[nickelminers]

Maintenance goes on.

We install the railings on the platform of the rotary railcar dumper, plus some LED lighting. The first task is cutting to size all the required poles and pieces of the railings. The poles are installed into evenly spaced holes in a wooden base, and stay ready for soldering.
https://flic.kr/p/11627645223 The handrail is then soldered to the poles.
https://flic.kr/p/11628170556 Other pieces of the railing are soldered, with the help of templates and 2-side adhesive tape.
https://flic.kr/p/11627376735 The excess of solder is removed, and the piece is finished.
https://flic.kr/p/11627597603 The railing is complete and ready for installation. We also install 4 poles with LEDs. The (-) terminals of the LEDs are connected to ground (the railings), the (+) terminals are wired together with wire-wrap 30 awg diameter. The lampshades are made of millimeter paper, cut to size with cutter and ruler, folded and glued with cyanoacrylate, and painted black with conventional enamel. One drop of cyano glues the lampshade to the top of the lamp.
https://flic.kr/p/11627705454 Lighting and railing installed, lights on. The platform is illuminated. One interesting note regarding LEDs: as usual, we use "cold white" 3 mm LEDs, to simulate the light of mercury arc industrial lamps. Some weeks ago, one guy in Bologna suggested to us to grind the LED housing with 600-grit sandpaper, to better simulate the lighted housing of an industrial lamp. We did it, and it works. In place of the usual point source of light, the LED appears as a diffusely lighted lamp housing.
https://flic.kr/p/11627659473 https://flic.kr/p/11627160835 https://flic.kr/p/11627340985 Next step will be the installation of other 6 light poles at ground level below the dumper, and the stairs to the platform. A layout is never finished.
Sincerely yours and again happy New Year.

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

It's New Year's Eve.

Finally, we have installed and wired all the LEDs, and done some other modifications. Now, our rotary railcar dumper is almost ready for the next show. It's time for a short photo session. In total darkness, the structure is illuminated only by its own LEDs. We put our rolling stock on the rail, as if the night shift operations were in full swing. We place our camera on a tripod, and shoot some long-exposure shots.

https://flic.kr/p/11673965134 https://flic.kr/p/11673826993 https://flic.kr/p/11673978844
There are still some details to complete, the safety railings and the safety cage of the stairs to the platform. We will probably complete this in the next couple days. But this is our model railroader New Year's Eve.

All the best wishes to you all,

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

we came back 2 days ago from Germany, where we exhibited our layout . Thumbs up for the Erlebniswelt Modellbau Kassel 2014. Flawless German-style organization for an event that comprises all kinds of modeling actvities, including, obviously, model railroading. 3 days of show, 17 to 19 January. We met again qualified exhibitors, including our friend Michael Kirsch, whom we first met at the Intermodellbau 2012. In the next days we will post a more detailed report and photos. By now, shortly, a link to the website of the Hessische-Niedersachsische Allgemeine newspaper. They took some photos of our contraption during the preparation, and published an article regarding the fair.

http://www.hna.de/lokales/kassel/kassel-mo...en-3317721.html

(If the link is not complete, click on "mehr", and it expands)

2 photos:
At the entrance of the fairgrounds:
https://flic.kr/p/12107755956
Just before opening time. Ready for the show.
https://flic.kr/p/12107658016
Sincerely

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

the participation to the Erlebniswelt Modellbau Kassel 2014 has been very tiring but worth doing. We left home on 15 Feb, did one stopover near Wurzburg, in order to do the second 200-km leg and arriving in the morning of 16 Feb. at Kassel.

https://flic.kr/p/12130470454 https://flic.kr/p/12107755956
The organization of the fair was excellent. Parking places for exhibitors are just outside the 4 huge halls, pre-arranged accommodation for exhibitors was at the Intercity in downtown Kassel. Once arrived, a nice clerk took us to our stand, checked electricity supply, organized shipment of tables, chair, and barrier (see photos, the barrier is made of massive brass posts and a thick red velvet rope - we never saw such a luxurious barrier in other modeling shows!)

