martin_wynne

The plastic is toughened PLA. The file skids over the surface and barely harms the jig. The jigs are good for several dozen rails or more. See the jig instructions: https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?threads/using-the-templot-rail-filing-jigs.728/ Martin.

Hi Jol, Which ones? Recommended by who? 1. Geeetech Alkaid resin printer, £90 delivered in UK. Excellent. 2. Kingroon FDM printer, £180 post free in UK. Excellent. cheers, Martin.

Hi Ian, As John says, there is nothing to prevent anyone from building finished turnouts and crossovers now, and installing them on a layout. But as far as I know the only person who has actually reported doing so is Michael Woods in S Scale. See: https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?threads/experimental-plug-track-continued.673/post-9002 I'm sure there will be many more soon. I would be building some myself, but for my recent injury. cheers, Martin.

@hayfield Hi John, Don't forget to mark the back of the blade at 20mm from the end of the jig before removing the rail. You will need that mark when aligning the rail in the jig for the switch front. Full instructions for using the filing jigs are at: https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?threads/using-the-templot-rail-filing-jigs.728/ cheers, Martin.

Hi Jol, No CAD skills needed for Templot plug track. Templot generates the 3D files ready to print. Martin.

Hi Ian You are jumping ahead a bit there -- this is still an experimental project. As far as I know the only finished working turnout so far is one in S scale. For the intended switch drive arrangements, see: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/175840-is-track-building-making-a-come-back/?do=findComment&comment=5351199 cheers, Martin.

@hayfield Hi John, Resin delivery now showing on Amazon this Friday. If you are a Prime member, you get £10 off. See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0C7BFQZ2C/ Martin.

You can enter any rail section dimensions you wish. But only bullhead. Laser-cut timbering bases are fully supported. All the information is on the Templot web site - https://85a.uk/templot/club Martin.

An FDM printer and a resin printer are two completely different machines, for two different tasks. It is unfortunate that they get lumped together as "3D printers", so that having one of each seems an unjustifiable expense. No-one would lump together say a soldering station with a Dremel grinder, so that having both seems extravagant. Martin.

Nowhere have I suggested running prints under the tap. Or pouring contaminated water down the drain. The first wash should be in a small bowl or tub of water, with a gentle brush (pastry brush). This will remove 95% of the resin. The water will become significantly contaminated. It needs to be left out of doors in a transparent container for several days until the resin content has cured in daylight UV and precipitated to the bottom of the container. The clear water can then be decanted off and used to water the garden. The cured resin residue can disposed of in the domestic waste for landfill. For the chairs, the second wash needs to be done vigorously in a bucket of water. See this post for details: https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?threads/problem-with-printed-loose-jaw-chairs.811/post-9418 The contamination will be at a low level in a full bucket of water, and it can be disposed of immediately by spreading thinly over the garden. Over time the slight resin content will cure naturally in daylight and become relatively harmless. Some garden plants may even thrive on it! Keep it well away from fishponds, pets, etc. Martin.

Utterly disagree. The results from that resin have been brilliant. And much easier to ensure adequate washing of the loose-jaw slots. Strongly recommended. https://uk.anycubic.com/products/anycubic-abs-like-resin-v2-package?variant=45845570945309 Martin.

AnyCubic ABS-Like V2 Water Washable: https://uk.anycubic.com/products/anycubic-abs-like-resin-v2-package?variant=45845570945309 Martin.

@njee20 For FDM printing, slow=good quality, fast=poor quality. Using my posted slicer settings for Cura in 4mm/ft scale, and the default timbering thickness 3.2mm, timings are in the ballpark range 9-11 minutes per sleeper for plain track, and 15-18 minutes per timber for pointwork. You can change all the settings in Templot to whatever you want, but I would advise that departing from the defaults may produce unpredictable results. Likewise you can change the quality settings and everything else in your slicer to whatever you want. But not all options are likely to produce usable results. FDM printers run just fine unattended, so the time taken is largely irrelevant -- while it's running you build the cattle dock, instal point motors, build a wagon kit, or paint the station-master's hat. Martin.

@JSModels Hi Jonathan, After changing to the loose jaws option, click the button modify group to match. The strange screw-heads are caused by having duplicate templates, or duplicate chairs on the raft. Delete the duplicates so that there is only one of each chair in the export. (The screw-head rotations are randomised, so if duplicated you get multiple corners, instead of 4 corners for square heads.) Ask on the Templot Club forum for detailed explanations of plug track. cheers, Martin.

