hayfield

The first issue I have found is with the switch rail jigs, and I am not alone in this, many others have reported this The Vee jigs have a benefit of being able to hold the rails in position whilst soldering. There is no need to solder vees together in plug track, its a push fit which is far easier Here by lies the problem, most modelers do not have access to these jigs, If they do buy them a set will cost £120. Restricted angles available Templot jigs as far as the switch rails are concerned are far easier to use let alone very much cheaper and in my opinion produce a better result I have spent half of that and the cost saving if you need a few turnouts and crossings will be soon repaid, technology has moved on and newer machines are always improving You are using a method of ply and rivet, followed using plastic chairs. I have seen a P4/EM gauge letter press punch with accessories sell for upwards of £150, that's not before you buy a set of gauges (at least £40 ) and the cost of plastic parts are going through the roof. If you are not using ply and rivet you face the cost of buying a pre made common crossings or face the problem of making them. But stop and think, it is far more likely someone knows a person with a 3D printer, cost argument goes out of the window. or a few can share the cost between them, or a club investment I did have all the misgivings you have and I can see where you are coming from, it may not suite you, but there is a whole realm of modelers out there who do not have your skills, for them its perfect Keep up the good work you building skills are encouraging others to follow suite

Ian You are not jumping that much too soon, once I get some time in the next few days I will start printing chairs. My plan is to print a small test track which with a little work could be turned into a layout. There are a few restrictions in that only turnouts are supported at the moment. One of the first things is my own experiment in using both plug track and old technology in making a diamond crossing If someone wants to scratch build a layout using plug track, there is nothing to stop them. Think of it as a scratch building aid. Certainly the jigs work and can be used for any type of construction method as can track bases printed without sockets One bit of advice is if possible use one of the printers Martin has used and has the settings for Most of us model for fun and I must say I am having fun with 3D printing

Martin Thanks for the link and instructions, I remember from your prototype that there was a stop line and I guessed it was 20mm, which I used. I may have tightened the front bolt too tight, I will recheck it

Patrick I think I am correct in remembering that the P4 track Company was the Name Exactoscale used for their P4 kits, here is a link to a post started by Nickwood This incarnation of Exactoscale was a partnership/business relationship Between the late Andrew Dukes and the late Len Newman (Len also started C&L) The idea was to produce turnouts, diamond crossings and slip kits to P4 standards, and a range of complementary track and track building parts Basically steel rail was precut and fabricated so that the buyer could easily built P4 track kits by using a selection of various plastic chairs and track bases The pre cut and formed rails have not been available for years The rest of the range is still available and is still sold by the Scalefour Society and a smaller range is available from the EMGS (the 7mm parts is sold through the Scale Seven group)

Jol Thanks for the post, I totally agree with you its not for everyone, but firstly these jigs are only available to members and can easily be resold at near or more face value, To buy the 3 jigs I have it would now cost over £100 to buy them and the switch rail jig is more or less unusable, or very difficult to get on with. I find the Fast track jig much easier to use and works with flatbotten track from code 75 to 100. They are limited to one crossing angle and whilst designed for flatbottom rail works fine with code 75 bull head However after seeing the results at Scaleforum I now have both a FDM and resin machines. at a cost of a modern 4mm scale top of the range loco I have only just started to use the FDM machine, but the learning curve is very low and the results are way beyond my expectations. I have just printed and used one of the switch rail jigs, cost about £2 and a couple of nuts and bolts Its starting to pay me back instantly, I have one of the prototype filing jigs from 2 years ago and its still working well, I accept your argument but the Templot Plug track gives the average modeler the ability to build turnouts to the same high quality as the best track builders, in some cases with even more detail But why stop at track building (once you have finished building the track) obtain files for other items !!

