-missy-

Hi Guys.

These are hopefully going to be part of a much larger picture. I am actually using 3D printing for what it was designed for! If the 3D printed wheels prove to be a viable route for making oddball wheels then that is an added bonus.

There isnt really much point in casting the wheels in brass as this is the route the 2mmSA already has taken and the main problem is that lost wax (or 3D print) casting just isnt accurate enough and therefore requires post casting machining to bring them into acceptable tolerances. I would be very surprised if whitemetal would fair much better.

M

Thanks Guys

Of course, you know that's not proper modelling

I dont care! It does what I want it to so it doesnt worry me!

Kerosene Castle is looking good, you're well on the way to capturing the front end nicely. That'll look good racing through Highclere!

There is no reason to do that other than I love how quirky it is. There is still LOTs to do on it though, Im treating it as something to practice on using my solid modelling software.

Fantastic stuff as usual Julia. I love the Peckett - same as the one they had at Bath Gas works and the swanky bit for a fellow 2mm modeller highlighted on your blog looks French to me!!

Jerry

I am expecting you to 'persuade' me to let you have one at some point! I am guessing at Stormex? I will try to get one printed in time so you can take a close look.

The words Couchere and Porte spring to mind, dont know why....

Superb work there on the digital side of out hobby. It is the way the hobby is going and your work is a testament to the fact that great quality results can be had!

 

I look forward to seeing the final prints!

I am going to hold off saying that until the plastic bits are in my hand. Swanky screen grabs are one thing, seeing the model 'in the flesh' is another...

The Peckett does indeed look good (I climbed over one with a tape rule recently) and I really like the idea of a 2mm City of Truro (I assume thats what that GWR cab front is for).

Paul.

Dont you dare measure mine and compare it!! You are right about the City of Truro too, its one of my all time most wanted engines, fingers crossed it lives upto its appeal to me. Im not looking forward to lining it though! Shall I put you down for one once its all finished?

Who knows, she might even give it working inside motion.

Hahahaha!

How did I miss your last blog post?

I dont know, too busy modelling perhaps?

When I've stopped salivating and am less giddy about the prospect of another locomotive to build (one that might actually be in period) I might have something more constructive to add other than to say "nice work".

Maybe we could come to some sort of deal with your SRM? I remember you mentioning on a previous blog post of mine that you didnt think anything would come of it too, shame on you!

M

The does look really good Ian.

I have always avoided the rivet transfers mainly because of the price but its pictures like that which make me think about using them again..

Thanks

Missy

I think I will second that comment by Tom.

Its nice to see someone elses approach to what is a rather fiddly job. I especially like how you have got the balance weight thingy to work too.

M

Hooray Pointy Man is Back!

Nice to see him again. I can also see where you get your modelling talent from too now...

M

Thats an interesting thought Lisa.

It does seem a little pointless when you could just move the track away from the edge of the baseboard though. Its what I have done with Highclere and it seems to work. By keeping the track well away from the baseboard edges is also a good way of creating the impression of space.

Black can be a bit harsh if used wrongly but it does focus the eye away from the areas painted black and onto the bits you want to show off.

Missy

Or of course the RMWeb members meet this saturday

Woohoo!

Thats brilliant, cant wait to see the photos...

Missy

Thanks for the reply Don.

That is certianly a thought on the wire. The dilemma I have is where these wheels would be useful and I honestly think they could work for replacement wheels for Farish and Dapol RTR stuff, then use something else for replacement chassis using 2mmSA split chassis design. I am sure in time though that it will be possible to print some kind of conductive plastic which then would make the choice a little easier.

Of course there is still a big IF hanging over everything as this is just one of my ideas and Im sure there will be better solutions from other people..

M

Thanks Alan

On the heat subject I was meaning with respect to soldering not running.

Ah ok, I have soldered the crank pins on the pannier tank and it takes a fraction of a second to solder each one. I havent noticed any damage. As mark metioned previously there is always the option of holding the coupling rods by instering a pin through the coupling rod and into the wheel cutting off any excess.

M

Thank you for the comments Alan.

I could be wrong but I thought the main reason for the half axles was to maintain the split chassis design, therefore the center needs to be electrically conductive. As FUD isnt then to me it wasnt worth messing around with half axles but instead use the same methods as Farish and Dapol and rely on wipers. Its why I was thinking about these as replacements.

That is a low melting point, I guess thats inherent in the manufacture. I am struggling to see how an engine would ever reach temperatures like that though unless there is something seriously wrong with it. I might be wrong but the only time one of my engines ever got that hot it had already fried the motor. Considering the only real path for the heat to conduct from the chassis is through the axles (and through radiation) I just cannot see how the wheels would get that hot.

