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TEMPLOT 3D PLUG TRACK - To get up to speed with this experimental project click here.   To watch an introductory video click here.   See the User Guide at Bexhill West.

  • The Plug Track functions are experimental and still being developed. Some of the earlier pages of this topic are now out-of-date.

    For an updated overview of this project see this topic.   For some practical modelling aspects of using Plug Track see Building 3D Track.

    The assumption is that you have your own machines on which to experiment, or helpful friends with machines. Please do not send Templot files to commercial laser cutting or 3D printing firms while this project is still experimental, because the results are unpredictable and possibly wasteful.

    Some pages of this and other topics include contributions from members who are creating and posting their own CAD designs for 3D printing and laser-cutting. Do not confuse them with Templot's own exported CAD files. All files derived from Templot are © Martin Wynne.
  • The Plug Track functions are experimental and still being developed.

    For an updated overview of this project see this topic.   For some practical modelling aspects of using Plug Track see Building 3D Track.

    The assumption is that you have your own machines on which to experiment, or helpful friends with machines. Please do not send Templot files to commercial laser cutting or 3D printing firms while this project is still experimental, because the results are unpredictable and possibly wasteful.

    Some pages of this and other topics include contributions from members who are creating and posting their own CAD designs for 3D printing and laser-cutting. Do not confuse them with Templot's own exported CAD files. All files derived from Templot are © Martin Wynne.

Experimental Plug Track: 3D-printed, CNC-milled, laser-cut

Quick reply >
They look superb Martin.
I'm currently unable to do any 3D printing because I have some decorating being done, but I'm itching to try this out.
In a few days time hopefully.
 
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Having created the file for the screenshots, I thought I may as well print it. By changing the auto-arrange settings in Chitubox, I got 6 strips on the Elegoo build plate, so that's 144 S1 chairs -- and they all printed ok.

Still on the build plate, next step is UV cure:

View attachment 1709

I used the UV machine, but in today's weather I could have simply left them in the sun for an hour or two. :)

View attachment 1708

Having put a bottom taper on the chair plugs, I think they could now be a fraction deeper for a firm fit. Especially for use with through-hole sockets in 1.6mm timbers. The side flanges on these plain-track sleepers have much improved the strength of the sleeper alongside the socket. C&L nickel-silver rail:

View attachment 1706

View attachment 1707

Because they all printed, and therefore no bits left in the resin, I avoided the faff and mess of filtering the resin back into the bottle. Just covered the resin tray with aluminium foil until next time.

cheers,

Martin.
Martin

The detail looks stunning, one now wonders how much longer injection moulded chairs will survive
 
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I've floated the idea of a bottom flange on the timbers a couple of times, to be hidden under the ballast:

index.php


It hasn't been met with howls of outrage, so perhaps we can take it a bit further.

Given that my filament printer has a work area of only 8" square (some others are larger, but not by a lot) it's obvious that the timbering base for any significant chunk of pointwork will need to be assembled from several separate pieces. Which need to be aligned precisely for Plug Track, because the base provides the gauging and rail alignments. Resin printer work areas are even smaller, so for anyone planning to resin-print the bases there will be a great many pieces to assemble. Likewise for Plug Track in 7mm scale.

I had high hopes of creating a "3D template" on the Cameo cutter, which the base pieces would drop into. The Cameo has a work area which could easily cover a baseboard. Unfortunately it can't cut anything of the thickness needed for such an idea with sufficient accuracy, if at all. Or at least, I haven't been able to find a way of doing so.

So back to the timber flanges. Which could be extended in places to create a sort of "Lego" set of timbering bases for a layout, by adding locking connectors to the timber flange at strategic locations, which might look something like this:


timber_connector.png


All to be hidden under the ballast.

It's going to need some careful thought about dimensions and tolerances, because timbers can be at odd angles and spacings and not necessarily parallel. And some means to tell Templot where to split the 3-D export and add a connector.

Even for larger laser-cut plywood bases, some means to align the separate pieces would be desirable.

Much food for thought.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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to create a sort of "Lego" set of timbering bases for a layout

Having introduced the Lego analogy, we may as well take it further. Just when you thought the DXF dialog was complex enough, here is another tickbox:

timbering_brick.png


A timbering "brick" is a single piece of timbering base (typically one that fits on a 3D printer work area) which will clip to other bricks to create the timbering base for a pointwork formation or an entire layout.