The jig was successfully printed yesterday Used in anger fir the first time, so much easier to use than the society jigs Old bit of rail as a test piece, a nice clean back easily filed The hole in the jig is to allow the jig to be clamped to a work bench if needed Martin, a super bit of designing. Thank you

Martin tipped me off that supplies of the resin we use are now available and at a discounted price for Amazon Prime members. I ordered some and its due tomorrow, I still have an order for the 28th again now has been discounted Now I just need time to set up the machine, design and print some chairs The first switch rail jig was printed yesterday

Ian The timbers on which the first two slide chairs sit on have protrusions/guide strips which hold a slide bar between the base and these strips. a slide plate can be fixed to the switch rails using wire. Its up to the builder to decide how to move the slide bar . A piece of card with ballast stuck to it will cover the slide bar , Edit Martin has come to my rescue with a diagram, as usual a well thought out method by Martin Please remember its an experimental method which is starting to take shape, anyone thinking of using it should check the machines which are being used by the group, these are ones trialed by Martin and known to work, including the Alkaid which is the cheapest resin printer on the market and under £90

Up to 72% but the rail slots are not noticeable yet

Keith I am not certain Templot plug track has settings for Peco Bullhead rail ? Or has Martin or someone else added the settings ? My printer was set up quite quickly, so I think the set up and learning time will not take as long as you expect

If you use a common angle/size as I have said these jigs are reusable. I have one of the prototype vee jigs from 2 years ago and use it when I need an A5 crossing For most all they will need with switches is an A & B set.

Normally in track building ones skill base improves with every completed item, usually the first couple of pieces are relegated to the storage sidings. Plug track is a bit different as the printing does most of the technical stuff. However there is nothing wrong in making test pieces, a turnout base will set you back 40p ish. The jigs cost a bit more but a fraction of commercial ones. If you break a few chairs so what a raft of theme cost pence, if anything the learning curve is not that great. But why not print off a couple of test items ?

That is a good point, however when having a new machine/trying a new process its worth doing a few test prints. I myself have printed out a couple of A6 turnouts and an A6 diamond crossing, once I get some resin (out of stock till the end of the month ) I will be able to print some resin chairs most of which will be batch printed and interchangeable, the exception being the common crossing (3 of which are exactly the same. As for the jigs, the 1-6 is my chosen crossing angle for the test pieces as will be the A switches Providing you have a planned entry into 3D printing where is the problem ?

Keith As we used to say in our childhood, easy peasy Firstly I would be very happy to share the files needed to set up the printer settings in Cura one to print the timbers the second to print the jigs Printing the jigs is very easy, simply make a turnout template then if you go into 3D without adding chairs or timbers it defaults to jigs, the choice is either Vees or switch rails, the latter has a choice of 3 separate jigs. Again printing the timbers is an easy process, I think James covers it in the video. I have written a card with the steps on, but it toom me 4 or 5 goes before memory automation kicked in I am happy to assist you, but far more qualified users in Templot club The filing jig is working away in the background, now 25% through printing

I have an issue like many others in that the distributers who supply the resin we use is out of stock of it and new supplies will not be available till after Christmas. Today I have been able to download settings into Cura (a slicing program) for printing the jigs, whilst I printed a filing jig a few weeks ago I had a hiccup with my computer and lost the settings. That issue solved I am printing the first of three filing jigs for switch rails. Martin is a genius as he has designed a simple to use switch rail filing system I will keep you posted as to its progression

