While I've been following a few of the Get off your duff challenges, I've decided to post on my current project which doesn't quite qualify for the contest.

I've designed, in Google Sketchup, a 30t Oahu Railway truck. As I type this, I'm awaiting confirmation from Shapeways that it has passed their printer checks. I'm trying two different materials. The price is competitive with commercial On3 trucks...possible even cheaper...but no commercial trucks exist for anything Oahu Railway! I spent my free time in December learning the software and creating an aesthetically pleasing but unprintable version of the truck. Since then, I've re-drawn it so that it shouldn't have any printing problems. If the durability is insufficient, I can either shelve the design for later or use the printed trucks as patterns for resin casting (I'm in the process of tooling up for pressure casting).

Here are 2D images of my design:




I packaged them up to print a complete pair of trucks as a unit. The brake beam is based on a 1:1 scale 45lb rail profile. The sideframes scale out to a perfect 53.25"wb and the holes in the journals are the proper depth for NWSL/Grandt Line axles. The trucks are designed to rotate. If the design is a success, I'll produce another version which uses functioning springs instead of the sideframes rotating within the bolster.

All I can say is Haven't seen anyone go this route before, but the results should be interesting, whether it works well or whether a failure. I'd probably never go through this much trouble for a truck sideframe; I'd just find something that looked close enough and figure nobody would know. But, there are many times where I've considered resin casting for items where nothing close is available. This may be an alternative.

I originally attempted this a year ago using 123D. It was too much for my computer.

But...back at Thanksgiving, I visited Shapeways again and a few items caught my attention:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.shapeways.com/model/694469/r15-n-scale-coal-jimmy-wood-truck-x3.html?li=moreFromDesigner/?material=60">http://www.shapeways.com/model/694469/r ... aterial=60</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.shapeways.com/model/519813/t82s-ho-allen-california-v-amp-t-archbar-trucks-x8.html?li=productBox-search">http://www.shapeways.com/model/519813/t ... Box-search</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.shapeways.com/model/542947/n-scale-stagecoach-3-pack.html?li=productBox-search">http://www.shapeways.com/model/542947/n ... Box-search</a><!-- m -->

Those got me excited...and after researching/trying less PC demanding software, I revisited Sketchup and it wasn't too bad to get to this point. If the N-scale guys can get that kind of detail, I know it can handle my On3 details. The biggest concern for me is the durability of the FUD with 6-8oz of On3 railroad car riding it. If it has 1/10th the shear strength of the weakest styrene, It'll have a factor of safety of above 3. My concern with the stronger plastics are that they won't capture the detail well enough.

In HOn3, pretty much everything is cost effective in FUD. In On3...well...there aren't any publicly shared items yet (mine are hidden until I've tested them). I believe that the original, 4-wheel D&RG freight cars would be cost effective, but I know that the classic 36'-42' passenger cars would be too expensive in On3. Detail parts are definitely cost effective.

No error messages yet, so I think it has passed their internals and is in the print que.

Micheal,
a great start to a new level of model railroading and model building!
Wish you success, endurance on way to many more fine models in highest approach to reality!

The next plateau in model detailing is reached, when the tools to get there are made available. :o
I never thought that a PC would , or could, become a modelbuilding "tool".

Maybe the thought of Zn3 Live Steam, isn't as preposterous as we might think !

Toolmaker ? oh Toolmaker, where are you ?

Why stop at Zn3 live steam, go for Tn2 live steam with working air brakes and real coil spring suspension !

Tyson Rayles Wrote:Why stop at Zn3 live steam, go for Tn2 live steam with working air brakes and real coil spring suspension !

Then you will need to get a pair of bionic eyeballs to enjoy the level of accuracy!

Matt

Tn3? Nah...that's garden scale

At 5:18 this morning, I got an email that it was in the printer getting made.

Now, I'm working on the Oahu Railway passenger car truck components...

Should I decide that I'd prefer to go a working springs route, it wouldn't be that difficult to go back and modify the assemblies to be fully sprung. For now, I will follow KISS.

I have them, they are gorgeous, and the material (frosted ultra detail) is stronger than I was expecting. Unfortunately, I removed 0.092" from the side frames (specifically the bolster side of the spring assembly), which I forgot to addd onto the bolster's length...so they're really more like On28 trucks right now. I'll add spacers to my first pair to get them up to length. I've already fixed the file for the printers.

The nylon version of the trucks were a dismal flop...but I wasn't expecting them to turn out.

No photos yet...the camera is in the shop following an incident with the kids.

The Carter Bros 1895 passenger car truck...essentially identical to that used under the first 8 or so Oahu railway passenger cars. The rest of the cars on the roster used copies of these trucks with (sometimes) slightly different hardware (pedestals, center plates, etc) and a slight beefing up. In progress. The fidelity to the prototype is less than a 1/4" throughout the design...usually, spot-on.



A Gregg built "steel" boxcar. What modelers would call a "composite" car. The prototypes were 30t boxcars with bodies that were 33'6" long, 6'6" wide, and 7' tall.
My 30t OR&L trucks are correct for this car.

Michael, great drawings.
I hope for same success, quality and details with the model trucks.

Pictures! Our camera has been fixed. And just in time, as the revised On3 truck arrived...along with the first HOn3 truck and an experimental box.


On the left is the HOn3 truck, the right is the On3 truck. The frame on the On3 truck is about 1-5/16" long, the HOn3 is half that.


You can just barely make out the star on the journal lid of the On3 truck. They are both exquisite.


This is the experimental box. A set of scale HO grab irons (scale 1" diameter), a set of oversized On3 grab irons (scale 1.15" diameter), a thin wall, and a set of angle irons of various thicknesses (used as framing on OR&L steel boxcars).

Even in HO scale, you can print the grab irons in place. Probably not the best move for cars used in op-sessions, but it is easier to replace a few here and there as they break than to make and install brass ones. They are fairly flexible. Unfortunately, HOn3 boxcars would run around $50 each, and On3 boxcars upwards of $160, so I'll probably need to produce them in resin...which means that the grabs will have to be installed separately. In the future, the prices will come down and my resin techniques can be sent to join the buggy whips...

The On3 truck is quite free-rolling. They HOn3 truck required a few tweaks which I'm incorporating into the for-sale version. I'm planning to upload them to Shapeways and offer them for sale in the next few days.

VERY awesome! I agree, the trucks are exquisite.

How much effort would it be to offer the trucks in HO?

Judging from your drawings of the composite boxcar, are you planning on manufacturing the steel parts, then sheathing them from the inside with real wood? I want to build a composite hopper board by board, so I can model damaged or missing boards. I have not been able to figure a way to do so.

Keep showing your progress, I am very interested in seeing this project take shape.

Dave

Excellent results with a new technology in model building! Congratulation, Michael!

The trucks would be a bit small in HO standard gauge. The wheel size is only 26" diameter. Most model wheels are 33". For 26" diameter SG wheels, they'd just require a lengthening of the bolster. They're already set up for needle point axles.

I'm probably going to print the metal frame separate from the wood parts behind. Texture the wood appropriately, and then create molds to cast the production cars in resin. I generally believe that real wood, styrene, and resin are all equally good for modeling wood...you just have to have the right techniques. Since I prefer plastics, I tend to use real wood only if it is a large trestle or such.