FDM chairs in 0 gauge - COT track

[Martin Wynne]

Further info on the plates, they are about 3 inches square and about 5/16ths thick. I don't think that we actually bothered to measure one.

@Phil O

Hi Phil,

Here we go:

Apparently it is called a fang "shoe" and is 3.1/2" square.

You are right and I was wrong -- it's a bolt.

Fortunately not many modellers model the underside of their timbers. But for those who do -- I'm sorry I misled you.

Martin.

 

[Phil O]

Martin,

Every day's a school day, you learnt something and I learnt something, in as much as I didn't the square plate was called a shoe.

If we GW modellers did model the underside of sleepers and timbers, we would need to use a lot more ballast to pack around all the underside gubbins. I, for one, will not be going down that road, even if you do include the option on plug track, when you get around to the GW chairs.

 

[Hayfield]

Martin

I tried an experiment of my own by quickly printing two timbers of the B7 turnout, Forgot to alter the S1J to S1, but the fit of the chairs in the one S1 chair is very good, the chairs are an excellent fit into the sockets. I think they would say in Cornwall "proper job",

Rightly or wrongly I used the same thickness of timbers (3.3mm) that the COT track is set to, seems to match up with the COT track well, and without filing up the chair plug it stops well short of the base.

The postman came whilst we were out (took Carols parents for coffee, walk then lunch at Tollesbury Marina, nice and sunny on the Blackwater Estuary, tide was out so never got our feet wet

 

[Hayfield]

Bolts painted, the good thing is the print finish is excellent, the less said about the painting the better (should have got out the airbrush and or use red oxide primer)

 

[Phil O]

John,

I look forward to seeing it framed and mounted on Saturday!

 

[Hayfield]

John,

I look forward to seeing it framed and mounted on Saturday!

Model railways form of abstract painting

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Hayfield

Filaments for COT track and chairs

Hi John,

Have you found that the chairs on the cream-coloured COT track I sent you appear to be stronger than the plug-in grey chairs?

I'm trying some different filaments for chair strength. So far the cream-coloured is better than any others I've tried. It's from Sunlu. The grey is Jayo -- which is from the same company but appears to be from their budget range. I assumed the difference would be in the branding and packaging, but there appears to be a difference in the actual filament despite both being called PLA-Plus.

I tried with eSun "Super Tough" PLA-ST expecting the chairs to be stronger. The filament feels noticeably more pliable to handle. But the chairs were a failure -- nicely detailed but very easily broken. I will use up the reel on filing jigs.

What filament have you been using? On the Kingroon and the Neptune? How does the strength compare with what I sent you?

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

@Hayfield

Filaments for COT track and chairs

Hi John,

Have you found that the chairs on the cream-coloured COT track I sent you appear to be stronger than the plug-in grey chairs?

I'm trying some different filaments for chair strength. So far the cream-coloured is better than any others I've tried. It's from Sunlu. The grey is Jayo -- which is from the same company but appears to be from their budget range. I assumed the difference would be in the branding and packaging, but there appears to be a difference in the actual filament despite both being called PLA-Plus.

I tried with eSun "Super Tough" PLA-ST expecting the chairs to be stronger. The filament feels noticeably more pliable to handle. But the chairs were a failure -- nicely detailed but very easily broken. I will use up the reel on filing jigs.

What filament have you been using? On the Kingroon and the Neptune? How does the strength compare with what I sent you?

cheers,

Martin.

Martin

As I said yesterday morning we took Carol's parents out to Tollesbury Basin, initially for coffee and a walk, which ended up having lunch as well
The Royal Mail left a card saying they tried to deliver it and will try again today. Strange as they use to either leave it in the porch or take it to the Post Office round the corner !!! Anyway I am staying in and will wait for the post woman around late morning/lunch

I look forward to receiving the chairs especially as you are experimenting with filament as I noticed some new types which sounded stronger, whether they are I don't know

The first reel I used in the Kingroon was Esun PLA+, I now have Anycubic PLA +. By some strange coincidence the first COT track bricks I printed was with this on the Kingroon and a few chairs broke

With the Neptune4 I am using Esun PLA+ and the prints seem more flexible, not scientific just a feeling. I have only printed the chairs with the Neptune4, I was pleasantly surprised about the pliability of the brick bases but the strength of the chairs, plus the level of detail produced, I think as good as my resin prints but far less brittle

I found a length of new (revised) C&L flexi track, and placed it next to a length of plug/cot track. Yes they are compatible, guess what looks better, I think I am not too biased as I use both C&L and Exactoscale

One other thought is does the foot on 7mm need to be so wide ? I assume its can be altered

I will get back to you as soon as it comes

Thanks again

John

 

[Martin Wynne]

One other thought is does the foot on 7mm need to be so wide ? I assume its can be altered

@Hayfield

Thanks John.

