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Adam's Workbench - Industrial Modelling and 3D printing


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  • RMweb Gold

Hello everyone

 

Thought I'd detail the processes used and progress on some of my projects to avoid clogging up the pugbash thread with my waffling quite so often.

 

I'm a design engineer so Computer Aided Design (CAD) is pretty much my day job so I can knock out designs pretty quickly. Combining that with my resin 3D printer allows me to make models of my favourite weird and wonderful locomotives along with some other bits and bobs without having to break out the plasticard and craft knives.

 

Typically I design around RTR locos, taking their chassis' and designing, printing and painting new bodies, I've yet to venture into custom building a chassis but who knows what the future holds.

 

Currently I'm working on 3 models and they're all in various states:

 

Florence - Bagnall 0-6-0ST based on the Foxfield railway.

Electrotren Baracaldo chassis, body complete bar detailing (safety valves, whistle, name plates etc)

 

IMG_0297.jpg.cd6bfecc05992823cebc612e7a370074.jpg

 

No5 - Kitson  0-6-0 Pannier Tank, based on the North Tyneside railway

Bachmann Thomas chassis, chassis bodged to be as small as possible, body painted but needs gluing together and further detailing

 

IMG_0307.jpg.0ba57d7fe017e767ab392855eceeed1f.jpg

 

Freelance - Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST based on a slightly bloated and stretched, K class on large wheels, sort of an amalgamation of Aldwyth and Sharpthorn

Hornby Terrier chassis, Design completed and ready for test printing

 

image.png.311eceee488166da25bb057d6f062e40.png

 

You can find some details on the Kitson in the pugbash thread and the Manning Wardle hasn't even been test printed yet so I don't even know if it's feasible as a model so I'll mostly talk about Florence to begin with

Edited by Adam FW
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  • RMweb Gold

I tend to start my designs by finding a prototype I'm interested in and then hunting down a suitable chassis, I'm mostly interested in industrial locos so that tends to mean 0-4-0 or 0-6-0.

 

In the case of Florence I was planning on making another Foxfield loco, Dubsy but was struggling to find a sutable, affordable chassis

 

image.png.08ceb90c5b659c82dc790bc82203b3ca.png

 

OJre5wTuTs2FGIBbd5B0Xw.jpg.53a1e52cba305ca4f85ec618cd96968d.jpg

 

but at Warley in 2019 the Hornby stand were selling Electrotren 0-6-0s at 2 for £75 so Florence with it's Giesl ejector became my prototype

 

Fortunately I have experience with the electrotren chassis and know it to be a pretty good runner and already had a 3D model for space claiming from a previous project (yet another Foxfield 0-6-0 that I'll cover some other time)

 

IMG_0316.jpg.01c45ab76e31317041e38995b16aea4c.jpg

 

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  • RMweb Gold

The Electrotren 0-6-0 seems to come in a few different body styles, mostly HO or rebranded claiming to be OO but the chassis appears to be the same bar some differences in screw location and they are DCC ready:

 

0-6-0ST - Barracaldo or EX Taff Vale GWR loco

0-6-0T - Andrew Barclay, in green, NCB black with red valve gear or European black

0-6-0T - E Otlet

 

The motor is wider than the wheels and is quite large so will need hiding, Electrotren do this by hiding it in side tanks or in the case of Baracaldo having a very large firebox. 

IMG_0317.jpg.e8d727ba1cbb8a8c8fb9df6c6375820f.jpg

 

The body is attached by 3 screws, one at the back and 2 tiny ones hidden behind the cylinders (in the green rings), though my older Andrew Barclay had a single front screw which passed through the PCB (red ring) though this now appears to be blanked off

 

IMG_0318_2.jpg.f3db8477c311d4df74b9eaf134b68f7b.jpg

IMG_0319.jpg.6e70b23eadd33584ba1f9563a0b724b9.jpg

 

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  • RMweb Gold

Step 1 of the design process is to fire up my CAD software.

 

Then I break out my ruler and vernier, measure the chassis and transfer those measurements to a sketch in the CAD software to produce a basic space claim model, I tend not to model the valve gear as nothing is going to get close to it in this instance and I ignore most of the detail that isn't going to get in my way

 

image.png.e9de39f3d49ab06569c03d0cdd591d32.png

Edited by Adam FW
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  • RMweb Gold

I then start sketching some of the key details of the body and try to scale them against known measurements (if I'm lucky) or photographs, I tend to turn things into blocks as I go so these images of just some of the sketches confuse even me and I made them.

 

image.png.99e0defd9e107ac30811202387b8bde5.png

 

image.png.0d3934a835cf15ac989cb6f2322d55a0.png

 

The chassis isn't to scale for Florence with wheels which are a bit too big for instance so where possible I design around this by recessing the running board in this case.

