00 Bullhead Printed Point/Turnout Bases

[AndyID]

I have printed some 00 turnout/point bases for bullhead rail on my home 3-D printer. Their definition is not as crisp as injection molded parts but it's quite satisfactory for my needs. The results are certainly a lot more convincing than my attempts at soldering rail on copper-clad timbers. The bases are also quite inexpensive, but the printer has to be "minded" as it chugs along, and that can be a bit of a chore.

 

It took a lot of time to design the various chairs involved in a typical turnout and although it's still a "work in progress" I now have a library of designs that cover many of the common turnouts. I've also developed a method of plonking the chairs on to the timbers. With that I can generate a 3-D CAD model for a particular turnout in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I've noticed there does seem to be a lot of demand for 00 bullhead turnouts and as I've gone to the trouble of learning how to generate the CAD models I thought I might as well make the bases available to other modelers who could benefit from a faster approach than building turnouts from scratch. (It might also be of interest to modelers who are getting a bit tired of waiting for pre-announced bullhead turnouts to come available.)

 

So, today I uploaded a CAD model for a common crossing to Shapeways. It will be printed in "Strong and Flexible" nylon. As I've never used Shapeways before this is an experiment. It will be interesting to see how good the definition is, whether or not the parts hold gauge properly and if the parts are strong enough to survive the process of threading the rail through the chairs. More than likely I'll have to make some adjustments.

 

I'll post more when I get the parts.

 

Andy

[hayfield]

I have printed some 00 turnout/point bases for bullhead rail on my home 3-D printer. Their definition is not as crisp as injection molded parts but it's quite satisfactory for my needs. The results are certainly a lot more convincing than my attempts at soldering rail on copper-clad timbers. The bases are also quite inexpensive, but the printer has to be "minded" as it chugs along, and that can be a bit of a chore.

 

It took a lot of time to design the various chairs involved in a typical turnout and although it's still a "work in progress" I now have a library of designs that cover many of the common turnouts. I've also developed a method of plonking the chairs on to the timbers. With that I can generate a 3-D CAD model for a particular turnout in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I've noticed there does seem to be a lot of demand for 00 bullhead turnouts and as I've gone to the trouble of learning how to generate the CAD models I thought I might as well make the bases available to other modelers who could benefit from a faster approach than building turnouts from scratch. (It might also be of interest to modelers who are getting a bit tired of waiting for pre-announced bullhead turnouts to come available.)

 

So, today I uploaded a CAD model for a common crossing to Shapeways. It will be printed in "Strong and Flexible" nylon. As I've never used Shapeways before this is an experiment. It will be interesting to see how good the definition is, whether or not the parts hold gauge properly and if the parts are strong enough to survive the process of threading the rail through the chairs. More than likely I'll have to make some adjustments.

 

I'll post more when I get the parts.

 

Andy

 

 

Andy

 

Sounds very interesting, will look out for them

[Nick Holliday]

I like the idea of this, but, to me, the hardest part of a turnout is the preparation of the blades and the crossings. However, the major snag I see is how you can thread the elements of the crossing into the chairs, if they are moulded onto the sleepers. It might be possible to get the rails for the v in, but normally these have been soldered together before assembly, and I am not sure soldering would be wise, in-situ. The bent wing rails would be a challenge too.

[Jeff Smith]

It's a while since I built one so I can't remember how SMP does it in their plastic based point kits. I do remember that the base is in two parts but can't recall how the vee is inserted.

[AndyID]

I like the idea of this, but, to me, the hardest part of a turnout is the preparation of the blades and the crossings. However, the major snag I see is how you can thread the elements of the crossing into the chairs, if they are moulded onto the sleepers. It might be possible to get the rails for the v in, but normally these have been soldered together before assembly, and I am not sure soldering would be wise, in-situ. The bent wing rails would be a challenge too.

 

With a bit of practice and some very simple tools, planing the switch and vee rails isn't too difficult. I think the most critical part of turnout construction and the bit that tends to defeat a lot of people is getting the crossing right. The dimensional tolerances in a crossing are quite small. It will be interesting to see if the Shapeways parts are good enough.

 

There are several ways to attack the vee problem. That's going to depend on the mechanical and thermal properties of the printed parts. I should receive the first samples in about ten days.

[AndyID]

That was quick. I just received an email saying the parts are now being shipped.