A photo crew of the Hessische-Niedersachsige Allgemeine newspaper showed up during stand erection, took photos of our contraption, and asked for some info.
The day after, surprise, the same guys of HNA arrived at out stand, giving us a free copy of the HNA paper. There is an article on the fair, and our photo. Unbelievable.

https://flic.kr/p/12156212273
The article is also retrievable the website of HNA:

http://www.hna.de/lokales/kassel/kassel-mo...en-3317721.html

(Title reads: "Modelers open the largest modeling fair of region Hessen at the fairgrounds"

It took a while, from 10 am to 5 pm, but in the end we finished. The long time required to assemble our layout is a byproduct of the many separate operative pieces and the need to re-pack everything (including the high-rise structures) in order to fit into our car.

https://flic.kr/p/12130190233
We reach the hotel, have dinner, and take a rest. On Friday 17, we dash again to the fairgrounds. It's time for a photo, before opening to public.

https://flic.kr/p/12107658016
The mid-morning opening of Friday allowed us a little time to look around. In the "other" fields of modeling we saw "incredible" and expensive things. RC boats weighing 25 kg and equipped with engines that could propel a motorbike, RC planes and helicopters unlimited, RC trucks, tanks, and cars.
But, also the hall section of model railroaders had very interesting layouts. Herewith some photos:

https://flic.kr/p/12129927775 https://flic.kr/p/12130215443 https://flic.kr/p/12129948915 https://flic.kr/p/12130235503 https://flic.kr/p/12129985815 https://flic.kr/p/12130659746 https://flic.kr/p/12130695616
We started operations, and it was no-stop for 3 days. The vast majority of visitors were Germans; They are qualified, they ask interesting questions, they like to receive replies in their idiom (and as soon as they realize that somebody speaks some German, they joyfully start talking at machine-gun speed). Our replies usually start with "langsamer, bitte" - talk more slowly, please..."
In the end, everything worked, with only minor flaws and minor curses.

https://flic.kr/p/12130702966
The visitors arrived in hordes, especially on Saturady and Sunday. We classify the visitors in "number of concentric layers". One layer is tolerable, 2 or 3 exerts a somewhat excessive pressure on the barriers, that need periodic re-positioning outwards. Especially, German bellies exert a very strong pressure on stands ;-)

https://flic.kr/p/12130329543 https://flic.kr/p/12107636216
Another day, another opening:

https://flic.kr/p/12107393304
Finally, it is evening time. The modelers turn in and take a well-deserved sleep.

https://flic.kr/p/12107765776
Just in front of us, a stand of an association that builds vintage gas and petrol engines. Their models are fully-functional pieces of mechanical art. Some of these models are on permanent lease at the Technik Museum Kassel. These gentlemen have also a website: www.kolben-motor.de Even if it is not trains, it is worth visiting.

https://flic.kr/p/12130074625 https://flic.kr/p/12130359593 https://flic.kr/p/12130756436
Another day, another load of ore:

https://flic.kr/p/12130098185
The Queen stays glued to the console of the mining site 9 hours per day, white the Doc stays glued at the console of dumper operation.

https://flic.kr/p/12130512274
Here, some "high-tech" parts of our layout: old glass jars (in their previous life they contained cherry jam...) to collect the unloaded ore from the dumper. This solution ihas proved much more practical than our previous design (a small steel drawer).

https://flic.kr/p/12107284023
Here, a shot at our backstage. Controlled chaos, and everything within reach, tools and all.

https://flic.kr/p/12107610016
Sunday evening, at 6, we began disassembling, and in ca. 3 hours we packed up everything and load our vehicle. As usual, we were dead tired. It was a nice exhibition, beautifully organized (German-style) and motivating. Monday 20 we left, did a mid-way stopover, and we arrived at base by mid-afternoon of Tuesday.

P.S. Since madness has no limit, in the long driving hours we have mulled over some modifications to our contraption. One is the correction of the mismatch of the length of the layout section on the right-hand-side, its backdrop, and the hanging 4.5 meter photographic backdrop. That means adding 20 cm of wood and lengthening the exit track from the dumper. That also means a new 5-meter backdrop. The lengthened exit track should allow us operate 6-car trains in place of 4.

The second modification will be the re-positioning of the hoist of our elevator tower from the top of the tower to the base. That means some more pulleys, hoist cables flying up and down, and building completely new hoist machinery. The bad thing is that we have already taken the measures, and done some sketches for the modification s during our stay in Kassel.

We will keep you guys informed...

All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

We have started the modification of our elevator shaft. We are repositioning the main hoist from the top of the headframe to ground level. From the main friction pulley, 2 cables will fly up to 2 deflection pulleys and down to the hoist pit, driving the two-way skips. In prototypical design, this will be a 1000-kW hoist for a 2-4 meter/second speed.

