorts the approach he has followed to date, and I feel that using a 3D printer now to produce castings betrays to some extent his otherwise pure CNC'd locomotive. That's of course a personal view and I'm sure Roger will give the proper answer to this dilemma, LOL |
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Post by Roger on Oct 3, 2015 21:56:40 GMT
I'd love my cheap and cheerful printer to mimic the work done by Adam, but sadly that's not to be. This is just for a bit of fun really. I might have made a mock up of the gusset casting just to see whether it looked right. It's not really necessary though, since the 3D CAD is plenty good enough for that sort of visualisation. I have no real plans for it, I just thought it might be fun to play with.
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Post by joanlluch on Oct 3, 2015 22:00:08 GMT
I'd love my cheap and cheerful printer to mimic the work done by Adam, but sadly that's not to be. This is just for a bit of fun really. I might have made a mock up of the gusset casting just to see whether it looked right. It's not really necessary though, since the 3D CAD is plenty good enough for that sort of visualisation. I have no real plans for it, I just thought it might be fun to play with. Hi Roger, what a delightful answer, and totally the one that I have expected. :-) |
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jasonb
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,209
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Post by jasonb on Oct 4, 2015 6:41:47 GMT
Joan, it was in 4493 and 4495 so you should have access to it.
It is also possible to print off any of the digital issues be it only page by page. And with a digital subscription you have access to all MEs back to 2002 via the website.
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Post by sniffipn on Oct 5, 2015 20:11:36 GMT
Hi All, I have been a subscriber of "Model Engineer" for a year now and I'm mostly happy, but I need to renew my subscription now and I wonder if there's something else that would match better my particular interests or that would compliment said magazine. My main debate is that "Model Engineer" seems to cover well the traditional ways to make things, but it rarely focus on the opportunities that new technologies can offer. For example -just to mention the most obvious- I am not aware of any single article that covered the use of CAD or CNC. Much less 3D printing or new materials. Also, the number of articles discussing conceptual subjects is very scarce as most of the magazine seems to be devoted to "builds", which are of course interesting but they look to me like the same known old stuff. So, I recently became aware of "Engineering in Miniature" and just wondered if there's any difference. What do you think? Any suggestions? Thanks. I agree with Roger regarding the internet as a source of learning. magazines have their uses. i'm not convinced that they are the best way of learning anymore. perhaps never were. not when its by monthly installments - unless a particular project is being made by the reader as its described. a book, a collection or a volume of magazines have proven helpful to me. Perhaps you could also read magazines intended for a different audience. there aren't so many industrial magazines at work now, as in years gone by. they still exist though. lots of advertising, but a few interesting articles. initially I found emailed extracts from 'The Engineer' irritating. I wanted the magazine. now I find that the email highlights are a delight. it better fits my needs to see the headlines for several articles and choose one to read - read it and move on. a colleague has a 3d design magazine. I wouldn't want to read each copy cover-to-cover. sometimes I spot an article that looks interesting. a bit like visiting the local library, picking up a newspaper or magazine I haven't seen before and browsing through it. 3d printing. additive manufacture. depends what your interest is. googling, I found www.3dprinter-collection.com/magazine.aspx. last year, I went to newbury (UK) for some 3d printing awareness training. www.3trpd.co.uk/. not about how to use a machine, more about capabilities. when to use additive manufacture, how to design parts to exploit the capabilities (and features to avoid), how to recognise when other methods are more appropriate, recognising opportunities to combine processes (3d print a deep grid for example and then cnc machine part of it, before using a wire eroder to skive the block into filter (mesh) the thickness of paper - that would then be moulded into a rubber part), depending upon cost, number of parts, time, whether other similar parts would be required in future, the need to allow for quick and easy modifications to the next batch of parts - and so forth. I lent the notes to a colleague. i'll see if the notes can be scanned and sent to you, if that would be of interest. I recall being told that the clients they found easiest to work with, were those who had bought a cheap machine to play with. play with as a hobby, rather than bought to make a specific part, or as a business tool, to make money. David |
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