[Joseph_Pestell]

Hi Andy. I have noticed how your pointwork bases have evolved over the last couple of years. Every reason to think that Shapeways will be able to print these so that they work very well.

[AndyID]

Hi Andy. I have noticed how your pointwork bases have evolved over the last couple of years. Every reason to think that Shapeways will be able to print these so that they work very well.

 

Hi Joseph,

 

They are being printed in sintered nylon. I'm hoping they will be acceptable. The greatest issue might be the price but there are several ways to address that.

 

Andy

[unravelled]

I hope this turns out well as I've been watching your threads with interest. Have you considered stealing a march on the big producers by skipping the points and working on the crossings and slips that they won't have for a while, and which modellers will be needing?

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[AndyID]

I hope this turns out well as I've been watching your threads with interest. Have you considered stealing a march on the big producers by skipping the points and working on the crossings and slips that they won't have for a while, and which modellers will be needing?

 

Thanks

 

Dave

Hi Dave,

 

I think it's best to start with turnouts to see how people get along with assembling them. Diamonds and slips are more "fiddly" and that might put some people off the whole idea.

 

I have a suspicion this will be an incremental process that involves trial and a lot of error (on my part).

 

Andy

[Kelly]

Will be interested to see how they turn out.

[AndyID]

Well, the samples are slowly wending their way across the USA. Shapeways printed them last Saturday in the Northeast and they should arrive here in the Northwet today (exciting isn't it - yawn!). One of the advantages of having my own printer that I can find out within minutes how badly I corked-up the design, but extruded PLA has its limits and I can do some interesting things with fused nylon that are not possible in PLA.

 

It occurred to me that I better make sure these bases are compatible with rail that can be easily obtained in the UK. I've been using SMP's code 75 nickel-silver bullhead. Which rail is available? Do you think Peco will sell the rail they are using in their bullhead track?

[Kelly]

Well, the samples are slowly wending their way across the USA. Shapeways printed them last Saturday in the Northeast and they should arrive here in the Northwet today (exciting isn't it - yawn!). One of the advantages of having my own printer that I can find out within minutes how badly I corked-up the design, but extruded PLA has its limits and I can do some interesting things with fused nylon that are not possible in PLA.

 

It occurred to me that I better make sure these bases are compatible with rail that can be easily obtained in the UK. I've been using SMP's code 75 nickel-silver bullhead. Which rail is available? Do you think Peco will sell the rail they are using in their bullhead track?

 

C&L sell both bullhead and flat bottom rail separately, though online ordering isn't presently possible due to the newly taken over business getting back on stream.

 

 

I think Peco sell their rail separately, but not sure about hte bullhead rail yet.

[AndyID]

They arrived.

 

As received.

 

 

Painted.

 

 

With rails.

 

 

I'll need to do some work on the chairs. My PLA printer tends to expand the details so I'll have to enlarge my chair models a bit. This printing process should also allow me to add keys to the chairs.

[Kelly]

They arrived.

 

As received.

 

DSCN3329.JPG

 

Painted.

 

DSCN3328.JPG

 

With rails.

 

DSCN3337.JPG

 

I'll need to do some work on the chairs. My PLA printer tends to expand the details so I'll have to enlarge my chair models a bit. This printing process should also allow me to add keys to the chairs.

That looks pretty impressive.

 

Any chance of you doing other gauges? And ones with 3rd and 4th rail insulators on them? That could be of interest to a few I expect.

[hayfield]

They arrived.

 

As received.

 

DSCN3329.JPG

 

Painted.

 

DSCN3328.JPG

 

With rails.

 

DSCN3337.JPG

 

I'll need to do some work on the chairs. My PLA printer tends to expand the details so I'll have to enlarge my chair models a bit. This printing process should also allow me to add keys to the chairs.

 

 

Looks very impressive, whats the cost please

[AndyID]

Looks very impressive, whats the cost please

 

Dunno yet

 

You wouldn't want that version anyway. It needs work and it's not exactly 00 either.

[griffgriff]

Dunno yet

 

You wouldn't want that version anyway. It needs work and it's not exactly 00 either.

I suspect a major factor will be the forthcoming Peco range (although range might be over egging it when a manufacturer is tipping their toes in the water). Shapeways isn't exactly cheap and the cost of a Peco point will no doubt dictate viability but perhaps more exotic turnouts and gauges would sell? Kelly's suggestion of 3rd rail (or 4th) is worth consideration IMO.