In H0 scale, we have selected suitable gears from our scrap pile. Then, the trick was to re-bore all the rotating pieces, assemble them onto suitable bushings, in order to obtain a "presentable" gear reducer and pulley assembly. For the main pulley, we have started from a solid piece of Plexiglas, machined to its final shape. Attached, some photos:

Honing/grinding operations on main pulley:
https://flic.kr/p/12240539303 https://flic.kr/p/12240931626
In order to obtain the required tolerances, we did the final grinding after insertion of the steel shaft, with the shaft itself taken as a reference.
Grinding of main pulley, rough
https://flic.kr/p/12240259965 And then, fine grinding
https://flic.kr/p/12240457943
This is the driving pinion, it has been bored, a fiberglass bushing had been inserted and re-bored/reamed to its final tolerance. Here, we were using a 2.5-mm Corundum grinding wheel at 12.000 RPM
https://flic.kr/p/12240569653 https://flic.kr/p/12240569653
Slowly, the hoist took shape.
https://flic.kr/p/12240344645
After hours of machining, and many curses, the hoist was completed. We painted the gears and pulley with silver lacquer. Now, the parts look like solid iron.
https://flic.kr/p/12240810704 https://flic.kr/p/12240485463 https://flic.kr/p/12240879776
Second step is the conctruction of the 2 large deflection pulleys, to be installed at the top of the elevator tower.
https://flic.kr/p/12240754064
Everything must be machined to close tolerances. We had some problems in one of the coarse boring operations of one of the deflection pulleys, since we exceeded the exact diameter (Shame! Shame!). We had to re-bore the whole part, insert another bushing, and re-bore again.
https://flic.kr/p/12240317815
The materials used are: fiberglass/epoxy rods for bushings, Plexiglas sheet for the pulleys, polyamide gears and steel shafts (from old PC printers), and birch wood (for the frame of the hoist). Note: birch wood is extremely strong, compact, and easy to machine. It can be turned, milled, tapped, as if it were a solid composite. Moreover, it is cheap. Our birch wood comes from a discarded chaise-longue.

In the end, playing with tolerances of some hundreds of millimeters, using the same techniques of full-size machinery, cursing to each other for the mistakes, is fun. We hope that everything will work.

To be continued.

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

on 29 January, Modellbahn TV of Germany has issued a DVD "Spezial Edition 4- Modellbahn-Wunder", and, surprise, they put in the edition the recordings of our contraption. They filmed at the Intermodellbau 2012, unfortunately, at the time, the layout was not still complete.
We send you the link to the MTV website. NO, we do NOT have commissions on sale of their DVD ;-)

http://www.modellbahn-tv.de/modellbahnfilm...n/spezial-4.php

If you klick on the locomotive icon on the right_hand side, you go to the www.vgbahn.de site, and there is a short video clip with the content of the DVD.

It is a pleasure to see our layout together with the ones of the "good" modelers. In this period, we have not progressed with the modifications to our layout, and also in the next couple weeks, we will be on business trips and have other unpleasant duties.

Sincerely

Mario & Bice

 

[Richard Johnson]

*** I think your model should not just be listed with the "good" - it is "great"

I really do enjoy your posts and the patient and very well described construction, maintenance and operational descriptions - you have some exceptional skills and very interesting approaches to your modelling and it is a real pleasure to read and learn about what you are doing!

thank you for sharing your enjoyment and creativity.

Richard

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

After a while, we have continued our works. The hoist has been completed:
https://flic.kr/p/12749543464
The frame supporting the 2 deflection pulleys has been assembled. The frame is composed by 40 pieces of steel sheet, 3 spacer rods and 4 bearings (brass). First, the individual (4) shoulders have been made, and then spaced at the correct distance. Then, the entire frame has been soldered together, keeping as reference for alignment a machined steel rod inserted in the 4 bearings. The bearings are glued into their seats with epoxy glue.
https://flic.kr/p/12749081925
After careful alignment, the frame and the deflection pulleys have been installed on the platform at the top of the headframe, with 4 1.2-mm bolts. The provisional cable has been installed.
https://flic.kr/p/12749056865
Now, it is time for a dry run; provisionally we have installed the headframe and hoist in our kitchen. The cable (2 meters in total) goes from the large friction pulley of the hoist (at ground level) to the pulleys at the top of the headframe, and down to the skips.
https://flic.kr/p/12749158825
And, incredibly, it works. We measure the correct spacing between the tower and the base of the hoist (the cables go up at an angle, and the base of the hoist is tilted). This data is fundamental for the final installation in the layout. Amazing, the measured distance is not so far from the design data.
https://flic.kr/p/12749356273
Note in the photo the high-tech device (a clothespin) used as shim for the makeshift fastening of the hoist.
Next, as foreseen, the control room on top of the tower will need a minor modification. 2 cross-bracings need to be re-positioned, to accommodate the large deflection pulleys.