Whilst I have a companion thread running on my exploits in 3D printed track I thought I would share a few items that might be of interest to track builders First up I printed a track base for an 0-16.5 turnout, whilst this is a simple base it has no plug sockets and can be used with more normal track building methods, whilst its a straight forward A6 with the timbers adjusted for 16.5 , it can be made to any size or curvature you require and the base is far more stable than other build methods I have used, best of all this base cost about 40p to print, and just needs a meter and a half of rail The base has been painted and waiting for the rails which will be glued and spiked (though using Butanone ABS chairs will stick to it). There is no reason why this cannot be done in 4mm scale if you don't fancy plug track, or the rail profile is not supported by Templot plug track. But I cannot see any reason not to use plug track One old problem is accurately filing Vee's and switch rails. Templot plug track has come up with easy to use and accurate filing jig, at what ever angle you require. Best of all is they use about £2 worth of filament, plus some bolts. But the best thing is you are not limited to a few standard angles Simply push the rail through the slot and fasten Just a few seconds of filing and you have an accurate angle that just requires some emery cloth to finish Best of all they are reusable, with the society filing jigs costing £40 if you have access to them, you are limited to 4 differing angles. You could print off a 6.689 degree angle or any other non standard angle, a bonus when making 3 ways Hot on the printer is the first of 3 switch rail filing jigs, you need 3 jigs as one jig is required to file the rail backs, but you need a left and a right hand front filing jig as they are opposites of each other. But like many builders, I have found the society jigs hard to use, these Templot jigs are so much easier and quicker to use. Easier to access and far cheaper You might see a downside of it taking about 8 hours to print each jig, but the printer just carries on all on its own. I suppose you might want to have the occasional glance but the novelty of watching the machine working soon wears off. I will post over the next few days the results of both the prints and what they make For those who might want to have a quick glance at my attempts to 3D print click on the link below

I think I am correct in remembering that the settings for printing 7mm timbers would be better/quicker with different settings. Also I need to download the settings for the filing jigs

I decided to experiment further with a track base for an 0-16.5 turnout Code 100 flatbottom rail is not supported in Templot so a turnout base will not have plug track fixings. But for 40p I have a 1-6 turnout base The idea being is I can glue and pin the rails to the base, as you can see the two parts have been joined and painted

I can try and answer the question about the blanked slot. It is where two templates overlap each other and two timbers are in the same space, one above the other. It was covered in Both Templot club some time ago and in a recent zoom meeting. You have to hide the outline of one timber, but also you must select what chairs to keep on both timbers You have to go into Real - Shove Timbers- Hide one of the two timbers Then press the Heave button and start sorting out which chairs you want to loose on both timbers (lengthen the timber that is being kept) Its one of the processes that's harder to explain than do. But it is only required when two or more templates overlap each other

Patrick C&L is code 82 not code 83 Exactoscale Fasttrack bases are designed to fit code 82 as I stated previously, I assume both Peco fittings are also designed to take code 83 as they date back years

Martin Thank you very much for all your work and I think its important for those of us who are learning this new medium for trackwork to use tried and testing methods and materials Given the range of resins available, for those in the know there may well be other makes that work equally well. But for us novices in printing its important to use well tried processes and products Its good we have an open discussion, but for me its important to use tried and tested methods as I need help if something goes wrong

Thanks for the suggestions, and I will park it at the moment as water washable is important to me Whilst I am open to all suggestions, for the moment I will go with the advice from existing Templot Plug Track as I have no plans to print anything else. However please feel free to continue to contribute to the thread as we all soak up advice from others especially in this area which seems to be coming of age in railway modelling.

Njee20 Thank you for the suggestion, this is the resin I have chosen ANYCUBIC ABS-Like Resin Pro 2, 3D Printer Resin with Enhanced Strength and Toughness, High Precision and Minimal Shrinkage 3D Resin, Widely Compatible with All Resin 3D Printers The reason is I want water washable

Update on resin printing, I have ordered some resin, unfortunately its out of stock and not available for 3+ weeks. Looks like Martins Plug track may be taking off !!!!

Njee20 Regarding printing time, this fulli'sh plate will take about 4.5 hours to print. Excluding design loading the printer takes seconds, then you leave it to carry on I am trying another experiment, this time for an 0 16.5 turnout base Its just going to be solid timbers on to which I will glue and spike rail. Rather than start with a 7mm scale template and reduce it down, I altered the sleepering of an 00 gauge A6 turnout making the timbers both wider and longer Whilst the timber length matches Peco 0 16.5 flexitrack the width and spacings may not. As I said its an experiment costing 40p in filament. It shows the versality of the system by altering the output to suite your own plans