Pushing the envelope

[bbussey]

In the past month, I’ve been experimenting with various AnyCubic and Elegoo resins to gauge the results. I still have some to test, but what I’ve used to date has been educational. I always use what I learn and then push the envelope to expand possibilities beyond what has been tried. Some observations and thoughts:

• I have a bottle of Nova3D transparent clear resin, my first deviation from AnyCubic and Elegoo. It’s supposed to be the best transparent clear available, with results akin to glass. We will see, as I will use it to attempt to print rolling stock glass starting with the Budd RPO.  It also should be possible to print objects that include glass features, such as vehicles and table settings, to basically do with 3D printing what Trainworx does with its truck line, injection-molding in clear plastic and painting around the glass features. Automobiles with flush glass should be achievable, as stepping can be sanded out and the model then polished to restore the sheen. 
• The Elegoo ABS type resin has been interesting. The crispness of detail is just a tad under the standard AnyCubic resin results. But the flexibility of thin parts is impressive. Stirrups in the MTL style can be rendered and durable due to the flexibility of the material. It leads me to try two tests. The first would be functioning passenger car diagrams for MTL heavyweights and Kato lightweights, similar to the ALM diagrams but in one piece. I have the digital models already and have rendered them in FXD. They are passible, but not as clean due to all the needed build supports. I think I can build them vertically with minimal support. The second test will be to see how thin a rectangular part, say 3”x3”, can be rendered on edge vertically. In theory, it should be possible to print a tankcar skin with rivet detail and wrap it smoothly around a core. If that’s possible, it would simplify the hardest construction step on the acid tank and have no stepping to contend with. The dome wrapper also could be printed, theoretically.   

I just upgraded my machine again tonight by adding a removable magnetic flexible build plate. It’s costing me 2mm off the Z axis but that still allows me to print passenger cars and large building walls vertically. This will make it much easier to remove printed objects and set up for the subsequent print batch. I have to let the 3M adhesive set for a couple of days, then onto AnyCubic aqua resin testing.  I have plenty of stuff to do in the interim.

[basementcalling]

May the products you make "resinate" with the model railroad community.

[motofavorite]

line,

• The Elegoo ABS type resin has been interesting. The crispness of detail is just a tad under the standard AnyCubic resin results. But the flexibility of thin parts is impressive. Stirrups in the MTL style can be rendered and durable due to the flexibility of the material. It leads me to try two tests. The first would be functioning passenger car diagrams for MTL heavyweights and Kato lightweights, similar to the ALM diagrams but in one piece. I have the digital models already and have rendered them in FXD. They are passible, but not as clean due to all the needed build supports. I think I can build them.   

I was hoping that you might try this. Please would you let me know when you are ready for orders for the Kato Budd diaphragms? Thank you.

[Chris333]

Kenji Toma at Toma Model Works in Japan made some simple N scale 3D couplers and built a test jig to see if they would break.
https://twitter.com/tomamodelworks/status/1490221380788690944

[bbussey]

Maybe replicating the Kadee whisker method makes better sense than trying to replicate the AccuMate method when it comes to the centering springs. Something to contemplate.

[Lemosteam]

Kenji Toma at sToma Model Works in Japan made some simple N scale 3D couplers and built a test jig to see if they would break.
https://twitter.com/tomamodelworks/status/1490221380788690944

I obviously cannot read the text, but that coupler does not look printed to me. The pocket and the cam obviously are.

I’m more interested in a straight line pull load test, which I will be doing soon.

[Chris333]

I obviously cannot read the text, but that coupler does not look printed to me. The pocket and the cam obviously are.

I’m more interested in a straight line pull load test, which I will be doing soon.

Completion of coupler's beard spring torture device. It is calculated that you will shake your head about 2,000 times a minute, but how long will you endure it?

Achieved about 500,000 times by turning over 4 hours. No change in tentacles or visual inspection. It's stronger than I expected. Round up here and start another test from tomorrow.

Following the coupler test, I checked the creep condition. 1. Fix and leave with shaking head 2. Creep after 24 hours 3. After warming with a dryer for about 10 seconds, it naturally returned to its original state (the plastic itself was not bent back by hand). It will return to its original state naturally with just the stress release force.)

https://twitter.com/tomamodelworks/status/1486626833089298433

Prototyping. Can it be used? It is a coupler that can be screwed as an alternative to "KATO N Gauge Magne Matic Coupler No.2001". We have added rail connection and central restoration functions to the current knuckle coupler.

I can't find the post right now, but he was including dummy couplers with his kits and wanted to make a simple working coupler to include.

[motofavorite]

Toma Model Works makes wonderful kits. I felt fortunate to buy his Baldwin conversion of the Minitrains F&C 0-4-0T&T before they sold out. Now I am waiting on some nifty Kato spoked wheels for his FUD ore wagons. I bought an extra car because I was worried I would break the brittle FUD. In view of the robust ABS that you tested, I hope that he changes his material. Thank you for sharing your experience with the ABS resin.



please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please let my upload attempt be successful…

[Chris333]

Toma Model Works makes wonderful kits. I felt fortunate to buy his Baldwin conversion of the Minitrains F&C 0-4-0T&T before they sold out. Now I am waiting on some nifty Kato spoked wheels for his FUD ore wagons. I bought an extra car because I was worried I would break the brittle FUD. In view of the robust ABS that you tested, I hope that he changes his material. Thank you for sharing your experience with the ABS resin.



please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please let my upload attempt be successful…

Are those from his Shapeways shop?

[160pennsy]

I obviously cannot read the text, 

@Lemosteam ...If you are using Chrome browser then right click anywhere in the white space of the page and scroll down to menu item "Translate to English"

[motofavorite]

Are those from his Shapeways shop?

Yes, I bought them from his Shapeways store. The photo shows the cars I purchased.

[Lemosteam]

So Bryan’s brilliant membrane technique is creating new possibilities for truck design and printing and for Keystone Details.

Attack of the PRR class 2D-F8 class trucks, like the 2D-F12, it was used on so many PRR classes of boxcar it is almost ubiquitous.

Although I could print nearly 70 on the build plate, I chose 24 for this exercise.



Each truck is on its own raft, but the bloom blends them together like a snap off block.



Here is a horrible closeup of the supports of the side. The tiny wires support the tips of the brake shoes that hang down.



This is a rear view showing the center bolster support, and the six 1mm risers to support the bolster. They require some slight shaving to remove the unavoidable bloom around the pins to reduce the thickness to design intent, so that the MT pin will be proud of the truck bolster to allow the truck to pivot properly



Here are the trucks on a Fine N Scale chassis.



A drill with a 0.5mm spherical engraving bit cleans out the pocket perfectly, for a nice rolling truck. The parts are very close to design intent dimensions and function well. I am also hoping that different resin will improve detail.

This is the biggest break for me and may very well eliminate my SW truck offerings to become home prints, especially being able to print en masse. Yay. Finally a viable breakthrough.

[Chris333]

Sweet. If you space out the inner cones to make up for the grow the axles will pop right in with no work.

[Lemosteam]

I prefer the clean pockets, as each pocket seems to grow a little differently, depending on how muck resin settles in there. I have you to thank as well.  Do you recall what brand the Yellow clear resin you used when I sent you the truck files? I was looking at them wondering if I could improve on the supports you used which led me to this idea. The yellow resin looked really clean and the detail is nice.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

John, does this mean you might be reconsidering producing your own parts for sale instead of using Shapeways? I been holding off on getting the fox trucks and SD40-2 upgrades because I ran into a lot of issues recently with another Shapeways purchase.