The foot on what? Do you mean the webs between the timbers? Or the width of the side flanges on the timbers?

You can switch them off or change the settings in Templot to whatever you want. Steve has updated the code so that they can all be saved for next time if you click the save button.

But if you make the webs much narrower there will be places where they don't quite connect:

If we make them longer there will be places where they conflict with the sockets. That's not relevant for COT track, so we may need two different length settings.

(ignore the sprue settings -- we are not using sprues in plug track)

p.s. all the bits I sent you are for 0-MF 31.5mm gauge, code 125 rail. I have since improved the gauge accuracy using the backlash corrections. I will write about that separately -- it's a bit more faff in the setup.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

@Hayfield

Filaments for COT track and chairs

Hi John,

Have you found that the chairs on the cream-coloured COT track I sent you appear to be stronger than the plug-in grey chairs?

I'm trying some different filaments for chair strength. So far the cream-coloured is better than any others I've tried. It's from Sunlu. The grey is Jayo -- which is from the same company but appears to be from their budget range. I assumed the difference would be in the branding and packaging, but there appears to be a difference in the actual filament despite both being called PLA-Plus.

I tried with eSun "Super Tough" PLA-ST expecting the chairs to be stronger. The filament feels noticeably more pliable to handle. But the chairs were a failure -- nicely detailed but very easily broken. I will use up the reel on filing jigs.

What filament have you been using? On the Kingroon and the Neptune? How does the strength compare with what I sent you?

cheers,

Martin.

Martin

Thanks the pack arrived (Stand in Post Man yesterday). Yes the cream bases both look good and the rail slides through well. I like the composite COT/PLUG track base, are the sockets at the correct depth?. I have no 1-8 filing Jig but I will see what I can do to show the theory of the composite build

I will have a good look at the Jayo chairs tomorrow on face value they seem not to be so crisp, but it may be down to the colour.

Going out soon, this evening I will see if I can file up some rails

In 7 mm the FDM chairs seen far more forgiving than resin

Will get back to you later

John

 

[Martin Wynne]

I like the composite COT/PLUG track base, are the sockets at the correct depth?

@Hayfield @gavin @James Walters

Hi John,

Which one is that? There isn't such a thing as a "correct" depth, it is up to you to set whatever you want. (It's now 48 hours since I posted them and I can't remember exactly what I sent. )

We can't yet do combined COT track and sockets in the same print. That's what I'm working on now.

The one with sockets is all sockets, no COT. It has the thin timbers and shortened plugs and sockets to match Peco thickness. The FDM chairs which I sent should match the sockets, but the resin chairs have full depth plugs and won't.

This means the FDM chairs are snap-fit instead of clip-fit, needing more force to install in the sockets -- put a bit of rail in them to push down on.

If you want to see some full-depth base with sockets, EditorGavin might have a bit with him at Scaleforum (he took it to Wells last month).

The 4mm bases have blind sockets for a much cleaner first layer on the Neptune. You can compare them with your own or James's 4mm prints with clear sockets. It's yet another option in plug track.

If you show any of this to folks at Scaleforum please explain that it is still all subject to change. We only recently started looking at 7mm plug track, and even more recently at COT track. We are still experimenting with the Neptune printer to find the best printing settings, and I'm not yet happy that I have found them, or the best filament. What I do know is that the results are improved with backlash correction, which is what I'm working on as we speak. It's not needed on the Kingroon.

Apparently there will be two 7mm layouts at Scaleforum, so there might be more interest in 0 gauge than you expected.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

Martin

I should have said the one with loose jaws (sorry I was rushing to go out with in-laws) Are the loose jaws in the B8 going to have a full depth hole or is it a glue in with a short pin ?

Sign clearly saying "in experimental stage" for COT and thin plug
S1 chairs have a nice snap fit. L1 are a tad loose

I have James to keep me in check

 

[Martin Wynne]

I should have said the one with loose jaws (sorry I was rushing to go out with in-laws) Are the loose jaws in the B8 going to have a full depth hole or is it a glue in with a short pin ?

@Hayfield

Hi John,

Those are glue-in with no pin at all -- snip them off flush from the supports.