Thanks for the tip about the material quality though, certinaly from what I have seen with assembling the wheels they were much more robust than I first expected. Im going to have a go at some buffers soon, I am guessing for the heads you stick to the 0.3mm wall thickness?

M

Hi Don.

Dont forget the wheel center is plastic, therefore non-conducting so the half axle design isnt needed. There is no reason why you cant do that but you dont have to.

M

Hello Will.

Brilliant, as an N gauger the world of finescale can seem a bit daunting, but seeing clever things happen using technologies I have a bit of an understanding of is encouraging. Thanks for showing the process step by step!

Im glad you found it useful. One of the big drivers (excuse the pun!) behind this is to make it easier for people to convert RTR stuff to 2mm finescale. There are wheels for diesels and hopefully in the future there will be the same for steam...

M

Hi Mark.

I have been considering changing the wheel to suit a square or maybe even a 'D' shaped axle. Maybe I should try it on the next batch of samples?

Yes, soldering could be fun. I was relying on the speed that it takes to solder the retaining washers on to not harm the wheels. Ironically the holes for the crankpins should be a 0.05mm interference fit but I didnt try it out on these but opting instead to drill them to fit the crankpins from the back. I like your suggestion though, the only thing that worries me a bit is how easy they would be to quarter (if the square/D axles dont work out).

Things to think about though for sure, thank you.

M

Hello again

They look good. As well as the Q1 wheels there the spam cans and ther H spoke ones for GW 850 class and some LNWR types. Let alone the need for the Crankpins being either between or in line with the spokes.

Don

If this works then there is the possibility of doing the less common types of wheels. It does mean of course that the conventional way of building 2mmSA chassis wont work as the axle isnt split though. Its more useful for modifying RTR engines from Farish and Dapol.

ps Point rodding info sent by Email

Thanks Don (and Geoff) I havent looked at it yet but I will take a look later today.

A really excellent example of the potential 3D printing has in our hobby. Very nicely done! It looks as though the layering you sometimes seeon these prints is minimal too. It does really open up the possibility of quick and simpler wheel swaps for N Gauge steam.

Tom.

Thanks Tom. The finish on the wheels you see above is more the result of some over enthusiastic cleaning by myself with a wire brush. They really only needed a good scrub with a toothbrush or similar really. You learn by your mistakes! I am quite excitied about what would be possible if they do work, as you say it does open up many possibilities. A good example is that I have in the making some 6mm driving wheels, ideal for shunters and small engines which havent been available through the 2mmSA before.

One thing I am curious about though, is will the centres be subjected to any stresses from expanding & contracting rims under exhibition conditions, where they might be exposed to a wide range of temperatures in a shorter period than usual? Is the FUD material strong enough to cope with this over a long period of time?

Tom.

You are right Tom. It is early days with these and time will tell if they work or not. From what I can see when working with the stuff I cannot see any reason why it shouldnt work so far, unless of course I have missed something obvious. The next step once I fix the coupling rods in place is to run it as much as possible to test them out.

M

The set I have are very loose. If it wasn't for the keyed axles (they are there to set the quartering automatically), the things would pass right through the centres with very little effort.

That sounds like a design error to me, something wasnt measured or drawn correctly.

I was fortunate in having some great drawings of the rims so I could engineer the interference fit in, 0.1mm for both wheel-axle and wheel-rim which seems to have done the job so far. The accuracy of the printing seems to be good enough for that not to be an issue. Of course 'standard parts' i.e. parts made to a drawing (with tolerances) does help lots.

M

You haven't seen Bill's wheels.

No I havent. Is there something I should know?

Hello Guys

Hi Missy,

They look good. Have you printed them in FUD or another material? I always wanted to print some wheels but didn't think FUD was strong enough and the other materials were not fine enough. Depending on how you get on I'll have to rethink that....

Yes they were printed in FUD. Alan Cox said in a post somewhere a while ago that the material was similar to whitemetal and I think if you treat it the same you wont go far wrong. So far it seems to stay in place with no movement of the center on the shaft or rim/tyre. Of course time will tell if this works, especially once I get the thing running.

Also did you turn your own tyres?

No, these are from the 2mm Association. They are the 'standard' ones they use for the existing wheels available through the association shop.

3D-printed wheels are an ingenious idea - Bill Bedford's producing much the same thing for P4, with one or two teething issues along the way - I'll hopefully be able to post up some photos of the Q1 wheelsets I'm trying out.

 

What you don't want to end up with is such a loose-fitting wheel centre that the axle slips right through.

I really think there is potential with these, even in 2mm Scale. As you saw at Railex they are my first attempt so the next ones should be a little better.