Ticking this box limits the DXF/STL timbering export to timbers wholly contained within the current export rectangle on the trackpad.

No effect on the rails, which would presumably be switched off when creating brick files.

Now we need a whole lot of functions to create numbered bricks on the trackpad, save and load them, and select which one is current for export, and add the clip connectors. Fortunately I'm wearing my programming shorts today...

Martin.
 
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First post here. I had always intended using Templot to create templates for 21mm PCB track but this development is really exciting. Fantastic work. That's all I have to say for now :)

All the best,
Phil.
 
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@murphaph

Hi Phil,

Welcome to Templot Club. :)

Always good to see 5ft-3in gauge here!

cheers,

Martin.
 
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Thanks for the warm welcome Martin. I look forward to following this thread in particular with great interest.

My long term plan is 21mm gauge but with EM tolerances to check rails rather than P4 ones. This is the "standard" described in Modelling Irish Railways.

I hope by the time I'm ready to start printing my track (still sounds like science fiction to me lol) that I'll be able to select these options in Templot though from what I understand you're leaning towards a configuration file rather than overloading the interface with check boxes, which probably makes sense given the number of combinations possible.
 
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My long term plan is 21mm gauge but with EM tolerances to check rails rather than P4 ones. This is the "standard" described in Modelling Irish Railways.
@murphaph

Hi Phil,

There are some pre-sets in Templot for 5ft-3in gauge, although you can of course set any custom standard you wish:

em_5ft_3in.png


It doesn't include the standard you mentioned because I regard it as flawed, although I may add EM-SF(I) to take advantage of the Exactoscale 0.8mm check-rail chairs.

The golden rule is that to use an exact-scale track gauge you must also use exact-scale wheel profiles and flangeways, otherwise the wheels won't fit behind loco valve gear, inside splashers, behind axleboxes, etc. All H0 models are over scale width in the running gear for this reason. To use overscale wheel profiles, the track gauge must be reduced slightly if you want a scale-width model. Hence EM, 0-MF, etc.

As you probably know, there is about 20 years of my modelling life in the 21mm Adavoyle Junction layout -- although I recall spending most of my time working under the baseboards rather than on top: :)

2_050749_470000003.jpg


The pointwork was mostly built by Peter Taylor in 1983, with some contributions from the earliest beginnings of Templot. It's been in my thoughts recently because it was fully chaired riveted plywood -- we chaired it by injection moulding chairs in situ around the rivets using a hot-glue gun. I remember spending several evenings on the spark eroder making the injection tools. Joe Brook Smith was delighted when I showed him the chairing process at Scaleforum in 1986. I wonder what he would have made of the resin-printed chairs I made this week? The layout spent about 20 years on the exhibition circuit, and is now in the care of the South Dublin Model Railway Club.

More info and pics: https://85a.uk/GNRI/adavoyle.htm

cheers,

Martin.
 
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@murphaph

Hi Phil,

There are some pre-sets in Templot for 5ft-3in gauge, although you can of course set any custom standard you wish:

View attachment 1732

It doesn't include the standard you mentioned because I regard it as flawed, although I may add EM-SF(I) to take advantage of the Exactoscale 0.8mm check-rail chairs.

The golden rule is that to use an exact-scale track gauge you must also use exact-scale wheel profiles and flangeways, otherwise the wheels won't fit behind loco valve gear, inside splashers, behind axleboxes, etc. All H0 models are over scale width in the running gear for this reason. To use overscale wheel profiles, the track gauge must be reduced slightly if you want a scale-width model. Hence EM, 0-MF, etc.

As you probably know, there is about 20 years of my modelling life in the 21mm Adavoyle Junction layout -- although I recall spending most of my time working under the baseboards rather than on top: :)

2_050749_470000003.jpg


The pointwork was mostly built by Peter Taylor in 1983, with some contributions from the earliest beginnings of Templot. It's been in my thoughts recently because it was fully chaired riveted plywood -- we chaired it by injection moulding chairs in situ around the rivets using a hot-glue gun. I remember spending several evenings on the spark eroder making the injection tools. Joe Brook Smith was delighted when I showed him the chairing process at Scaleforum in 1986. I wonder what he would have made of the resin-printed chairs I made this week? The layout spent about 20 years on the exhibition circuit, and is now in the care of the South Dublin Model railway Club.