The small hole is an aid to gluing -- put a blob of glue* in it, then push the loose jaw into place**. Those few loose jaws are intended for assembly of one-piece wing rails, the rest being COT track, or plug-in chairs with solid jaws.

*superglue gel, or epoxy?

**I'm intending to print some sort of holder or applicator tool for them. Unless someone else does it first?

If you want thin timbers matching Peco, you can't have the clip-in loose jaws. The pin wouldn't be long enough. The system works by engaging the pin in the slot while the key is still above the rail -- that requires a long pin. With a shorter pin they are impossible to assemble. That's why it is a long pin, or no pin at all.

That's why the full depth timbers are 6mm thick. i.e. scaled up from the 4mm plug track. So that the plug track system works, with long pins.

Swings and roundabouts -- thin timbers matching Peco and/or COT track -- OR full-depth timbers with clip-in loose jaws for easy assembly of complex formations.

OR your own mix-and-match of whatever you want.

Gawd knows how I'm going to keep explaining all this over and over again. For me matching Peco flexible was never a consideration, but it seems to be important for others.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

p.s. John,

It would be possible to build plug track with thin timbers -- IF you made an assembly jig which allows the long pins to project below the underside of the timbers during construction. Then turn it over and trim them flush.

That might be doable for a single turnout, but probably not practical when building complex formations in situ.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Steve_Cornford]

Hi Martin,
Just wanted to say that I was very impressed with the latest COT track segments (the pale cream ones) that you had produced & sent to John.
I can confirm that John had his turnout on display with proper knuckle bends!
Steve

 

[Martin Wynne]

Hi Martin,
Just wanted to say that I was very impressed with the latest COT track segments (the pale cream ones) that you had produced & sent to John.

@Steve_Cornford

Thanks Steve.

It was seeing those come off the printer which persuaded me that COT track might be an alternative to plug track in 7mm scale.

What I still don't know is whether it was a fluke with my specific printer and a specific reel of filament, or whether everyone is getting similar results. I have just received a couple more reels of the same, but not tried them yet. With a cheaper grey filament the chairs didn't seem quite so good, or as strong. On the other hand with more expensive PLA-ST filament they were a lot worse.

There is so much still to learn. I'm messing with the Neptune backlash, and making flow adjustments after measuring the filament diameter. It all makes a difference.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

REA chair screws are galvanized, so weather to a lighter colour than the cast-iron chairs. Depending on how dirty the track is, the colour difference often remains evident for years:

Just came across this. The lighter colour of the galvanized REA chair screws is evident:

No idea where it is. Anyone? Not GWR territory, obviously.

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

@Hayfield

Filaments for COT track and chairs

Hi John,

Have you found that the chairs on the cream-coloured COT track I sent you appear to be stronger than the plug-in grey chairs?

I'm trying some different filaments for chair strength. So far the cream-coloured is better than any others I've tried. It's from Sunlu. The grey is Jayo -- which is from the same company but appears to be from their budget range. I assumed the difference would be in the branding and packaging, but there appears to be a difference in the actual filament despite both being called PLA-Plus.

I tried with eSun "Super Tough" PLA-ST expecting the chairs to be stronger. The filament feels noticeably more pliable to handle. But the chairs were a failure -- nicely detailed but very easily broken. I will use up the reel on filing jigs.

What filament have you been using? On the Kingroon and the Neptune? How does the strength compare with what I sent you?

cheers,

Martin.

Martin

I have been doing some experimenting with COT track and I must admit in the main I am very happy with the strength of Esun PLA+, I have had a quick look at what's available, but you have to buy a whole 1k reel to test.

I have just brought a 0.25k Eryone PLA silk blue & green to print the odd item for my great granddaughter (grey is a bit bland for the odd toy). So I may print the odd piece to check

All in all a very satisfying test

I did look into outdoor grade but it has adhesion issues with the plate, think you have to cover the plate with a plastic film. Something to look at down the line,

Last weekend the trader next to us(selling 3D printed wagons) said his dad models in gauge 1 , so we printed a couple of COT track sleeper, came up very well

Yesterday I finally wired up the B7 COT turnout, connecting and bonding wires soldered up very easily without any issues and needless to say it worked perfectly with both a RTR loco and a kit built loco with Slaters wheels. Also with the new C&L (solid) turned roller gauges fitted perfectly

 

[Stephen Freeman]

Just came across this. The lighter colour of the galvanized REA chair screws is evident:


View attachment 11596


No idea where it is. Anyone? Not GWR territory, obviously.

