I’m trying to build a replica of a Canadian traffic intersection with realistic, functioning traffic lights. I’m making good progress with the programming but don’t know what to do for the 3D model yet.
The real-world traffic lights look like this (4 different poles in total):
I saw on Reddit that someone 3D printed some traffic lights and was able to run the little wires for the model through the hollow poles, so I’d like to be able to run the wires inside the structure for my project too:
Where do I start with this? Should I buy a generic traffic light 3D print file then try to modify it myself, or is it easy/realistic to just design it from scratch?
Can I hire someone to design an accurate 3D model based on images of the real-world lights?
I don’t own a 3D printer so would need to get a 3D printing shop to print the pieces for me.
I agree. This is not a complicated shape so modeling from scratch should be fairly simple to do depending on the software being used and is a great project to learn basic modeling with one or two more advanced options. Should make for a fun project.
Some design questions before starting.
What is the size of the model?
What material will be used for the print?
What type of lamps will be used?
How will the lights be mounted on the model?
How realistic does it need to be?
How many print parts are acceptable? Glue parts together or print as single piece?
Will access to the lights be required post print? Removable panel to access lights for replacement?
I am not a CAD user but there are several free options to play with (FreeCAD, TinkerCAD, LibreCAD, OpenSCAD, Fusion 360 hobby license).
I use 3d modeling software and there should be a couple of free options but the learning curve can be a bit steeper (Blender is a free one I use).
AI is beginning to be a real options as well.
Here is a model to start making your initial design decisions.
Interesting. I’ll take Fusion 360 for a test drive on my Windows partition today, just to see what it’s like.
I’m hoping Blender can do everything I need, so I can stick to Linux for my entire workflow. Getting the right scale is super important to me — adds to the sense of realism (along with accurate design).
I think so. I have lots of ideas for this. If executed properly, I think it will be super interesting. Maybe I could even find people to collaborate with for certain design aspects, like foliage or building models.
I was originally thinking 12” x 12” for the intersection base but now I’m thinking maybe 18” x "18” would be more impressive (without being too big). Long term, I’m thinking of something that I could maybe even sell if anyone wants to buy one (sort of like a niche Etsy product) if it turns out well. Once I have the workflow figured out (i.e. accurate 3D models and custom light programming), perhaps I could do custom intersection replicas in future. That would be way down the line though!
Not sure yet. That’s one of the decisions I need to make.
The lights themselves? Either regular LEDs or (hopefully) some sort of smart LEDs, so I’ll have better control over the colour/dimming and will need less wires.
Good question. I’m not sure at all. I’m guessing I can’t just superglue them into position.
As realistic as possible. It’s not the end of the world if it’s not perfect but I’ll certainly try.
Single pieces would be better, if possible. The main two issues are total length of longer beams (depending on scale of the model and size of a given traffic light) potentially exceeding a printer’s maximum print dimensions, and the question of how to pull wires around corners inside the model (although I suppose that would be easy enough if the ends are open).
Great question. I was sort of working on the assumption (and hope) that no LEDs would ever fail, but I guess I should probably try to make it serviceable. On the other hand, maybe just having a modular street light system, where an entire pole could simply be unplugged from the base of the “street” and replaced in the unlikely event that an individual LED dies, would make more sense than being able to repair the poles themselves.
I guess the answer comes down to how common LED failures turn out to be in the model (hopefully extremely rare) and what the cost of 3D printing and doing the wiring for a streetlight would be. One brand of smart LEDs (where you cut them off a strip) I was looking at on Amazon came to about $0.15 per LED, so super cheap. I wonder what the 3D printing portion would cost.
I’m going to try Blender because I’ve heard it might be the best option for Linux. If necessary, I’ll switch back to Windows for CAD if the best application is Windows-only.
Blender can definitely do it. Frankly way overkill since the software is crazy powerful and can do a little bit of everything. Blender is one of the main tools I use for cnc pattern/3d print model creation.
Just be aware it is not CAD. Box modeling is a different way to draw in 3d space.
Because it is the Swiss army knife of 3d modeling software, my recommendation is to stick to the modeling tab only for now until you gain the basics. Do not open any other tab. lol. It will overwhelm you very quickly. Just the modeling tab itself can be overwhelming.
Once you get comfortable with the basics start looking at the add-ons. They really expand or simplify tasks. There are built in ones (require to be turned on manually), great free ones as well as paid for ones.
I’ve used that technique on both Fusion 360 and FreeCAD and it’s pretty easy with either.
The parts of the street light are pretty basic shapes depending on the level of detail they want to get down to.
“My only concern with Blender is that people say it’s more with “abstract/freeform” design in mind, while Fusion 360 is supposed to be… more accurate?”
lol. I just looked up the accuracies.
Fusion has a 64bit floating-point system for calculations
Blender has a 32-bit floating-point system for calculations
It comes down more to how you build models in the software. CAD is designed for parametric modeling with engineering in mind. Blender is art focused on building 3d models for image and animation in mind.
Having said that, CAD can do some organic modeling and Blender can do engineering models.
Your model is incredibly simple and either software can make it pretty easily. But they are different and the way you make the model is different; parametric vs. box modeling.
It may come down to which one is more easier for you to learn. My opinion is Blender has a steeper learning curve.
The lights model I included above was made with Blender but it could have been made with Fusion as well.
Thanks for the reassurance. I’m going to try them both out and see which is the best fit for me.
All things being equal, ideally I would prefer to use Blender just because I could continue to use Linux for everything, but I’ll do some testing and will ultimately choose whichever tool works best for the job.
Just going to toss it out there one more time, FreeCAD is a CAD tool the same as Fusion360 and I went from Fusion 360 to FreeCAD( on Linux ) with the tutorials from Joko Engineering and Mago Jelly. I wouldn’t touch F360 with a 10’ pole after the shenanigans Autodesk pulled a few years back with F360 and earlier with Eagle PCB. Did I mention FreeCAD runs on Linux?
Since you are trying to stay with Linux, you can always do a google search for things like: “CAD programs for Linux” or " ‘blank’ programs for Linux" to find CAD or audio editing, or screen capture, or ???.
There are many programs which run on Linux which are similar to what’s available for Windows and/or Mac.
I really don’t think you will find a program to make traffic lights on any platform.
Hopefully you’re understanding that and that there are many tools to get the job done and each has its own level of complexity since they are NOT designed just to make traffic lights.
The level of complexity is quite high in all cases although you might be able to make a crude version in something as simple as TinkerCAD since you have no modeling tool experience.
Word of advice, don’t waste your time installing any CAD tool or even Blender and “trying it out” to see if you can make your traffic light. The tools are too complex to just start poking around. But there are many beginner videos for all of the software mentioned so far in this thread. Those will show you what you’re up against and give an idea of the effort required.