More info and pics: https://85a.uk/GNRI/adavoyle.htm

cheers,

Martin.
Hi Martin

Adavoyle was one of those hugely inspirational layouts me for in the early to mid-1980s, and the late Tony Miles' series of articles on loco-building in Railway Modeller were probably the point at which I realised that we don't have to just stick RTR models on the rails and off you go. Definitely one of those very few layouts that has stuck in my mind, despite never having seen it in real life.

Cheers,
Paul
 
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Adavoyle was one of those hugely inspirational layouts me for in the early to mid-1980s, and the late Tony Miles' series of articles on loco-building in Railway Modeller were probably the point at which I realised that we don't have to just stick RTR models on the rails and off you go. Definitely one of those very few layouts that has stuck in my mind, despite never having seen it in real life.
@Paul Boyd

Thanks Paul.

Unlike most 40-year-old layouts, you might still get to see it. Its actual 40th birthday will be next year, so maybe the club will be holding another open day:

http://sdmrc.ie/2019/06/

Of course it's difficult to pin down the exact birth date of a layout. But having decided to use domestic doors for the baseboards, the day Tony took the bathroom scales with him to the DIY store to weigh their entire stock of different doors sticks in the memory. :)

cheers,

Martin.
 
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I remember seeing Adavoyle a couple of times in the early eighties, but I don't remember which particular shows, one may have been Bristol or perhaps Kiddy. I certainly remember articles in the Modeller.
 
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I have just posted this on the Ffestiniog topic. It might be worth repeating it here if I haven't made it clear:


In the current Templot version 228a you can 3D-print ordinary REA S1 chairs* for any scale, to match any rail section.

The rail section details are entered by clicking the set custom rail... button on the DXF dialog.

*but only S1 chairs. I haven't done the special switch and crossing chairs yet.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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@ralphrobertson

Hi Ralph,

Nothing is ever simple. :(

If you change the plug clearance you must then rebuild the templates with the new data. Click this button before exporting the file:

smaller_plug2.png


Which works, but reveals holes in the base of the chair:

smaller_plug1.png


Fortunately the online repair service will fix it (but might not if you submit a file with dozens of chairs):

smaller_plug3.png


I should have checked all this before my previous p.s.

I will get this stuff fixed in the next program update.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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It's clear that the timber-end sprue design is only practical for plain track and simple turnouts.

Within even the simplest pointwork formations such as an ordinary crossover, it won't work where timbers are interlaced or close together end-to-end:

index.php


It also increases the size of the timbering brick.

I wanted the full-depth sprues so that the filament printer can use the "combing" method to avoid stringing across open space. But that makes sense only for sprues on the the timber ends where they are easy to remove after construction and/or after tracklaying.

But if the timber side flanges are acceptable to be hidden in the ballast, then the same applies to more conventional timber webs, if they are not too thick:

sprue_webs.png


Such webs are fiendishly difficult to remove after construction without causing damage (unless you make yourself a tiny nibbler-type cutting tool, I haven't been able to find one small enough), and impossible to remove after tracklaying without damage (the knife blade forces the timbers apart).

But if they can be left under the ballast there is no problem. In any event the connector clips between the timbers will be even more difficult to remove and would have to remain under the ballast.

But there is then the question of providing some sprues or webbing across the 6ft way for double track, to create a timbering brick. It's very easy to add some links manually on the trackpad, but that would get tedious for a large track plan. Ideally we need an automated function to add such cross-template links, but it's not easy to devise.

And that still means finding some slicer settings to avoid stringing across the sockets. I couldn't find any. It could be easily avoided by writing the gcode manually. But I don't want to get involved in writing a slicer function into Templot on top of everything else, life is just too short. :(

A lot to think about, on what on the face of it should be the easiest part of the design.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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Hi Martin,
Personally I prefer the hidden web over the sprue and as you say once you have a flange that must be hidden then a web connecting this "to be hidden" layer makes no difference and it's less work to the builder.

Fair play to your perseverance!

Phil
 
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@ralphrobertson

Hi Ralph,

Many thanks for posting -- looking good! :)

Is this the right place to post this or would you prefer me to post it on a topic somewhere else?