Martin.

No idea but the hills remind me of Scotland (Lothian area)

 

[Bill Campbell]

Just came across this. The lighter colour of the galvanized REA chair screws is evident:


View attachment 11596


No idea where it is. Anyone? Not GWR territory, obviously.

Martin.

Hi Martin

It looks like the Orchy Viaduct where the River Orchy enters Loch Awe on the Callander and Oban line.

Regards.

 

[Martin Wynne]

.
COT track chairs - beefing options

When I first designed the chairs for Templot, I feared exact-scale chairs would be too fragile. So I included an option to beef up the jaws a little, making them thicker than the prototype.

The resin chairs turned out to be much stronger than I expected and did not need any beefing up. So the beefing options have been set to zero ever since, and largely forgotten.

Until now -- with the arrival of FDM-printed chairs in COT track. Printed on the fast Neptune 4 printer they are surprisingly strong, much stronger than any FDM chairs I have made on the Marlin-based machines.

But not as strong as the resin chairs, and it is possible to break them if threading the rail too roughly. Some filaments seem to be stronger than others in this regard.

I'm wondering therefore whether to re-introduce the chair beefing option for COT track. This would be optional of course and can be set to any required amount, separately for the inner and outer jaws. The overall size of the chair doesn't change, nor the rail fit, so the chairs remain interchangeable.

This is a current S1 chair with no beefing:

---

This is with 3/8" beefing applied to both jaws:

---

This is with 5/8" beefing applied to both jaws:

Notice a few changes:

The plinth end bevels A are now much narrower than the side bevels.

The top of the outer jaw at B is noticeably wider.

At C the jaws have merged into the screw bosses, and the screw heads may no longer print so cleanly.

But the jaws are more firmly anchored to the base, and should be quite a bit more difficult to break off.

This option will be available in the next update 556a. The inner jaw beefing will be applicable to all chairs except L1. The outer jaw beefing will apply to the S1 and S1J chairs only at this stage. We shall then need some extensive testing with different filaments to see if this is worth doing, and if so by how much. We may conclude that the inner jaw needs more beefing than the outer jaw. Or that the whole thing is a waste of time and a complication too far, and best ignored.

Any beefing would apply equally to resin-printed chairs if desired, and this may help in the very small scales. But we know that it's not needed in 4mm scale.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

Martin
Whilst this will be a valuable asset to a certain extent the odd breakage is inevitable,

Just look at the breakages in C&L/Exactoscale injected moulded chairs, especially with newcomers. Not really an issue with plug track as you can easily replace a broken chair.

What I have found FDM chairs are far less brittle than resin chairs, in some cases surprisingly elastic.

 

[Martin Wynne]

@Hayfield

Hi John,

Test COT print of beefed chairs (5/8"), usual cruel close-up:

The difference is not very noticeable, and the chair screw-heads seem unaffected.

But definitely stronger. The chairs can't be broken in the fingers, it needs a tool of some sort and quite a bit of force to twist the jaws off.

I'm minded to make this beefing the default for FDM chairs. Easily turned off if not wanted. Or adjusted.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

Thought I would follow your instructions on making a diamond crossing from one of the zoom meetings

Some how I lost 4 check rail chairs, they were there before I put it through 3D builder. I will print both ends then study the template and decide how to assemble it whilst keeping the knuckles, long term its a plug track contender

I have been thinking, looking at the delicate chairs were C&L and Exactoscale chairs beefed up?

 

[Hayfield]

@Hayfield

Hi John,

Test COT print of beefed chairs (5/8"), usual cruel close-up:

View attachment 11634

The difference is not very noticeable, and the chair screw-heads seem unaffected.

But definitely stronger. The chairs can't be broken in the fingers, it needs a tool of some sort and quite a bit of force to twist the jaws off.

I'm minded to make this beefing the default for FDM chairs. Easily turned off if not wanted. Or adjusted.

cheers,

Martin.

Sounds good and to have the choice is perfect.

Looking forward to some updates so I can try out some of your ideas

I dont think we can make everything bullet proof, just think how many injection moulded chairs break, and no one moans

 

[Martin Wynne]

Sounds good and to have the choice is perfect.

Looking forward to some updates so I can try out some of your ideas

I dont think we can make everything bullet proof, just think how many injection moulded chairs break, and no one moans

@Hayfield

Hi John,

I'm hoping to get 556a released this week. I have just explained about it on Western Thunder -- I forgot which forum I was on.