Best wishes from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

now, as in reality, we have to install a diagonal girder, to absorb the side loads generated by the angle between the hoist (ground level) and the top of the headframe. So, we build another lattice structure. This time, we have not used our usual array of wooden templates for the construction.
As usual, everything begins with a drawing
https://flic.kr/p/12859465695
First, we cut sections of steel wire with the required tolerance (repetitive and boring job). In order to spare time, we cut all the pieces at a certain length, with a 0.8 - 1 mm positive tolerance, then we put all the pieces together in the vise of our milling machine, and we flatten together the ends of the pieces with a grinding wheel to the final tolerance.
Then, we drew the position of the pieces onto a scrap piece of melamine-laminate chipboard. The pieces are kept in place with thin 2-side adhesive tape. Melamine is a heat-set resin, and withstands soldering temperatures very well. The adhesive tape melts in the soldering areas, but the nearby tape resists, keeping everything in place.
https://flic.kr/p/12859416855
Then, the 2 front and back sides of the girder are completed. Afterwards, the assembled front and back sides are tilted 90 degrees, and the right and left sides are completed, with the help of templates and set squares. The girder begins to take shape.
https://flic.kr/p/12859812804
As usual, after completion, it is necessary to verify, and manually adjust some of the soldered joints. De-soldering and re-soldering is better done by 2 operators. Some of the cross-bracings are installed. Here, the Nickel Queen gracefully measures quotes and tolerances.
https://flic.kr/p/12859784094
This is the semi-finished girder:
https://flic.kr/p/12859576423
After de-burring and finishing, we install 2 tiny rotating clamps, which engage in one on the transverse beams of the headframe. Our structure must be removable for transportation. Here one clamp is in the "open" position.
https://flic.kr/p/13006687874
Here, the clamp is in its "closed" position, simulating the engagement onto the 1.5-mm cross beam of the headframe.
https://flic.kr/p/13006678984
Then, we move to our garage, and install the diagonal girder. Position and tolerances seem OK.
https://flic.kr/p/13006266965
The fastening clamps work, and are almost invisible from outside.
https://flic.kr/p/13006636264
The hoist at the base will be completed with aesthetic details, a peripheral fence and a metal housing to cover the motor and part of the first pinion. Finally, one photo with rails in the backdrop!!! ;-)
https://flic.kr/p/13006453103
Then, we re-wire the hoist. The hoist is now at ground level, and we can avoid one movable connector. Unfortunately, soldering fine wires in a crammed environment is another "rat job".
https://flic.kr/p/13006379623
Will keep you informed.

With best wishes from Milan,

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

the Italian magazine TuttoTreno Modellismo has published an 8-page article on our layout in their no. 57 issue of March 2014. The photos come from the night photo session with "Big Benny" Sabatini (see our post of 11 May 2013).

https://flic.kr/p/13491045884 https://flic.kr/p/13490656945 https://flic.kr/p/13490636365 https://flic.kr/p/13490978304 https://flic.kr/p/13490839313
Recently, we did not have time to advance with our work since our latest post on MRF. We have only added small embellishments to our new hoist machinery (see photo). These are the flanges that cover the bearings of the shafts. In reality, the flanges are kept in place with a crown of Allen screws. We have machined the pieces from rods of solid steel, one 6-mm and one 5-mm. But, sorry, we did not manage to make Allen screws in H0 scale ;-) After some weathering, the seats of the screws will appear, as in reality, full of oil and grime, and the screws themselves not visible.

https://flic.kr/p/13171859015
The next step will be the lengthening of the exit ramp from our rotary railcar dumper and the relevant section of the layout. We have spent some time at the drawing board, and we intend to obtain a renewed section with exit ramp and positioner already installed (so as to reduce the time needed in assembly of the layout). Probably, we can take this section to our terrace, and work more easily than in our garage.
We'll keep you posted.