Yes please, keep posting here.

I'm glad the size reduction on the plugs worked out. Ideally they should be a press fit in the timber sockets and don't need gluing. Did you increase the plug depth to the full timber thickness? I think I have given up on the blind sockets.

I have exhausted the Elegoo water washable resin and have some other Anycubic stuff around which I can try but I am thinking I need something stronger - any ideas please?

I'm using this "ABS-like" resin which is tougher than the standard resins:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07P84PQCF/

but it's not water washable and needs IPA for washing:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082XQ4W4R/

It has worked very well for the chairs:

index.php


I'm doubtful that water washable resin would be long-term strong enough for such tiny functional components? How well do they fit the rail?

Many thanks again for the report. (y)

cheers,

Martin.
 
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This is Monday's idea for the timber webs:

new_timber_webs.png


They need to be wide enough for sufficient strength (they are very thin), and also to ensure they engage with the adjacent timber where the timber lengths differ (as on the right). Even so they won't have much vertical strength -- but don't need it if the timber base is to be stuck down flat. Their primary function is to hold each timber in the correct position relative to the next one.

Notice the complete lack of check rail chairs and crossing chairs! I'm itching to get back to the chair designs, but I just can't until the timbering bricks and webbing is finished, or at least usable.

What's the verdict? Is it going to be acceptable to bury this lot in the ballast? It would be fairly easy to do if the track is built in-situ and ballasted before plugging in the rails. More fiddly with the rails in place. But all ballasting is fiddly.

Now to do battle with the Cura slicer and see if the base can be printed without any stringing. It may help to add some sacrificial "islands" to the design, but as to where to put them -- lots of trial and error needed.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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I tried printing that. After a lot of trial and error I found some settings in the Simplify3D slicer which produced reasonable results without the combing option, with no stringing across the sockets.

While it was still held flat on the (removable) build plate I scrubbed it with a stiff brush which removed most of the remaining stringing, and gave the timber tops a rub over with a Garryflex block to smooth them (Simplify3D doesn't have the surface "ironing" function available in Cura). Followed by a wash to remove the sandings.

This is EM:

timber_webs_raw.jpg


As you can see, the bottom flanges/webbing layers are very scruffy, but fortunately they would be buried in the ballast. The visible timber tops are much better, but would benefit from a wipe over with some filler in places. I don't want to increase the printer fill density because it just causes more risk of stringing.

The chairs were a good press fit in the sockets -- I gave it a scoosh of grey primer to see the chair detail:

timber_webs_grey.jpg


All in all it looks promising and quite good at normal viewing distance -- these are cruel enlargements for EM. Certainly better than the last time I tried without combing, which was an unusable mess of stringing. Which is why I went initially for the full-depth end sprues. I shall leave that option available for where it can be used, such as on plain track.

But for pointwork I think these buried timber webs will work. Once removed from the build plate it feels quite flimsy, but it has a good smooth base for sticking down flat to the trackbed for construction.

Getting there slowly. :)

Martin.
 
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Wonderful. Here's a question from left field... would it be possible or even make sense to be able to print the cant or camber (or whatever the proper term is) of curved track rather than having to insert shims under it?
 
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Wonderful. Here's a question from left field... would it be possible or even make sense to be able to print the cant or camber (or whatever the proper term is) of curved track rather than having to insert shims under it?
@murphaph

That's an interesting thought. The printing is feasible, but at present Templot track design is 2-D only at the rail-top. There would be a lot of work to introduce a 3-D element into the track design for canted track. That will have to go on the NOD list (nice one day). :)

Or maybe a project for the T3 folks?

cheers,

Martin.
 
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Handy Hint:

If resin-printing the chairs, it's handy to snip them from the support slab at the base of the support pyramid, not the top. You then have something to hold while threading the chair onto the rail, making it quite a bit easier to do. The pyramid can be snipped from the chair after it is on the rail. (It will fly to the far corner of the workshop and never be seen again.)

In fact it might be worth increasing the height of the pyramid to make it easier to hold, at the expense of a fraction more wasted resin. The setting for the pyramid height is on the chair/socket fit... button. The current setting is 2.5mm.