See: https://www.westernthunder.co.uk/posts/311725

cheers,

Martin.

 

[James Walters]

I'm slowly returning to feeling normal, although still testing positive for the Covid virus which had stopped my Scale 7 COT track experiments in their, er, tracks.
However, I was keen to see what it might look like in Gauge 1. I've no suitable rail, so I used rail profile dimensions from the G1MRA standards.
The thing is massive, and very impressive. The third trackbase from the left was printed with the fast profile. At the time I thought that I might not see it finished as I felt so rough, so I cut a corner.
I shall get hold of some rail and build one for real when the COT plugs are available.
In the meanwhile, I'm going to have a go at making some fishplates with the fibre laser - they should look excellent, especially if I get some tiny bolts. Might need to build a G1 wagon as well.

Martin, the chairs on both the S7 and G1 versions are practically bullet-proof - I can't break them. (Sunlu PLA+)
That massive FDM printer you posted about recently is now starting to look quite desirable.

 

[Martin Wynne]

@James Walters

Hi James,

Glad you are feeling a bit better.

What have I started?

Martin.

 

[Phil G]

Hi James
Was the Covid a gift form Scale forum?
if so thats a bit rough, hope you get better soon.
cheers
Phil

 

[Phil G]

Hi Martin,
with refence to your comments about chairs in the western Thunder posts.

I'm hoping to get 556a released this week. I have just explained about it on Western Thunder -- I forgot which forum I was on.

See: https://www.westernthunder.co.uk/posts/311725

Are there some unforeseen issues with the 8 faced chairs?
Only asking because its been months since you last mentioned them. I know your heavily back to playing with FDM for 7 mm and above but its a bit unusual for there to be no mention of the chairs progress for so long.
If there are any problems and you need some cad help (not saying you do) I would be happy to help if I can.
cheers
Phil.

 

[Martin Wynne]

Hi Martin,
with refence to your comments about chairs in the western Thunder posts.

Are there some unforeseen issues with the 8 faced chairs?
Only asking because its been months since you last mentioned them. I know your heavily back to playing with FDM for 7 mm and above but its a bit unusual for there to be no mention of the chairs progress for so long.
If there are any problems and you need some cad help (not saying you do) I would be happy to help if I can.
cheers
Phil.

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

No specific issues other than it's a lot of new code needed, and I got distracted by the switch to open-source Templot5. I thought it better with Steve's help to get that changeover reasonably completed and released in time for Scaleforum, before upsetting the applecart with a whole lot of new coding at the same time. Somehow COT track came into being in the middle of it all, which is causing another massive distraction.

But it's simply my hobby, so I do whatever takes my interest. At present that's tinkering with FDM chairs on the Neptune 4, and setting up the chair heaving options needed. I knew all along that the chair heaving would be complex, and it still won't be all working in the next update.

I shall get back to the chairs as soon as things settle down a bit. I'm keen to see a curved double-junction, a tandem turnout and an outside slip in plug track. It's the more complex formations which have been my driving interest all along.

Thanks for the offer of help. But I don't do CAD, it's all in the code -- all help gratefully received: https://github.com/Martin-Wynne/Templot5

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

I'm slowly returning to feeling normal, although still testing positive for the Covid virus which had stopped my Scale 7 COT track experiments in their, er, tracks.
However, I was keen to see what it might look like in Gauge 1. I've no suitable rail, so I used rail profile dimensions from the G1MRA standards.
The thing is massive, and very impressive. The third trackbase from the left was printed with the fast profile. At the time I thought that I might not see it finished as I felt so rough, so I cut a corner.
I shall get hold of some rail and build one for real when the COT plugs are available.
In the meanwhile, I'm going to have a go at making some fishplates with the fibre laser - they should look excellent, especially if I get some tiny bolts. Might need to build a G1 wagon as well.

Martin, the chairs on both the S7 and G1 versions are practically bullet-proof - I can't break them. (Sunlu PLA+)
That massive FDM printer you posted about recently is now starting to look quite desirable.

View attachment 11641

Bexhill in gauge 1, you will need a bigger house

 

[Phil G]

@Phil G

Hi Phil,

No specific issues other than it's a lot of new code needed, and I got distracted by the switch to open-source Templot5. I thought it better with Steve's help to get that changeover reasonably completed and released in time for Scaleforum, before upsetting the applecart with a whole lot of new coding at the same time. Somehow COT track came into being in the middle of it all, which is causing another massive distraction.

