Charles Orr
Member
- Location
- Leicester UK
Wow Martin, that's seriously clever stuff.
message ref: 2038
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.
MartinHaving 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.
to create a sort of "Lego" set of timbering bases for a layout
@murphaphMy 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.
Hi Martin@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:
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.
@Paul BoydAdavoyle 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.
Is this the right place to post this or would you prefer me to post it on a topic somewhere else?
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?
@murphaphWonderful. 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?
Yes, Coreldraw seems to support everything apart from DXF and DWG unless you pay for the full version at just under a grand.
@Stephen FreemanI 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.
Hi,@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.
@HayfieldIts 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