The Elegoo printers come with a genuine pair of Xuron flush cutters which are ideal.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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The DXF dialog is getting out of hand. I have had to increase the size again to fit in some new controls:

more_dxf.png


When the development is finished I will reduce the size by using option tabs. In the meantime if you are using a small screen and it doesn't fit, you can shrink it by clicking the up-arrow at top-left.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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Martin,
Following along with what your doing here, and its all fascinating. Well done for persevering for everyone's benefit. As you know I dont have a 3D printer personally, but have access to a service that does and I am tempted to have a go for my narrow gauge option, with 3D printed sleepers and chairs.

Please keep going and posting your progress, I dont have the knowledge to contribute, but its fascinating reading.

Richie
 
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Yes, Coreldraw seems to support everything apart from DXF and DWG unless you pay for the full version at just under a grand.

Thanks Ralph.

Sorry, no chair/socket detail in the exported EMF at present. I have added it to the to-do list.

It might be better to add EMF to the DXF exports in addition to STL. Always something to think about. :)

cheers,

Martin.
 
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I have Coreldraw 12 which purports to import DXF DWG but I haven't managed it to date. I presume that because there are so many versions of DXF it's a bit picky.
 
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I have Coreldraw 12 which purports to import DXF DWG but I haven't managed it to date. I presume that because there are so many versions of DXF it's a bit picky.
@Stephen Freeman

Hi Stephen,

After you select DXF in the file-type drop-down, you should then see a button or tab or link to Options or Settings or Setup or similar.

You can then set the required DXF version, which for Templot exports should be the oldest available.

There should be a setting for DXF imports somewhere in the software, because at the very least Coreldraw needs to know what units to use for the import -- mm or inches or whatever (DXF files contain no units information). For Templot exports the default file name contains "mm" or "in".

cheers,

Martin.
 
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I think the safest DXF exports are back in Versions 11 to 14 of the file which appeared during the 90s. I've just checked my version of NanoCAD and it has several versions going back to version 11 and the last time I used AutoCAD LT 2007, it offered a range of DXF export options going back to V12. I think the problems started in the 2000s when AutoCAD altered the structure of the DXF file to accommodate new features in their drawing software. I do remember discussions on newsgroups and email lists about DXF import problems from newer versions of the software and the advice at the time was use DXF V12.

Jim.
 
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@Stephen Freeman

Hi Stephen,

After you select DXF in the file-type drop-down, you should then see a button or tab or link to Options or Settings or Setup or similar.

You can then set the required DXF version, which for Templot exports should be the oldest available.

There should be a setting for DXF imports somewhere in the software, because at the very least Coreldraw needs to know what units to use for the import -- mm or inches or whatever (DXF files contain no units information). For Templot exports the default file name contains "mm" or "in".

cheers,

Martin.
Hi,
Works with Templot DXFs, previously I tried with a more modern version (I think) generated by Turbocad 2015 which didn't. I think the version of CorelDraw I have is quite old and any DXF file after 2003 is likely to be problematic for me.
 
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If the quality of filament-printed timbers is not felt to be acceptable, there are other possibilities. :)

For example if the timbers were individually resin-printed, or laser-cut from plywood, it would be possible to filament-print a timbering fret, or "3D template" to locate them:
timbering_fret.png

For Plug Track the track gauge and rail alignments are set by the sockets, so the timbers need to be more precisely aligned than would be possible simply by sticking them on a paper template manually. But a 3D template such as this would provide the required precision. Depending on the thickness, it could be left buried in the ballast, or be removed from the underside of the finished pointwork in the same way as a paper template.

This option provides the quality and precision of resin printing for the timbers, with the much larger work area of the filament printer for construction.

And a very much larger work area would be possible if the Silhouette cutter could be persuaded to cut thick enough card to create such a 3D template.

If the timbers are being resin-printed, there is also the option to print them complete with chairs instead of sockets. This requires the rails to be threaded into the chairs from the end, rather than plugged in from above, but is feasible for simple formations.

I'm hoping that the DXF dialog will provide for all these options if wanted.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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The DXF dialog settings allow several other options. For example:

half_chairs.png


In this case only the inner jaws are printed on the chairs, to provide the gauging and rail alignment. The prepared rails are placed in position and then fixed by gluing on separately printed outer jaws.

The half-chairs can be integral with resin-printed timbers, or plugged into filament-printed or laser-cut plywood timbers.