But it's simply my hobby, so I do whatever takes my interest. At present that's tinkering with FDM chairs on the Neptune 4, and setting up the chair heaving options needed. I knew all along that the chair heaving would be complex, and it still won't be all working in the next update.

I shall get back to the chairs as soon as things settle down a bit. I'm keen to see a curved double-junction, a tandem turnout and an outside slip in plug track. It's the more complex formations which have been my driving interest all along.

Thanks for the offer of help. But I don't do CAD, it's all in the code -- all help gratefully received: https://github.com/Martin-Wynne/Templot5

cheers,

Martin.

Hi Martin,
fully understand its your hobby, and I was not trying to push you, it was a genuine offer I guess I should have know better than to utter the word CAD. what I was actually referring to is a comment you made few months ago about the GWR chairs. When you asked if any body could make a cad model, which James put is hand up for. From memory the idea was to slice it, as creating the slices helps you with the programming data. That was the only thing I was referring to with my silly cad comment.
cheers
phil,

 

[Hayfield]

Help please, I am getting very stuck with a half diamond center section plug track timbers, could someone assist me please

Secondly as I want to use 3.3mm thick timbers, which type (fit) of chair do I need to use, they will be solid jaw chairs

Thanks

John

 

[Martin Wynne]

I'm currently working on this:

To allow sockets within COT track for plug-in sections of rail -- which is important for complex formations.

That's something which I never allowed for in the original scheme of things, the plug-fit settings are currently global for the entire DXF file. Making them chair-specific has meant a lot of re-writing of the code. I think I'm getting there, slowly. Making the jaw options chair-specific too is a step too far for 556 and will have to wait -- otherwise I will never get 556 done any time soon.

I have made some progress and finally got the above working -- I think. It still needs a lot of testing.

It means you can now do this:

Mostly COT, but you can choose to leave individual chairs as plug-ins. This makes it possible to build complex formations in COT. In the above example I have set the V-crossing chairs as separate plug-ins. This would be an alternative to the glue-on loose jaws option for the wing rails. With the plug-in chairs loose on the rails it should be possible to assemble the bent wing rails into them, before plugging the assembly into the base. You would then slide in the vee rails as before.

I assumed this would need the solid snap-fit option for the plug-in chairs in FDM:

Which work fine. I have also tried FDM-printing the clip-fit option on the Neptune 4 and the result is ok, but at present a tight bash fit in the sockets. So it needs some tweaking of the dimensions:

On balance I think I prefer the plain vanilla snap-fit for FDM.

These new options should be available in 556a in the next few days.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

Help please, I am getting very stuck with a half diamond center section plug track timbers, could someone assist me please

Secondly as I want to use 3.3mm thick timbers, which type (fit) of chair do I need to use, they will be solid jaw chairs

Thanks

John

@Hayfield

Hi John,

To get the thin timbers for 0 gauge, tick this box:

That makes 7mm timbers, plugs and sockets the same thickness as 4mm. In theory -- it hasn't been fully tested.

You will also need to switch off the blind sockets -- untick this box:

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

Martin

Thank you very much, works a treat, printing as I type

Should the chairs be printed as clip or snap fit please

John

 

[Martin Wynne]

Should the chairs be printed as clip or snap fit please

@Hayfield

Hi John,

Your choice. For resin chairs I suggest clip-fit.

For FDM chairs I suggest snap-fit. They might be a bit tight until I have tweaked the sizes. Put a bit of rail through them and tap them home with a block of wood and pin hammer.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Hayfield]

Martin

Thanks again. The print has just finished and the timbers have printed at 2mm high. I have checked the timber height and it is set at 3.3mm. What have i done wrong/not done please

John

 

[Martin Wynne]

Martin

Thanks again. The print has just finished and the timbers have printed at 2mm high. I have checked the timber height and it is set at 3.3mm. What have i done wrong/not done please

John

@Hayfield

Hi John,

You have shrunk the timbers twice. The idea of the option box I suggested you to tick is that it does the shrinking for you -- you need to leave everything on the defaults, which for 7mm scale is 6.3mm:

If you change that yourself you need to change a lot of other stuff to match. The option box does it all for you in one go.

However, as I mentioned the other day, those thicknesses are all up in the air at present because of the introduction of COT track since those defaults were set. I'm working on sorting it out right now, so that I can get 556a released this week. Hopefully.

At present while everything is experimental you need to print a couple of timbers as a test and measure them before committing to a full print.

cheers,

Martin.