 

They look really promising and I look forward to seeing more progress.

 

Griff

[unravelled]

That looks very convincing, but is it possible with this material to get the corners of the sleepers sharper. How are the various bent rails installed in this version, and are the rails at the nose of the frog mechanically joined. or just buttted together?

I wonder if it would be possible to use actual keys on the difficult bits allowing formed rails to be dropped in then fixed.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[AndyID]

I suspect a major factor will be the forthcoming Peco range (although range might be over egging it when a manufacturer is tipping their toes in the water). Shapeways isn't exactly cheap and the cost of a Peco point will no doubt dictate viability but perhaps more exotic turnouts and gauges would sell? Kelly's suggestion of 3rd rail (or 4th) is worth consideration IMO.

 

They look really promising and I look forward to seeing more progress.

 

Griff

 

It's certainly a very different business model compared to a volume manufacturer like Peco. It's obvious there are some serious drawbacks with this approach but possibly the biggest advantage is that allows for the rapid generation of a bewildering array of variants for a negligible investment (compared to "hard" tooling). The other advantage (for me at any rate) is that I can develop the designs here in the US and make them available in the UK without ever leaving my home office.

 

For example, variants of a common turnout design might include:

 

EM

P4

00

00-SF

H0

00_SF with 1:82 timbers (a personal favorite)

 

Then we could multiply that by two if there are also flat-bottom rail versions.

 

Then there are variations in chair design based on regional practice.

 

I think I better stop there for now.

Edited July 23, 2017 by AndyID

[AndyID]

That looks very convincing, but is it possible with this material to get the corners of the sleepers sharper. How are the various bent rails installed in this version, and are the rails at the nose of the frog mechanically joined. or just buttted together?

I wonder if it would be possible to use actual keys on the difficult bits allowing formed rails to be dropped in then fixed.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

For this material, that's as sharp as it gets. There are other materials that can produce sharper definition but this stuff, being nylon, is extremely tough. It's also hard enough that you can easily "square-up" the ends of the timbers with a few strokes of a diamond nail-file. I wouldn't worry too much about the sharpness of the long edge because they get rounded off pretty quickly on real track.

 

As it's sintered nylon it is actually porous which means that it tends to suck paint right into the pores. It's supposed to accept acrylic paint very well, but I haven't tried that yet. That sample was painted with camouflage paint from a rattle-can. Shapeways will also print it in black (as well as some other exciting colors), but black is more expensive and it adds a day to the delivery.

 

I didn't spend a lot of time threading the rails on that sample. I usually cheat and notch the bottom of the rail with a cutting disk where it will bend at the knuckle. The base material is tough enough that you can thread the rail and align the base with the rail as it goes in without damaging the chairs. I think it's best to insert the wing rails first followed by the check rails.

 

The vee follows prototype practice (almost) but the rails are not electrically/mechanically bonded yet. Not sure yet how best to do that. Discrete keys might be an option, but a quick dab with a hot soldering iron might be just as good.

 

Andy

[autocoach]

Andy

 

Hmm.....wondered where your experiments would turn up in RMWEB. This post will add me as a follower.  

 

Glad to see you are still working on bullhead turnouts. 

 

Bullhead rail in the US has of course been a problem. Do you get yours in Canada?

 

best

[AndyID]

Andy

 

Hmm.....wondered where your experiments would turn up in RMWEB. This post will add me as a follower.  

 

Glad to see you are still working on bullhead turnouts. 

 

Bullhead rail in the US has of course been a problem. Do you get yours in Canada?

 

best

 

Hi Ken,

 

My last lot of BH came from the UK when we lived in CA, but that was about 12 years ago and I'm running a bit low now.

 

Andy

[AndyID]

I haven't tried this yet with sintered nylon but because of they way the printing process works it should be possible to print the rails too! It's likely of course that this would only be of interest to the battery powered community but it does mean that I could print check rails and the ends of wing rails integral with the chairs and timbers. This might be quite useful, particularly for diamond crossings and slips.

 

Would this seem like a good idea, or would it be anathema to some?

[Kelly]

With dual filament machines it would in theory be possible to print the rails in metal and the sleepers in plastic.