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Using the easy-assembly Finetrax pointwork kits in 00 and EM (and in P4 from the S4 Society)

NFWEM57

By NFWEM57,
in Handbuilt Track & Templot

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martin_wynne

martin_wynne

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Just now, Wayne Kinney said:

Haha, for some reason I kept thinking you were referring to the section after the nose of the V:

 

No, that's fine. Better than any other supplier in fact.

 

And that's not "after" the nose, it's in front of it. :)  All pointwork terminology reads from the toe of a turnout (the blade tips) towards the heel of the turnout (where the roads diverge).

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

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Wayne Kinney

Wayne Kinney

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2 minutes ago, martin_wynne said:

 

No, that's fine. Better than any other supplier in fact.

 

And that's not "after" the nose, it's in front of it. :)  All pointwork terminology reads from the toe of a turnout (the blade tips) towards the heel of the turnout (where the roads diverge).

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

LOL...I was reading the photo from left to right, maybe better to say 'as in the diagram'...:lol:

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martin_wynne

martin_wynne

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One reason for removing the infill at the far end, is that your only competitor (based in America) inserts a ludicrous infill there which makes it look like a cast bullhead crossing, which are extremely rare. So you can make a point of no infill as a product feature in your advertising.

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

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Chuffer Davies

Chuffer Davies

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Hi Wayne, thanks for the pictures of the vacuum formed moulds - fascinating!  Would I be correct in thinking that the sleeper bases have to be injection moulded, in which case you have a lot of moulds to engineer?  Are the moulds made using traditional methods or is there a new way of doing this these days?

 

Frank   

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Wayne Kinney

Wayne Kinney

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1 hour ago, Chuffer Davies said:

Hi Wayne, thanks for the pictures of the vacuum formed moulds - fascinating!  Would I be correct in thinking that the sleeper bases have to be injection moulded, in which case you have a lot of moulds to engineer?  Are the moulds made using traditional methods or is there a new way of doing this these days?

 

Frank   

Thanks Frank,

 

The bases are manufactured from a specially researched mix of resins and colour pigments using a high quality professional 3D printer (which was a large investment).

 

It took me 4 months to perfect the resin mix, working with 3 different resin companies. Also, finding the right machine was very difficult.

 

The advantages of this approach, compared to injection moulding, are:

  • Manufacture of a HUGE variety of formations not financially possible with IM.
  • Fast 'prototyping' and revisions.
  • Opens the possibility of offering different standards (00 'Standard', 00-SF, EM), again not financially possible with IM.
  • Possibility of making 2/4 bolt chaired versions as 'custom' orders, rather easily.
  • Inclusion of more specialty chairs as per the prototype.
  • To go from idea, CAD and final product in weeks rather than months.
  • More intuitive to tweak the design, test and make improvements (for example, rail fit to chairs).

So the final material for the base is a mix of 3 different specialty resins to attain the desired properties.

 

Edited by Wayne Kinney
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Chuffer Davies

Chuffer Davies

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17 minutes ago, Wayne Kinney said:

Thanks Frank,

 

The bases are manufactured from a specially researched mix of resins and colour pigments using a high quality professional 3D printer (which was a large investment).

 

It took me 4 months to perfect the resin mix, working with 3 different resin companies. Also, finding the right machine was very difficult.

 

The advantages of this approach, compared to injection moulding, are:

  • Manufacture of a HUGE variety of formations not financially possible with IM.
  • Fast 'prototyping' and revisions.
  • Opens the possibility of offering different standards (00 'Standard', 00-SF, EM), again not financially possible with IM.
  • Possibility of making 2/4 bolt chaired versions as 'custom' orders, rather easily.
  • Inclusion of more specialty chairs as per the prototype.
  • To go from idea, CAD and final product in weeks rather than months.
  • More intuitive to tweak the design, test and make improvements (for example, rail fit to chairs).

So the final material for the base is a mix of 3 different specialty resins to attain the desired properties.

 

Wow,  that's really interesting to hear and it all now makes sense now.  I just couldn't imagine how you were going to prepare so many IM's. 

 

A year or so ago Colin Ashby gave our local area group of the EMGS a tour of his manufacturing facility and demonstrated the process of creating injection moulds.  In the past Colin had been responsible for creating the moulds for many of the small kit suppliers of wagons and coaches.  I just couldn't imagine how you could turn around so many traditional moulds in such a short space of time.

 

I really must invetigate this 3D printing malarkey in more detail.  It has come on in leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.

 

Thank you for taking the time to explain this in so much detail, I really appreciate it.

 

Frank 

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Hitchin Junction

Hitchin Junction

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7 hours ago, martin_wynne said:

One reason for removing the infill at the far end, is that your only competitor (based in America) inserts a ludicrous infill there which makes it look like a cast bullhead crossing, which are extremely rare. So you can make a point of no infill as a product feature in your advertising.

 

cheers,

 

Martin.

 

This is a marvelous product, mostly because it bypasses the traditional high tooling costs and design inflexibility of injection moulding to allow for a very wide range of items. But as that manufacturing technology can be purchased, I would think that PECO and soon after, Bachmann, are going to be major competitors, and very quickly.

 

Or it will be another case like Facebook vs. Instagram.

 

Tim

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Michael Hodgson

Michael Hodgson

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One of the reasons some modellers build their own track is because they want to run mixed gauge - I couldn't help wondering whether that might be less difficult a proposition if the bits for these points are made available separately for those who want to do that sort of thing.  It's not something I would ever want to do and obviously it's a very small niche market.

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robmanchester

robmanchester

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Hi Wayne,

I was expecting some high-tech workshop facility but to see the vacuum machine in the lounge with the wedding photo(?) in the background was quite a shock:D

 

Shooting too early isn't usually a problem - gives time for getting your feet up and a cigar......

 

Off now to solder up some crossing vees. Keep the thread rolling and well done.

 

Rob

 

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hayfield

hayfield

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On 13/12/2020 at 14:47, Wayne Kinney said:

Haha, for some reason I kept thinking you were referring to the section after the nose of the V:

 

nose.jpg

 

Wayne

 

Thinking out loud, these cast common crossings may be extremely useful to those who scratch build their turnouts as they can be used for  diamonds and slips as well as turnouts

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Wayne Kinney

Wayne Kinney

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46 minutes ago, hayfield said:

 

Wayne

 

Thinking out loud, these cast common crossings may be extremely useful to those who scratch build their turnouts as they can be used for  diamonds and slips as well as turnouts

Although they do have location pins on the bottom ;)

32 minutes ago, njee20 said:

Interesting you’re printing the bases! What printer did you end up with? Phenom XXL to accommodate the size?

Sorry, trade secret :dirol_mini:

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martin_wynne

martin_wynne

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Posted (edited)
12 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

Hello Wayne, I found your website:- No problem. However, all of the products I saw was Code 40 track based. I'm assuming there is a 4mm section somewhere?

 

Cheers,

Ian.

 

Not yet there isn't. This 4mm track is a new venture by Wayne. First releases expected in the New Year.

 

Martin.

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