 

As the design progresses I block out the main features; cab, saddle tank, smokebox etc, then shelling/hollowng them, creating openings for the chassis and finally the process which takes me the longest adding detail such a window spectacles, holes for hand rails and smokebox hinges. I'm particularly pleased with of the rear widow bars which are just 0.25mm wide and printed OK though a little warped which makes them look battered and used.

 

 

image.png.7ba8be66062737efaeb6c75e516c7d3e.pngimage.png.40b9fa1235374ac12ad2e8f93f134060.png

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  • RMweb Gold

The Eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed my way of getting around the massive firebox seen on Baracaldo , it's to leave the motor on display and paint it to match the body so it becomes a not quite so massive firebox, it ends up looking not overly wide as the saddle tank hides most of the boiler and instead just being too long

 

image.png.f10cc9e4e2f85ea9069406c6bc04ae33.png

 

The main concern with this is making sure the running board clears the motor easily to avoid damaging the paint, and being careful with the paint application (particularly air brushing or spray painting ) so that paint doesn't get into the  mechanism. To prevent this overspray I covered the chassis in lots of masking tape and blue tac before priming and painting

 

IMG_0248.jpg.d2ec09845fac740a791ae3008f5ff27e.jpgIMG_0249.jpg.4f7bf68243b63250259ae648d1ff9e59.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by Adam FW
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  • RMweb Gold

I design my bodies to be printed and painted in multiple pieces, in the case of Florence the running board, sand boxes, cab and bunker, boiler backplate are separate to the single piece saddle tank, boiler and smokebox. This has several advantages to me, firstly it helps hide the marks from the 3D printing support, makes the painting easier and it's easier to reprint a small failed part than and entire loco.

 

The first print I do is a test print of the components which interact with the chassis, in the case the running board and saddle tank, this makes sure there's no clashes during assembly, it slots together well but also makes sure everything looks right.

 

image.png.545d63325c0eed957ae5ed6a4521a8d6.png

 

IMG_0322.jpg.6dce9cc9ca467805dbc1b172ae01108a.jpgIMG_0323.jpg.8963abbc9499998964633f3a85f4910f.jpg

 

In this case I decided that the smokebox was too wide and too tall and the smokebox door was too large in diameter so I reduced the size for the proper prints. If the prints came out good I would have used them but in this case the sizes were wrong and I did a poor job of cleaning the uncured resin off them

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  • RMweb Gold
56 minutes ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

Print a set of frames for that, and it can be a rusted 'derelict' from which all useable parts have long been stripped; at the back of the yard somewhere waiting the gas axe 'one day'. Neat work,

thanks I was also considering printing a dummy chassis to put running boards and a bare boiler on or just a saddle tank to make it look like an 'awaiting restoration' project or a pile of spare parts for the other locos on a layout

 

image.png.a1773d2653bd5d09235acdc14c650c96.png

 

With the 3D model it's easy to modify into other things

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  • RMweb Gold

Sometimes 3D printing goes wrong, this was my first attempt at printing the running  board for Florence
 

AE27F6A1-6080-4680-BE24-6A86EBCE856B.jpeg.7f7ea025046ff201fe8b794e78ea181d.jpeg9A52BEEF-E9F6-4A01-964E-6FF93C300ECD.jpeg.91ab87f73aaeed5765a1648bd0f342e5.jpeg

 

it had insufficient support or I didn’t level the bed very well and it came away at one end

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  • RMweb Gold

After getting some good prints (no pictures sadly) cleaning them up and test fitting them I began painting. To make this easier I had split the model into pieces on CAD leaving me with the following pieces :

 

1x running board, chassis extension and buffer beams

1x smokebox, giesl ejector, boiler and saddle tank

1x cab

1x boiler backplate

1x regulator handle

2x sand boxes

 

I did this over 2 prints but I think I may be able to squeeze it onto one if I need any future prints

 

image.png.281650d92d7efa19fd0ea7ec5d254811.png

 

I also tried printing some NEM sockets/mounts (the female dovetail piece, ringed in green below) but couldn't get good measurements or bodge my own to work well so I'll be using a dundas one for for the rear coupling as the chassis is extended beyond where the standard electrotren one fits

 

image.png.57d29baeeba414b1ca0f5a09757f28bc.png

 

If anyone has some measurements for the normal OO NEM mounts to share I'd be thrilled, I can find NEM 363 but it appears to be small compared to normal

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  • RMweb Gold

I started with a primer coat on each piece then applied a coat of black to give the top coat for some areas but also a dark base coat under the reds. in total there were 4 top coat colours

 

-  black, for the the roof, running board top face, smokebox, giesl ejector, boiler back plate

- maroon for the chassis, running board sides, saddle tank, cab, sand boxes and motor sides

-bright red for the buffer beam and buffers

-grey for the cab interior

 

all were done with spray paint, waiting 25 hours between colours and masking off the areas that I didn't want the new colour with  tamiya masking tape, I've tried the similar model craft tape but that struggled to stick to both the model and itself

 

having put the final coat of bright red onto the buffer beams I removed the masking tape and was greeted by some of the black painting coming away from the primer so had to sand back, tape it all up again and put some new black paint down, a minor set back probably caused by me leaving the tape on too long or putting it on before the black had fully dried.

