I was wondering would it be within the capabilities of a modern 3D printer to have your 3 views of your own starship design imputed and then created by the printer? Any idea how much it would cost
It's pretty much impossible to give a price without already having the file ready for printing. The price is determined by several factors including how much time, amount of material, type of material, etc. You would also need to supply the file for the model, if you don't have it then you would need to pay someone to create the file as well.
I was wondering too about the size capability of a 3D Printer. I assume that most typical models would be at least 18 inches long and about half as wide.
At that size, you're probably looking at a several hundred dollars or more. Most consumer 3D printed models are a few inches at most. And even then they're about $50-60. For example, a 1 x 2 x 3 inch model, is around $50. So scale up 6 times the size, just in volume you're at (L*W*H) 218 times the material, and probably time as well. But just saw it's hollow, so go with 36 times the size in surface area, so if the cost was 36 (L*W) times as much, you're looking at $1800.
I wonder if it will come down in the next few years? I've had some custom model work done before and it was in the 200-300 dollar range (I was having a guy I know build a New Orleans class frigate from the Star Trek: Encyclopedia).
Why not print individual pieces and build your own starship in your back yard? Worked for JJ Abrams....
I do not think I'll ever have 1) The extra money to be able to purchase one. 2) The technical skills to use one to its fullest potential.
Actually, if you check the 3D printing thread, you'll see they're down less than $250. And there's websites where you can download models that people have designed for 3D printers and print out. It may be someone has already designed what you're looking for, or one close to it that you can easily modify to your liking.
Do the files conform to something uniform, like the .dwg standard, or is it all a bunch of proprietary nonsense?
There's some proprietary formats, but all of them can be easily converted into a standard format. The guys designing and building these things are trying to get to Star Trek replicator level technology as quick as they can, so they're not dicking around with too much stuff like that. They'd rather spend their time pushing the technology forward..
