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Corrugated Iron Roof for a Lime Truck


MikeOxon

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It’s several years since I made my 3D-printed model of a Broad Gauge 12t Coal Wagon.  In that post, I wrote “According to the [Broad Gauge Society journal] ‘Broadsheet’ No.9 … 'The main feature is a standard under-frame applied to many different types of wagon such as Van Trucks, Rail Trucks, Tilt Wagons and Box Wagons etc.'. This will encourage me to make other wagons that can make use of this common chassis!

 

As it happens, @David Bigcheeseplant has beaten me to it in modelling this range of wagons and he has created some very fine 3D models of some of them. Nevertheless, I enjoy a challenge and one of the vehicles was a somewhat ad hoc conversion into a lime truck. The conversion involved adding a corrugated iron curved roof with sliding door to the basic 5-plank wagon body.

 

A rather faded Drawing (no 5674) shows this conversion as a 4-plank wagon but with an added note that “The Tracing taken of this for Lime Truck was made 3’-0” deep in place after 2’- 6” shewn on this Tracing

[sig] Aug – 1854”.

LimeTruck5674800x600.jpg.48a7d59c1ec45f5038fddaa2a7e201be.jpg

Based on OPC/BR Drawing 5674

 

Writing in ‘Broadsheet’ No.8 about 1850's IRON AND WOOD UNDERFRAME WAGGONS, Mike Jolly commented that this drawing is “As 5665 but drawn to shew corrugated iron curved roof with sliding door.

Good value at two for the price of one!” Since drawing 5665 is of the 12t Coal Wagon that I have already modelled, I felt it should be easy to create a new model by making a few simple additions.

 

In practice however, I had no idea how to create a 3D model of the curved corrugated iron sheets by means of Autodesk ‘Fusion’ – time for another learning curve!

 

A web search gave me some ideas; in particular a YouTube video  by ‘digitalDovetail’, which is actually about making a corrugated lampshade but contained all the elements that I needed to understand.

 

This post is, therefore, mainly concerned with how I created a corrugated and curved roof panel. Once that was done, I simply added it to my pre-existing model of a 12t Coal Truck.

 

Creating a Corrugated Curved Panel.

 

The following is an aide memoir to help me, in case I need to do this again!   If you know a better method, I’ll be pleased to hear about it.

 

UPDATE 14-10-2024   I have revised my method by using the 'offset' tool after Step 1 and then extruding just a single corrugation along the path, as described at Step 6. 

 

I find it is easier to use the 'rectangular pattern tool' on the solid body of a single corrugation, rather than on the drawing, as originally described.  The array of bodies is easier to match and join together that the array of drawings.

 

I have seen videos about how to create flat corrugated sheets but the special feature of this roof is that it contains curvatures in two orthogonal dimensions. To achieve this, I required the ‘Fusion’ ability to make three-dimensional (3D) sketches; this option needs to be set in the ‘Sketch Palette’ list of check boxes.

 

My first step was to sketch the end -profile of the corrugations. For this, I used the ‘spline’ tool, as suggested in the ‘lampshade’ video referred to above. In the first instance just one ‘corrugation’ needs to be drawn. This can then be duplicated along the length of the roof panel by means of the ‘Rectangular pattern’ tool. These two steps are illustrated below:

 

steps12.jpg.4ccc527bfa17a084e83593f1e356b4ba.jpg

 

Note that there may be small gaps between the duplicated segments. I found by trial and error that the best approach to linking them together was not to try and do it by eye – i.e. by dragging the horizontal arrow until they seemed to overlap - but to bring them close and then zoom into the view and grab the end of one segment with the mouse and drag until it locked into position. The software then automatically adjusts all the segments into a single unit. I struggled with this for some time, since the next step only works when the segments are joined correctly.

 

Now it’s time to create the edge profile of the roof, for which I used the ‘offset’ tool to create the ‘thickness’ of the roof panel. I then used the ‘line’ tool to join up the end of the two paths, in order to create a closed ‘profile’ for the side of the roof.

 

step3.jpg.94925ef15805be47a8ee2fc9981bd988.jpg

 

 

Once I had formed the side profile, I needed to extrude this along a curved path to form the ‘arc roof’. This requires a ‘path’ to be defined across the width of the roof. Initially I drew this path in the same drawing plane as the edge profile, as show below:

 

step4.jpg.b6026341204d0f3e4a1c258a1aa85789.jpg

 

Now I needed the 3D sketch capability in ‘Fusion’ to rotate the arc-path for the roof to be perpendicular to the edge profile:

 

step5.jpg.9b56f5a5fd7d4605cb76568476e795dd.jpg

 

Finally, I used the ‘Sweep’ tool to extrude the edge profile along the arc path, in order to create the 3D body of the corrugated roof.

 

step6.jpg.a99123925121b30309012796a971b1a5.jpg

 

I now had one segment of corrugated iron roof, which I duplicated to place two sections at each end of the ‘Lime Truck’.  The centre section of the roof was relatively straightforward, involving simple extrusion of a curved roof segment for the central sliding portion, which I have assumed to have been canvas covered.

 

All that remained was to add these new components to my existing model of the Coal wagon:

 

CoalLimewagons.jpg.89c3476f44f3687037d91247f0f7f396.jpg

 

It’s an odd-looking vehicle – I keep seeing it as a very low van – but I expect it served a useful purpose at a time when most goods were carried in open wagons.

 

3D_LimeTruck2.jpg.885dea988c2f4b8ba8b697c7f04d9ccb.jpg

Top view of my Lime Truck conversion.