 

IMG_0239.jpg.78f9995efe436134002a1e087ebef2d0.jpg

 

everything else looked pretty good though

 

IMG_0251.jpg.a6d89f90b86ced833f3fa4c829c08249.jpgIMG_0252.jpg.74ee47037000784b743aed575f7d1246.jpg

 

Edited by Adam FW
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  • RMweb Gold

I'm not a good brush painter, hence my reliance on spray paints but I attempted some cab detailing with some copper and white paint with a very small brush and a silver sharpie to add some highlights

 

IMG_0250.jpg.a0ba8ab45e4d30ab9b13e917015a87f0.jpg

 

I also wanted to add some some wood plank detailing to the cab floor, I did this with a craft knife, cutting deep linear grooves into the paint and then some lighter more random marks to imitate wood grain. Then I added some brown paint in an attempt at dry brushing to complete the look.

 

IMG_0254.jpg.0b4712d11210f97683ee92e67c715d33.jpgIMG_0253.jpg.a39d586784152a0e358c6c6097f355fd.jpg

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  • RMweb Gold

I did not have fun with the hand rails on this model, I used medium handrail knobs from Nairnshire Modeling supplies along the side of the saddle and they worked great, the short Gibson handrail knobs used elsewhere were awful with the cross hole drilled wonky

 

IMG_0263.jpg.bbf64921318a567778f3603031bfe6e1.jpg

 

I'm happy with the final result but have ordered new short handrail knobs which will hopefully be better

 

IMG_0264.jpg.6a3b37ee014b13fefa650d870ba944e9.jpgIMG_0276.jpg.d560b4567044fee9b0726395352378ea.jpgIMG_0277.jpg.5abca5d5511f842e688e61590d8d87ae.jpg

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold

After gluing the hand rails on I went gluing mad and glued everything bar the buffers onto the running board, though I did drill out the buffer beam ready to accept the sprung buffers

 

IMG_0279.jpg.e0dc0944f9fabc0bddc61e42672855dc.jpgIMG_0280.jpg.b7c27c4912452e65f80c0db7763b892e.jpgIMG_0281.jpg.a882dfb15b075dfb595950db575ea962.jpg

 

These rear views give you a good idea of how the windows bars came out, they're so thin (only 0.25mm wide) that the middle ones warped and now touch each other but I'm very happy with them and think they look battered from use rather than misprinted

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  • RMweb Gold

The sprung buffers came next, I'm not sure what brand these are but I like that they have a nut to secure it all together rather than having to bend the tang on the buffer. They're mis-match front and back as they came as part of a random collection from a model railway fair but they'll do nicely.

 

For painting I disassembled them being careful not to loose the tiny springs, put each buffer shank onto a kebab stick (to keep paint out of the inside and off my hands) and painted them with spray primer and a red top coat.

 

IMG_0278.jpg.c8e5f72dc9ece616a7f5b97e3ea81d8d.jpg

 

 

Once dry I put them back together and glued them into the buffer beam along with some hooks

 

IMG_0282.jpg.90aaa6b80a0b56646b26062fbf621524.jpg

IMG_0283.jpg.d62f985e4b6bebf13dea48c7e8ab3848.jpg

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  • RMweb Gold

After a final test fit the body fitted snugly and the chassis still ran but it needed more weight so it was time to break out the lead shot.

 

The saddle tank is designed split into 4 sections with some ribs to strengthen it and to make adding weight easier. My weight came as a bag of shot from Eileens Emporium so I carefully poured it into place with a teaspoon, the middle section is clear of lead for the time being as I didn't want to clog up the holes for the safety valves which have yet to arrive. 

 

To secure the shot I used the cheapeast, runniest superglue poundland could sell me in a pack of 4, it's got Tommy Walsh's signature on it so it must be good and they come with detail tips. The smell was powerful however.

 

IMG_0336.jpg.b72710db5e8f8c392da84db781032460.jpgIMG_0288.jpg.5258785ab524abdd2e873f88257ea811.jpg

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  • RMweb Gold

The last bit of detailing I can do at the moment is glazing the front windows as I haven't got any brass whistles or safety valves to fit nor the nameplates and builder plates.

