Hayfields 7mm 3D Printed Turnouts

[Hayfield1]

I am sorry for a long delay in adding to this thread, the reasons are :-

1 I have been finishing off 4 kit built locos
2 Waiting for the latest Templot release
3 Waiting for plug track parts
4 The Scale7 Albury meet is getting nearer, where I will be demonstrating 7mm scale 3D COT and Plug track

Well the locos have nearly been taken as far as they can be until the weather has turned both dryer and warmer
Secondly the Templot release has arrived, I have cut the ply for my 7mm COT track test plank
Finally waiting for a filament dryer which apparently will improve the performance of my printing


Also I have been having a chat with a couple of folk, Terry who will be printing the additional parts I require for the plug track kit, Terry also asked me for a couple of prints of FDM bases, both COT and plug, and another retailer who is interested in the concept of 3D track printing for his next personnel project

So the COT/Plug track projects are back on and after the priority items I will have a go at printing a 4mm scale COT track turnout

John

 

[Hayfield1]

Just been using up some old filament, tried the new style common crossing design (which is mainly aimed at 4mm scale) in that the check rail chairs as well as the common crossing has stub chairs to aid rail fitting



A B6 curved (4.4m radius) COT turnout to 0MF gauge (31.5mm gauge). The filament has been out in the open for 2+ months, so not in prime condition



To use up filament just printing off some chairs (note a bit of stringing, probably due to exposure to moisture)



Test print in a few ways, using Sunlu PLA+ filament and Filament dryer (drying out the remnants of the old reel which I will test once dry

A few more jobs to complete prior to testing a 4mm COT track turnout

 

[Hayfield1]

Following on from my plug track Templot build I received the additional parts I required plus a few more bits



The first and most interesting part is the production version on 3mm ply, I did receive a few chairs which Terry modified but not enough to use on this track base.

Now in the Templot club there has been quite a bit of opinions on Resin and FDM printed chairs, what has happened recently is in using a certain brand of filament and keeping it dry in a filament dryer the print quality is better. The truth is the gap between FDM and resin prints has really closed up, to an extent you need to get very close up to notice the difference, to me the advantage is FDM printing is easier, far less messy and overall quicker



I am sorry for the quality of the photos, plus they are four times their real life size, when compared to ABS chairs there is little or no difference


My bad computing skills, S1J to the left S1's in between and for some strange reason a PL4 chair to the right



Slide, S1 & L1 chairs, this photo seems to catch the crispness of the printing



Slide chairs PL1 to 4, they are both sided and handed, somehow I have disabled the raft function, I use more glue but save on Filament

Likewise the common crossing and check rail chairs are also position sensitive

Now I am experimenting to see how viable FDM chairs are in turnout building, the known problem areas are the PL3 & PL4 chairs and the wing rail chairs. These may well have to be loose jaw type or Terrys half chair versions

Certainly the latest developments has for me made life far more easier, I cannot do any design or programming skills to the game, but I can try and bring a bit of the end user/track builder experience to the project.

I am now testing the filament brand I have been using from the start, namely Esun by printing an EM gauge COT B6 turnout. The price difference is negligible especially as the filament is probably the cheapest element in the whole process. I think the cost of filament is 10p for 20 plug chairs. However that's not counting the cost of getting here, but its been hours of pleasure, fun and frustration.

Worth the journey, certainly

Do look at what Terry is doing at Kosmik

7mm Scale B6 to B12 Turnout Kit | Kosmik

This kit contains the following items:1 x Laser cut Ply timber base (2 or 3 pieces) 3mm thick1 x set of 3D printed Resin Chairs comprising of: S1 Fixed Jaw S1J Fixed Jaw L1 Fixed Jaw P Fixed Jaw CC Fixed Jaw*, CC-R Fixed Jaw*, CC-L Fixed Jaw* 1 set of HEEL Chairs Fixed Jaw 1 set of VEE Crossing...

www.kosmik.co.uk

Terry will be demonstrating at this years Risex this coming weekend

Risborough and District Model Railway Club

Risborough and District Model Railway Club

www.rdmrc.org.uk

And James Walters has been very busy