48" cooling fans

[6axlepwr]

I would like to invite you to look over one of the products I have in development and get your reation. This is an idea I have had ever since Gordon Cannon of Cannon & Co. came out with his superb HO Scale cooling fans.

Please understand that these are not an I mean ARE NOT the production parts. My goal is to injection mold the real parts. What you see in the following link is RP parts.

http://www.6axlepwr.com/EMD_48in_FAN.html

As I state on my web site. If I cannot get these parts done in injection molding, I will not do them at all. I do nto want to produce crappy parts.

Brian

[Hyperion]

I can't imagine injection-molding will be cost-effective as the upfront costs are extremely, extremely high and the market very small.  But I like what you've got there and I would definitely be in the market for some as, if done correctly, they should be a fair easier swap then using BLMA fan grills.

I wouldn't discount rapid prototyping though.  Using FUD material can yield a fairly smooth surface that you might find acceptable for this application.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I would love to see these in production. I wonder if it would be more effective to just do the fan core insert and an etched grill instead of the tube. I imagine anyone willing to use these will probably be replacing fans on current models rather than scratchbuilding hoods. This would make production a lot more practical - you could even use cast resin and etched cores rather than expensive Injection molding.

Keeping that in mind, if you wanted to do the tube, you could do resin castings off the RP prototype. This would also be rather inexpensive to produce and would provide 99% of the detail the injection parts would.

A high quality resin and etched line would be just as good as injection, maybe even better in our small scale. Choice of resins is very important, most are too brittle, but there are some as strong as styrene on delicate parts.

I would also suggest a thin wall etched cab with interiors, tread resin-decals,seats and cab stands, etched doors, resin anticlimbers and etched radiator grills.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Hear that? That's N scale diesel modeling taking another big step forward.

[Chris333]

Finally I can model this:


 

[Ian MacMillan]

Hear that? That's N scale diesel modeling taking another big step forward.

I would love to see this and thin wall cabs and hoods like Dan said. There is a company in HO (not Cannon...its Proto something...damn I can't remember the damn name right now.) that makes cabs, hoods, electrical cables, frames, pilots, etc all to scale so that you can pretty much build any locomotive in any configuration you want.

There is also http://www.railflyermodel.com which is similar.

[Spades]

There is a company in HO (not Cannon...its Proto something...damn I can't remember the damn name right now.) that makes cabs, hoods, electrical cables, frames, pilots, etc all to scale so that you can pretty much build any locomotive in any configuration you want.

Are you thinking of Details West?  With Cannon you can make about any diesel you want. 

[Spades]

I would like to invite you to look over one of the products I have in development and get your reation. This is an idea I have had ever since Gordon Cannon of Cannon & Co. came out with his superb HO Scale cooling fans.

Please understand that these are not an I mean ARE NOT the production parts. My goal is to injection mold the real parts. What you see in the following link is RP parts.

http://www.6axlepwr.com/EMD_48in_FAN.html

As I state on my web site. If I cannot get these parts done in injection molding, I will not do them at all. I do nto want to produce crappy parts.

Brian

Brian

I like the idea of a crisp detail plastic N scale parts supplier like Cannon .  Exhaust silencer is on top of my wish list.  But, why fans?  BLMA makes pretty much the same thing.
Good luck on your adventure.

Greg

[sirenwerks]

The problem with BLMA's fans is they stopped the product line's development short of the loco models on the market. It's great to have my GP30s and 35s and 40s all fanned up but what about my F units and GP9s/7s and 18s/20s? What about detailing my LL SW switchers? RS's, FA's, E units, DL109... Etc...

[6axlepwr]

To follow up on a couple things mentioned in the replies.

1. I have a number of other fans already designed. Basically all the fans prior to Q-fans.

2. As much as I would like to use a simpler form of makign these parts, ie casting. Remember, casting is only as good as the pattern and making these patterns does nto produce a good looking part. RP is fine for larger parts, but small parts with thin cross sections do not come out well in RP. The surface is wavy and the detail gets lost in clean up.

3. I have done a lot of testing. I have had these parts machined and and cast and also RPed and neither produce a good part. Great for prototyping and testing, but far from my standards for production. The only method that will produce the proper part is injection molding. Injection molding will give you the thin strong cross sections. It will give you crisp fine detail. It will give you parts that do not need to be cleaned up and loose the fine detail such as bolt heads. It gives you the best part possible and that is what I am after.

I will not compromise on my parts. I will not produce junk that somewhat represents the detail part. My goal is to change the face of N-scale. Maker it a viable modeling scale and not just a ready to run scale. I know it is a VERY small market, but still a market. I do not know how long it is going to take or if I will ever accomplish it. It is a personal thing with me to do this. With your support in the years to come I think I will accomplish it. Stuff like this is born out of modelers wanting more than what is offered. I am not at all happy with the progress of N-Scale. It can go much farther than what it has. I hope to help bring it there.

I believe my first product will be a step in the right direction. It is still in the beginning design/ testing stages. If it works as planned, I hope to showcase it here by the end of January or sometime in February.

Thanks for the input. It is all favorable.

Brian

[Ian MacMillan]

Are you thinking of Details West?  With Cannon you can make about any diesel you want.

No. This company is new in the last few years. Its all true scale proto 87 parts, and users Plano etched parts  well.

[kiwi_al]

Those parts look really cool - I'd be busting a gut trying to get hold of those!! I'm scratch building some long hoods and these would be the icing on the cake!!!

[Brakie]

Hear that? That's N scale diesel modeling taking another big step forward.

Kinda kills that old saw about  N Scale being to small do serious detailing doesn't it?

While I'm not interested in the fans I still fully believe they will be a hit.

I am interested in a Horst air filter and a flat 48" fan.