 

I did this with glue and glaze after practising on a cab test print as I hadn't done it for a while. I tend to find it looks much better if you can stand or suspend the model with the windows horizontal as it dries as otherwise the glue flows and the windows look thicker at the base and more opaque because of it.

 

Before glazing I did the spectacle rims in a golden colour, can't remember if this was paint or a metallic sharpie, both have worked in the past

 

IMG_0337.jpg.6eff2a32bc1717cd66574c36554d0134.jpgIMG_0338.jpg.338a03951f5bbfe197034bcfe7d4c7cf.jpg

 

 

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A really good model and the process well described, thank you.   You are illustrating the potential of 3d printing and the way the hobby can go for modellers with niche interests, just wish I  was  a tad more computer savvy!!   Keep it up you could be a trailblazer!

  

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  • RMweb Gold

It's been a while, I've been working on designing 2 new models a Manning Wardle and an Avonside but my 3D printer has decided to play up (the touchscreen that controls everything will light up but not show any images), which has sped up my plan to get another printer. That and spare part I think I need is unavailable.

 

So I thought I'd show off the first 3D printed model I designed a couple of years ago, meet Bellerophon, another Foxfield resident

 

IMG_0368.jpg.9345f861417b089e54840a06c30e1ec3.jpg

IMG_0369.jpg.3c9b51f0a384715c4d85d50cd3b30c87.jpgIMG_0376.jpg.c7cc5a73a8258887bad466157ffe6067.jpg

 

I have a thing for obscure and odd machines and I can't imagine any RTR manufacturer is going to be making the sole surviving example of a locomotive from a company that only ever made 6 locos anytime soon no matter how beautiful the prototype is. Though if they ever did I'd be first in line to buy one.

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  • RMweb Gold

When I designed Bellerophon I didn't have a 3D printer in fact I don't think there were any consumer grade resin printers on the market bar some kickstarters maybe so I used shapeways.

 

It may not be the case anymore but with shapeways it was cheaper if you had fewer pieces and the cost was based on max width x height x length as well so I joined all of the pieces together onto an airfix like sprue and crammed them together into a cuboid

image.png.da44c571a7015243d90d4442aac503ae.pngimage.png.c6a35cb13a5a68240b70f756d789da33.png

 

As you can see I did this a low resolution STL by accident which meant much more sanding than necessary as the boiler looked like a 50p 

 

Having looked back through my old emails this cost me £36 to print in frosted ultra detail back in 2018, having re-uploaded it out of interest I believe the equivalent material is now  smooth or smoothest fine detail plastic, which would cost  £41 or £68 respectively to print excluding postage, so at least I can confirm Shapeways prices have gone up but I don't think that was ever in doubt.

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  • RMweb Gold

as with Florence, Bellerophon fits onto an Electrotren 0-6-0 chassis with the motor sides exposed, painted and in this case lined to blend in with the boiler, I had to neglect the unusual external gooch valve gear on the model as I couldn't find anything suitable to fit and didn't want to fit dummy parts

 

IMG_0378.jpg.504db832eda711de60dc37e07b5df378.jpg

 

The body is a snug fit onto the chassis so doens't need fasteners though the option to fit them is there.

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold

Some more images of Bellerophon, this time with rolling stock to give a better idea of size:

 

IMG_0385.jpg.87a52454bd9eb43ac3b88d07efad9525.jpgIMG_0384.jpg.b33e7824bfdbad40a7bd048961ce3515.jpgIMG_0383.jpg.7f7846d531e1fa84d5e71ce7e5abe866.jpgIMG_0379.jpg.82617fbcdd48fb459d7a047a97661de9.jpg

image.png.1acaa15dd50439fd55d9b62c8ec13572.png

The name plate is from Narrow Planet

 

the safety valves are from a Smokey Joe

 

the clack valves and hand brake wheel are printed parts attached to 1mm (ish) brass rod

 

the coupling hooks are from Wizard Models

 

the lining is pressfix LNER loco lining from HMRS

 

buffers are sprung

 

and other than the black base coat it's all brush painted

 

Edited by Adam FW
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  • RMweb Gold

Bellerophon's a bit too big as I had to increase the boiler diameter to cover the motor  which meant the cab had to be heightened so it didn't look to odd in comparison along with the boiler and there's the other compromises made when using an RTR chassis on a small loco such as wheel spacing

 

I knew it was never going to be an accurate scale model but I think it captures the prototype pretty well and I've never seen a better one as I've never seen another one.

 

 

 

Edited by Adam FW
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