The outer jaws are going to be very fiddly to hold and apply in the smaller scales of course. But it would be possible to print holder/applicator tools for them in a rubber-type resin:


https://wanhao.store/products/3d-printing-resin-rubber-resin-1000ml-bottle

With several such holders to hand, the holders could perhaps be pinned or blu-tacked in place while the glue sets. A rubber holder could have small claws which engage in the space below the key to hold the jaw:
half_chairs1.png

Or several outer jaws might be printed attached to a positioning sprue, which could be trimmed or snapped off after the glue has set.

Always some things to think about. :)

The first one being, any suggestions for suitable glue?

cheers,

Martin.
 
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It's almost certainly crazy to be thinking of separate jaws in the smaller scales. :)

half_chairs2.png

But it might work in 7mm and above.

The difficulty is not necessarily the small size of the jaw, but in holding it. But with a 3D printer we can make intricate holders and applicators, which might make it easier than it looks. For example a tool would also be needed to press the chair plug into the socket without having the rail in place to hold it.

I have added a peg and slot to provide a positive engagement, but with the screw-head in the way and needing to get the key under the rail head, it might now be impossible to assemble! But just maybe the jaw+key could be pushed down vertically, and the rail would tip over enough for the key to clip under the head -- without breaking the inner jaw?

In 4mm scale that peg is 1mm x 0.5mm, so it's tiny, but not invisible.

Just another option in the settings. I'm trying to keep in mind how things might work in the larger scales.

cheers,

Martin.
 
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Its just out of curiosity but My knowledge of what to send is zero, as you know I have bought items from Shapeways, but they seem to be very expensive against other retail items I have bought, this from the UK seems it might be an answer and I guess it would be a good place to keep an eye on

Do they use the some material as you for the filing jigs please and is this something that can be downloaded now
@Hayfield

Hi John,

My knowledge or use of Shapeways is nil, so others will have to answer for them.

The filing jigs are FDM printed, not resin. The proposed new service on RMweb will seemingly include FDM (filament) printing:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/166241-uk-3d-printing-marketplaces/

The polymer material I use is ESUN PLA-PLUS which is readily available, so I assume you will be able to ask for it. It's a toughened version of ordinary PLA. Many other polymers and equivalents are available and I would be surprised if some other ones don't work equally well.

At present you can create the file for a 1:5 code75 jig only. Full details of how to do it are at:

https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?threads/rail-filing-jigs-3d-printed.226/post-2022

At this stage that is purely a proof-of-concept. The intention is that you will be able to click on any template in Templot and create a filing jig for the exact crossing angle and scale of rail, in either bullhead or flat-bottom. Likewise switch filing jigs and rail bending jigs.

I wish I had a pound for every time I have written "the intention is...", at present we are barely at the start of this entire project, there is still 100 miles to go, and I have just turned 73. :(

But if you want a 1:5 jig for code75 bullhead there is no need to do any of the above because here it is. The STL file from Templot for both halves, mesh repaired and ready for printing. Just send it to the 3D printing service of your choice. You will also need a couple of M6 roofing bolts.

filing_jig_code75_bh_1in5.png



index.php


STL file attached below. You will also need a nice sharp 2nd-cut file, but that's a different kind of file -- this could get confusing. :)

p.s. tell the 3D printing service that the STL units are in mm. I don't know if that is the assumed default for STL files, software from the USA has a habit of defaulting to inches. The finished jig should be 145mm long.

cheers,

Martin.
 

Attachments

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I am getting quite excited by these developments. They certainly get the old grey cells thinking.

Would it be possible to produce a laser cutting file (I assume that would be .DXF) for a trackbed layer complete with sockets?
This could be laser cut in cork or 2mm greyboard.
Then lasercut the sleepers in 1.5mm ply or 1.6mm basswood, complete with sockets.
Produce resin 3D printed chairs with longer plugs, or some temporary alignment plugs(ABS say).
Stick down your trackbed.
Stick the sleepers onto trackbed using the temporary alignment pegs (or the the chairs with longer pegs)
Remove temporary plugs
Thread rail onto chairs, then plug the chairs into the sockets.
Steve
 
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Possibly easier to put the chairs on the rail first, you might not think it but once you have more than a few chairs to thread it gets more difficult due to resistance.
 
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