Hi William, The loose jaws are the default option and recommended. They allow track formations, simple or complex, to be built in the prototype manner by dropping the rail onto the chairs, one rail at a time, and then fixing it in place in each chair. The rail can have prototypical square ends and does not need to be chamfered, because the chairs are not threaded onto the rail. It also means the rails can be bent as required, such as at the wing rail knuckle, the switch set, the centre of K-crossings, etc. In 2mm scale the loose jaws are very tiny, and may need a higher-resolution 3D printer. If preferred the chairs can be printed with solid jaws, but then they do need to be threaded onto the rail, and where there are two or more rails in a chair, such as in the V-crossings, the assembly process becomes very tricky and fiddly and in some cases impossible. Alternatively the solid-jaw chairs can be inserted in the timbering base first, creating the equivalent of a Finetrax kit. But that requires some departures from the prototype, such as having a break in the rails at the knuckle instead of a proper knuckle bend. Complex formations such as tandem turnouts, outside slips, etc. are difficult or impossible done that way. If in doubt, use the loose jaws option. Martin.

Code 82 FB rail is available here: http://www.karlgarin.com/whatsnew.htm It's intended for light rail in 7mm scale, but may be ok in 4mm. Martin.

UK flat-bottom rail (6.1/4") in 4mm/ft scale is Code 82. Code 83 rail is USA heavy flat-bottom rail in H0 scale (3.5mm/ft). Peco use it in their "83-Line" products for the USA market: The societies stock it for modellers working in Proto:87. Martin.

Are you asking about Templot plug track? The deeper timbers make it possible to have a dummy slider working below the ballast level. This is the currently intended design: The pin is retained in the slider with a soldered collar (not strictly necessary, but it makes assembly easier) which might be a small washer or a wrap of copper wire. The top of the pin is bent over and soldered to the foot of the switch blade in the usual way. If suitable pins are hard to find, the pin could be replaced with 1mm brass wire, bent over at 90 degrees below the slider. The ribs are angled at 45 degrees to enable the rib to be FDM printed more accurately. The short slot in the slider (rather than a plain hole) allows for the curving action of the open switch blade. (On a curved turnout the two timbers are not exactly parallel, although this is barely noticeable at any normal model radius.) The whole gubbins is hidden below a thin card or thick paper cover which can have some ballast sprinkled on it and/or be covered in the usual track gunge, having a couple of openings for the pins. If made from paper, the openings can be simple knife slits, which would close round the pin very effectively. Dummy model stretcher bars can then be added, which can be resin-printed and fully detailed. This drive design also maintains full daylight below the rails between the timbers, not relying on the underside of the rail to hold the switch blades down on the slide chairs -- the slider does that. On the prototype the stretcher bars do that, and can be modelled with dummy extensions. (And full dummy rodding added, if wanted.) The actual sequence of assembly is still to be determined. If built on the bench it can be fitted from below quite easily. If built in-situ, it might be necessary to insert the slider and pins before adding the rails. So far the timbering bases include the ribs for the slider, but the 3D file for the slider itself is not yet done: Notice also the seldom-modelled steel soleplate on the toe timber. (The smaller ribs alongside the other timbers are retaining ridges for self-contained dropper wires.) More info on the Templot web site as it becomes available. Martin.

@hayfield Hi John, If your resin arrives today and you are planning to try your first prints on the Alkaid, a couple of important points: 1. thoroughly clean the build plate with solvent or water/detergent before you start. It will likely still have some traces of factory dirt/grease/fingerprints on it as supplied. This is often the reason a beginner's first print fails. Ask Steve. 2. if using the ABS-Like resin, do not use the print settings contained in the Alkaid manual, which are for the standard Geeetech resin. The ABS-Like resin rafts needs a longer bottom exposure time. I will be posting my suggested settings on the Templot Club forum. Martin.

Obviously spending money has to be planned according to needs. That doesn't make "spending" a bad thing, which was my objection to the original post. Martin.

hi, In 2018 I released Templot open-source as it then was -- https://github.com/openTemplot/openTemplot When/if I get the 3D stuff to a stage where it can be regarded as stable and fully-functional, I shall do the same again. What happens to it after that will be up to others, but the code will be out there if anyone wants to take it on. Martin.

Why does spending sound like a bad thing? How do we expect to get anything worth having if we don't pay for it? Martin.

I can see your problem. But my position with Templot is that I'm 75 years old. I grew up with bullhead. I know about bullhead. As it is it's going to take me a long time to complete a full range of bullhead options in the 3D plug track. I know very little about flat-bottom, and I doubt I have enough lifetime left to find out and develop a plug track range for FB. Even a cursory glance at the subject shows a minefield of different prototypes and periods, compared with the comparative simplicity of BH where the present-day designs have been essentially unchanged for 100 years. We need a youngster with a good knowledge of present-day track to come along with a replacement program for Templot to take the whole thing forward. How about you? p.s. you can't necessarily expect a return on investment in 3D printers from track alone. Once you have the printers, a whole range of other model-making options opens up. Martin.

hi john, there was no need for the rectangular slab -- it will be blocking in the sockets no time to write more martin,

hi, if modelling Woofferton, you may be interested in this video: https://85a.uk/templot/companion/get_map_from_the_web.php martin.