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Gone 'n' dunnit!

Started by John Candy, Feb 18 2021 10:45

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John Candy


The instructions reckoned 20 mins. to assemble ..... since there were at least 60 screws involved (plus 25 pages of instructions just to reach the basic assembly stage) I think that is more than a little optimistic.
Anyhow, by the time it had been unpacked and all the parts had been identified, it took me more than 3 hours!

It went together very easily, it is made of aerospace grade aluminium alloy and the machining/precision couldn't be criticised.

It is quite heavy and looks impressive : Scaled up 60+ times, it wouldn't look out of place at Harland and Wolff.

The three photos show the basic setup (ready to receive either the 3D print, laser cutting or CNC milling bases and machine heads); the printer heated plate held in place by 22 screws.... which need to be removed and replaced when switching between 3D/laser/milling.... bit of a bore; the machine set up for 3D printing.

If it works as well as it looks, I shall be happy!
Watch this space.

Regards,
John.












My fellow Members, ask not what your Society can do for you, ask what you can do for your Society.

cabbage

Welcome to the world of applied laziness! Although my reprap is undergoing servicing I am looking forward to sitting with a pie and a pint while it does the work.

Regards

Ralph

John Candy

Machine now "run in " as a 3D printer.

4 x A5 (GCR 4-6-2T) tank fillers and a dome .... total print time 12 hours (set at 80 microns and 50 percent infill).

In addition I have printed sound card, whistle relay and Revo module mounting trays, to enable the PCBs to be mounted directly onto insides of brass side tanks and bunkers of a number of locos under construction.

More detailing parts for LNWR Coal Tanks ( cab and tank fittings ,etc.) in preparation.

Not tempted to use laser or CNC milling yet as machine is in the study and fumes/smoke would probably set off the alarms and not be popular with "the boss"!

Regards,
John.







My fellow Members, ask not what your Society can do for you, ask what you can do for your Society.

753

Well done John, watching your progress with interest, you seem to be winning the CAD battle!

Mike

John Candy

Having, for a few years, been debating how to best produce LNER panelled coaches of various types, I have experimented with die-cutting but have not got much further than making test pieces (it does work but is very noisy). I have not discounted it but it may be more efficient/effective when combined with other methods e.g. applying 3d printed detailing onto die-cut base.... I have prepared the artwork for GWR 6-wheel Siphons and various horseboxes but have not got so far as cutting the parts.

The arrival of the Snapmaker opens up possibilities for combining die-cutting, 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC milling to produce components more effectively.

My latest test project is to 3D print a Gresley coach module, a pair of luggage compartment doors. It took a full day to prepare the OpenSCAD file and I suspect it may take almost as long to print the subject.

It may not be practical to 3d print individual coaches in their entirety (takes too long) but the printed modules may be used to produce moulds for resin casting.

More news soon.

Regards,
John




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John Candy

Well, I set up the printer and it gave 10hrs 17 mins as time to complete.
It started at 06:05 and has now been running for just over 2 hours.

It now says 10hrs 14 mins to run but more worrying is that less than 10% has been processed..... suggesting a more realistic time of 20+ hours overall. If that is so, it will not complete until tomorrow at around 03:00 BST.
Whoever said watching grass grow or paint dry was tedious hadn't tried 3D printing!

I set resolution at 80 microns .... it will go down to 50 but at that rate I may not live long enough to see it complete!

John



My fellow Members, ask not what your Society can do for you, ask what you can do for your Society.

cabbage

It sounds as if your device is working on the % of the vertical height of the object to be printed, rather than the cubic volume printed. But yes, I have had print times in days... You can alter the print speed aka frame rate up to about 125% without too much degredation. It is possible to start at 100% amd do the last few layers at 150% which gives a really rough finish - like hewn stone. Perfect for building walls with!

My initial 2015 thoughts were that the machine was producing too perfect pieces then I found out how to make them more naturalistic.

Regards

Ralph

John Candy

In the end it took 10hrs and 4 mins ..... why didn't it just stick with its first assessment which was only 10mins different!
Being black, not easy to photo but best effort below.
There are some minor striations on the lower panel which run in the direction of the teak grain.
I will give it a light "rub down" and decide whether to use as a pattern for a mould or print sufficient for a few carriages.

John.



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cabbage

I would suggest you SCRAPE the areas flat with a sharp  broad chisel as this is how I make the smoothest flatest surfaces  for parts.

Regards

Ralph

John Candy


The Snapmaker has been pounding away almost continuously over the past week.

On the Gresley coach front, there are three printed modules with a fourth currently printing (23hrs 30mins to go) and two more "queueing".

The printed parts will be used as patterns from which to produce the sides for three types of PBV (61ft 6ins gangwayed, 52ft 6ins gangwayed and 51ft 1.5ins non-gangwayed.

Different combinations of parts cast from the six modules can produce any of the above (as well as the van sections of several passenger brake coaches). The Doncaster (GNR) approach to modular coach design is helpful   to modellers.

The three modules already printed are shown (arranged in no particular sequence) : Double luggage doors; 3-panel section (for the 51ft 1.5ins and 52ft 6ins vans); guard's door.

Regards,
John.




My fellow Members, ask not what your Society can do for you, ask what you can do for your Society.

cabbage

John,

Are you going to donate the files to the G3 Wiki?

Regards

Ralph

John Candy

Ralph,

Whilst I am happy to allow individuals free access to print for personal use, I have concerns that the files could be "misappropriated" for commercial use, since carriages are the commodity most absent from the G3 marketplace.

It may be that the way to deal with this is by illustrating the modules and providing a link for individuals to request access upon an undertaking not to disclose to other parties or use the patterns for profit.

Regards,
John.
P.S. I have already been approached by someone offering a "deal" to secure a set of castings.
My fellow Members, ask not what your Society can do for you, ask what you can do for your Society.

cabbage

John,
Looking at the jpg shows something that is "dead easy" to recreate using OpenScad... It is a simple collection of "translate(x,y,z)" and "cube([x,y,z])" statements. It is of the same complexity as writing a .scad for a five barred gate!

What is really funny is that I a former commercial programmer with a PhD donate .scad files to the G3 WIKI and everyone ignores them. Whilst you write a "doodle" and people go crazy over them...

(Life!!!)

Regards

Ralph

cabbage

This is the window frame for the Chris Barron 2-NOL loco. The print is 1.5mm thick and I stuck it to the plywood side of the loco.





If you buy a reprap for £115, feed it with decent  filament £16/Kg and sit down to learn OpenScad then you can have anything you want.

Yes I am that lazy. Yes I am that cheapskate...

Regards

Ralph

John Candy

Ralph,

I suppose the value lies in the time involved to anyone looking to make money from their designs, .... which you and I are not.
The Gresley modules do include rather more than just cubes and cylinders.

As example, to get the curvature of the tumblehome and beading overlay required other components such as linear_extrude, rotate_extrude and polygon were employed.
It took time and a lot of juggling of the co-ordinates to get it looking just right..... remember this was done only a few days after I started with OpenSCAD. I have not done any serious programming since 1980, when I dragged the law firm I was working with into the 20th Century..... the microcomputer operating system at that time was cp/m!

Regards,
John.
My fellow Members, ask not what your Society can do for you, ask what you can do for your Society.