 

Mike

 

 

Edited by MikeOxon
text update

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11 Comments


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I used a similar way to do my corrugated roof, although I draw on sketch on the centre line on the model using parameters which can easily be changed, in this instance I had the pitch at 0.8mm if this is set as a parameter then when the array is set I can then set the array to pitch*2 so if I change the pitch then the all the corrugations will still join. I think Mike your corrugations are a bit deep 

 

If you look at my Parameter table I can change the height and width of planks, number of plank rivet size or square head nuts etc. Useful as in this case the first image is per the drawing with 2 foot six sides the second image is with 3 foot sides. I just changed the height of the planks from 2.5mm to 3mm and it takes a matter of seconds to change the whole model.

 

David

image 1.JPG

image 2.JPG

Image 3.JPG

Image 4.JPG

2 foot six.PNG

3 foot sides.png

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2 hours ago, David Bigcheeseplant said:

I used a similar way to do my corrugated roof, although I draw on sketch on the centre line on the model using parameters which can easily be changed, in this instance I had the pitch at 0.8mm if this is set as a parameter then when the array is set I can then set the array to pitch*2 so if I change the pitch then the all the corrugations will still join. I think Mike your corrugations are a bit deep 

Many thanks for your comment, David;  this is exactly the sort of information exchange that I appreciate.  I shall explore the possibilities of 'parametric' modelling.  I suspect that 'Fusion' contains loads of features that I haven's discovered yet. 

 

You are probably right about the depth of my corrugations - I was so pleased to have found a way of making them that I didn't spend time adjusting them.  In addition, I still tend to make some dimensions over-size, as I bear in mind the limitations of my printer. 

 

For printing I would make the corrugations on the top surface only, with a smooth surface underneath.

 

I'm struggling to understand how the central hatch worked.  Mike Jolly wrote of a sliding hatch but how?  I can't see any indication of runners on the drawing.  I'm imagining a lightweight structure with spars and a canvas cover

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On 07/10/2024 at 10:47, David Bigcheeseplant said:

I think Mike your corrugations are a bit deep 

Following David's welcome comments, I have revised the corrugated panels in accordance with his suggestion and als adjusted the curvature of the roof to a better agreement with the drawing.

 

3D_LimeTruck-Rev.jpg.cf78b72fa800a8d7dbabb8ad7184b3e9.jpg

 

Edited by MikeOxon
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Hi Mike Oxon, I am very impressed with your blog.
My name is Lachezar Dragostinov from Bulgaria. I have been doing cardboard modeling for many years. I have made a number of models, including several locomotives. Most of my models are based on my designs and drawings.
Discovering your blog, I immediately decided to become a member of the forum and since then I have been looking at your blog in detail. Your extensive research and attached drawings have made me very ambitious to try to recreate any of them on paper. I hope you won't mind and I will get your permission to do this.
Sincerely
Lachezar.

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Thank you for your very kind remarks, Lachezar.  I enjoy writing my blog and one of my main aims is to encourage others to try for themselves the methods that I have used.  I hope you will enjoy recreating some of these subjects with your own methods and look forward to seeing the results here on RMWeb 😀

 

Mike

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MikeOxon, thanks for your reply.
 I will definitely try to recreate one of your themes and as you say, I will enjoy recreating them.
I'm currently finishing a project of mine on a ship with side paddle wheels, but at the same time I'll be choosing which of your themes to do.
What scale would you advise me to work at?
Greetings Lachezar

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2 hours ago, Lachezar47 said:

What scale would you advise me to work at?

I think it depends entirely on what you feel comfortable with.  I print at 4mm/foot (1:76) but that's just because it suits me.

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Here is my lime wagons, I wonder if the central roof section  was canvas rather than a sliding door, a bit like a tilt wagon. The end L sections stop where the wagon was a standard mineral truck I wonder if they were extended to the top of the curved section.   

Lime wagon 1.png

Lime wagon 2.png

1545_001.jpg

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2 hours ago, David Bigcheeseplant said:

Here is my lime wagons, I wonder if the central roof section  was canvas rather than a sliding door, a bit like a tilt wagon. The end L sections stop where the wagon was a standard mineral truck I wonder if they were extended to the top of the curved section.  

In my original post, I commented that "I'm imagining a lightweight structure with spars and a canvas cover" so i think we are in agreement on that point.  I wondered about the end stanchions too but decided to leave them as they were on my original coal wagon, since that is how they are shown on the drawing.

 

I still design my models within the constraint of my printer.  I must say your finer detailing looks good but I cannot print such fine spokes etc and the W irons have to be strong enough not to break at a touch. (in 4mm scale)

 

I have tended to use a more red shade of brown but I think yours looks very plausible.

 

Mike

 

 

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I design parts to scale, and only increase the thickness when they fail to print, the W irons are drawn to 0.4mm and this seems fine on my resin printer. I have devised a sprung hornbock to sit behind the W iron, early experiments seem to suggest this work although I am awaiting for some broad gauge pin point axles to arrive. 

 

The RGB valve of GWR coach brown is 42, 1, 1 I have lightened it down a bit as coaches would have been varnished while wagons were painted in three coats of brown no varnish specified, photos show wagons matt and rather battered, so I think woodwork would have faded and ironwork probably rusted and got darker. 

sping 2.PNG

spring.PNG

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My underframe with bearings and pinpoint axles added, just to show my ideas are not all virtual! The axle spins freely  although I need to move the W irons out a fraction to allow the hornblocks to slide up and down freely.

IMG_8140.jpg

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