Dean’s been in touch with something we seeing more and more of: 3d print model train stuff…
Have a look at what he’s done:
“Al, from Dean in New Mexico.
It’s been a while. My layout has suffered since I’ve been working on developing new techniques for creating n-scale buildings using high-resolution resin printing.
In this post, I talk about two techniques for printing parts: FDM (fused deposition modeling) and SLA (stereolithography) to show how I made an improved engine house model.
With FDM, a plastic filament is passed through a heated nozzle while the nozzle is moved back and forth. Each layer is typically 0.5 mm, so the resolution is low.
Here’s a picture of the main building of the engine house being printed.
After each layer is produced, the build plate moves down. Note that the software puts in removable supports in openings and a “raft” to hold the part tightly to the build plate.
With SLA, a light-cured resin is exposed to an ultraviolet LCD screen. After each layer is developed, the build plate moves up, typically by 0.05mm.
Thus, it is much higher resolution than FDM printing. But after the model is created it must be washed with isopropyl alcohol to remove excess resin, then cured further in a UV light station. And the resin is somewhat toxic. Here’s a photo of the end-door assembly and the windows and doors for the engine house. The skinny rods are supports to hold up the parts
Here’s another photo of a small chimney part produced with SLA. It is just a series of cylinders and a cone cap.
And here’s a better photo of the door end-piece.
Paper parts are printed on a normal printer then cut with a high precision cutter machine.
I use a simple free program (3D Modeling, by Microsoft) to produce models for both the FDM and SLA techniques. The paper parts are made with another free program, Silouette Studio. Here’s an outline of the free software and equipment I use:
3D Builder (make FDM model) à Creality Slicer à Ender-5 Pro (print FDM model)
3D Builder (make SLA model) à Chitubox 64 à Elegoo Mars 2 (print SLA model)
Silhouette Studio (make paper model) à HP printer à Silhouette Cameo (cut paper model)
Here’s a photo of the final product.
A big thanks to Dean for sharing his 3d print model train stuff. Mindboggling really.
Course, I’m biased, but much prefer the good ‘ol fashioned Printable buildings.
Now on to John, who has sent his track cleaning solution – there’s quite a few of these on the blog now, but I still enjoy seeing how people attack the problem:
“Some time ago, Al featured a motorised track cleaning wagon that I built using an old toothbrush motor and various bits and pieces that I had in my spares box.
The following, shown in the diagram (not to scale) and photographs, is one that I have built from an old Hornby ‘Permanent Way Dept’ track cleaning wagon.
I removed the original metal part inside the wagon and then glued two pieces of 3mm plastic sheeting on the floor of the wagon, one on top of the other.
I lined up the upper piece of 3mm plastic sheet of the pad to where I wanted it to be and (using a drill press to ensure that the holes are perfectly vertical) drilled two 5mm holes through the three pieces and the floor.
Using super glue, the brass tubing was then carefully glued to the upper piece of the pad. Ensure that the brass tubing is free to slide up and down. (A little oil on the tubing did the trick for me.) I then glued 1mm plastic sheet below the 3mm sheet but this time there was a slot from one side to the other.
I then took some soft felt, laid it along the bottom of the pad, folded it over the ends and glued the ends. (It will be a simple task to remove the felt and glue a new piece on when required. Two nuts are attached to the tops of the tubes. The weight of the tubes with nuts plus the weight of the plastic sheeting results in the pad being free to move up and down and is always in contact with the rails.
The original wheels were very broad resulting in the wagon frequently derailing at points or crossovers. Each axel was cut through and the original wheels removed.
Using super glue, I glued a small brass bush into each axel hole in the bogeys. I bought two sets of Hornby 10mm wagon wheels and to insert these into the bushes, it was necessary to carefully bend the bogeys to enable the wheels to be inserted.
The metal is quite soft and I am not sure how much bending it will take before breaking, so care is necessary. Once in place the bogeys are bent straight again.
A spot of oil was inserted into each bush, the wheels spin freely and I experienced no further issues with derailing!
To clean the track, I use a syringe to insert some 70% rubbing alcohol into the brass tubes.
The small holes in the 1mm piece of plastic sheeting, with the slot from side to side, allow the rubbing alcohol to seep through into the felt and spread from one side to the other.
I am pleased with the result as it works very well.
Regards
John”
A big thanks to Dean and John.
I would love to know what your thoughts are on 3d printing – please do leave a comment below.
That’s all for today folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you say no to boredom and missing out on all the fun, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Come and join us, it’s right good fun once you roll your sleeves up and start.
Best
Al
PS Latest ebay cheat sheet is here.
PPS More N scale layouts here if that’s your thing.