The wheel-to-rim and wheel-to-axle are both interference fits (hence having to press them together) so technically there shouldnt be a problem with anything being losse fitting.

M

Hello Chris.

Its great to see you back with the 2mm bits and bobs. Im pleasantly surprised on the new little layout, it looks very promising so far.

I totally agree with you on the 2mm Association. It is like a friendly little club, its kept me with 2mm for a while now.

Missy.

P.S. My condolences to you and your loss.

Now that really is attention to detail. Superb work - like the idea of the template to help measure and solder in place.

 

Mike

Templates are your friend and dont be afraid of spending time making them, especially in 2mm scale.

M

Hello

Having been asked by Geoff to review the protoype practice section of the revised 2mm Track handbook it contains some useful photos of rodding. This will be coming to all 2mSA members in due course. Not being my photos I cannot post here but I could ask Geoff if I can forward them to you ( I think I have your Email from the VAG).

Don

That would be useful, thank you. It would be worth checking with Geoff first though. As I mentioned before I have some tricky bits comming up where I need to route the rodding under a couple of tracks so I would be very interested in seeing how thats normally done.

 

 

I only have one turnout (the other a ground frame I think) and thankfully its close to the signal box so yes I guess I have to...

That sounds like you have just enough but not too much as to go mad. I am jealous

M

And again...! (apologies for the many replies)

Excellent job - shall I put up some pics of the real thing so that you can put it to shame?

That is a really good idea although I doubt mine will look anything like the real thing! It would be interesting to see how the problem of passing rodding under multiple tracks is dealt with though (yes, I have that to do soon)

welcome to external blog world, I will follow it with interest.

Thanks, you were one of the people that made me decide to do it. Once I figure it out I will add yours to my following list thingy too.

We need to add miles and miles of this stuff to CF- want a job?

Richard

Erm.....I can supply it in kit form

Seriously though, thank you all so much for your kind words and support.

M

And again! (Damn SQL errors!)

They're so pretty. I want to add point rodding too, when I get that far. Despite understanding how small point rodding stools were I was still shocked at how small the parts are on the fret when I saw them for real: that first picture must be at least three times full size.

They arent pretty, flowers are pretty! Im looking forward to seeing your effort, Im sure it will be much better than my attempt..

Well worth all the effort and sore eyes I should think?

Cheers,

Mark

I cant do it when Im tired, I really do think this is my limit, its not so much the size of it all more the sheer quantity of it.

The only thing that surprises me is that it's only cosmetic and you haven't made it functional !! ;-)

Ian

Ha! No chance!

Missy

Me again

Brilliant. It's one of those things that when you see you think how could I leave that out? You keep raising the bar Missy

Don

As well as the comments on this blog, thats whats keeping me going with this, I can safely say this is harder to do than trackwork. I dont know what bar I am raising though, anyone can do this really....

From the last but one photo it looks like you are using an RSU. Are you using the the ruler as the return path?

Nick

Yes and yes. The ruler is a nice straight edge to work against plus, as you say it is the ground for the resistance soldering. The wire from the unit is 'stuck' to the ruler with a magnet.

Superb Missy - keep going as the third pic demonstrates how good it looks...

Thank you Pete, is there going to be any appearing on Coombe Junction at some point then?

I am left speechless.

Jim

No your not! You have done more than the majority of people on here..

M

Hello Folks!

WOW, Thanks everyone for the vote of confidence. I didnt really expect as many replies about this as there arent really any 'impressive' photos or anything. Im amazed that people are still following my ramblings too.

But how on earth do you solder such small parts? Like do you use a particularly small iron? Perhaps you use soldering paste rather than the usual stuff on a roll? I wouldn't know where to start and am very interested to read what techniques you have used and of lessons learned.

I have tried a mixture of jigs and ways of soldering it all together including my BSI Standard modelling Antex 25w soldering iron. More recently I have used a resistance soldering iron to do these as it means I can really focus the heat on a small area for a small amount of time. As the results show I do seem to be getting better at it the more I do. If you would like me to show you anything specific I am more than willing to, I could just as easily show a step-by-step guide on soldering these together.

Will you be adding the rollers that sit on top of the rodding between each stool?

Tom.

Erm...no! I think what I have done is enough. I thought the rollers sit underneath the rodding anyway?

Top marks too for getting a blog sorted, if you add the 'followers' gadget to the right hand column we can subscribe to keep up to date

I think I have tweaked it so try it now...

Fancy another job when you've finished that little lot? Our trackbed looks a bit bare compared to yours.

Thanks but no thanks, one layout is enough! The only thing I think I can say though is its worth it.

M