Best wishes from Milan
Mario & Bice

 

[Richard Johnson]

*** Lovely to see as always.

Una vera opera d'arte

Re scale nuts and bolts.... http://www.scalehardware.com/miniature-hex-bolts-c-1

Richard

 

[nickelminers]

QUOTE (Richard Johnson @ 30 Mar 2014, 05:37) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>*** Lovely to see as always.

Una vera opera d'arte

Re scale nuts and bolts.... http://www.scalehardware.com/miniature-hex-bolts-c-1

Richard

Hallo Richard,
thanks a lot for the lead regarding scale nuts and bolts. Definitely useful. The sources of modeling-scale bolts (here) are desperately limited. On one side, there are suppliers of miniature screws for clockmaking, but they are too minuscule for any structural modeling work. On the other side, commercial supplies start from the 2-mm diameter. Some screws in the 1-mm range are available in modeling shops, smuggled at crazy prices, and all of them are brass, which is inadequate for any structural work. We got most of our screws from an industrial supplier, Messrs. ICOVIA (Italy). This company caters for the precision mechanical industry, and can supply everything from design, but, as they state "minimum order is 10,000 pieces". We managed to scavenge some of their remaining stocks, steel bolts and nuts in the 0.8 ... 1.2 mm range, amassing enough material to reach the critical mass equivalent to 100 Euros, which is their "minimum invoiceable amount". This is understandable, they are an industry, and the cost of processing a small order is larger than their profit. Anyhow, they were kind and professional, and the number of pieces that they gave us was exceeding by far what they invoiced to us.
The technical issues behind are: 1) Only steel, please. Try and tighten a 0.5 mm brass screw in a H0 layout and it will disintegrate (guys, we are running railroads). 2) No "structural" screw in a layout will ever be in HO scale. Even for large machinery, in H0 scale that means 0.6-1 mm HEAD diameter. We must tolerate a certain out-of-scale, and/or hide the "real" bolts. 3) Regarding "fictitious" bolts and mechanical parts, some modeling friends have worked with stereolithography. Problems are: the VERY high cost required by SLG companies, the fact that it is anyhow a piece of rather soft plastics, the tolerances of the method, which appears somehow inadequate, and the fact that, being a piece of yellowish translucid plastics, it must be painted. Paint it, and you will lose most of the detail. One method that would work much better (for metal parts) is spark-erosion. One of us is pretty familiar with this system, widely used in the machining of precision extrusion dies for plastics (and, by the way, also for the molds used in injection-molding of commercial model railroading stuff). Excellent method for intricate parts, and precision is top-notch. We tried and ask for the cost of a one-of-a-kind piece of metal. We got a specific offer, complete with time for setup of the machine, tooling, actual production, etc, and, obviously, it was hundreds of Euros. End-line, the method is good if you can amortize the costs in an industrial production, but is far beyond our personal modeling budget. So, we do not have a definite solution. Going back to the issue of simulating the head of an industrial-size Allen screw in H0 scale, one solution we were thinking about was a "fictitious" bolt in the 0.6 - 1 mm diameter range, inserted into a hole of the same diameter and protruding out for some tenths of mm. Great, but how do we make a 0.3 - 0.6 - mm hexagonal recess on the top of the head of the screw? OK, we have reached the "danger level", better to come down and do some compromise in design. One good thing is that at exhibitions, visitors inspect things from a distance ;-)
Best wishes from Italy
Mario & Bice

 

[neil_s_wood]

Amazing work, very good indeed.

Regards

Neil

 

[Richard Johnson]

***Hello again...

Yes, I do understand.... and yes, it is of course a matter of pragmatic benefit when the overall view does not end up with observers actually seeing such fine detail.

Visually though, I do wonder if high resolution SLA type 3D printing (Powdered metals or resin + Laser fusing ) may work - high end SLA machines can 3D print metals including steel and stainless steel and the resolution of the better machines can be as fine as 1~5 micron. It may not of course create actual the nuts and bolts, but could possibly model the entire part including close to scale socket head cap screws and washers already in place...

Cost may well still be a factor though - high end machines demand high end costs per hour used.

In the meantime, I really respect your approach to the models you build - they are well thought out and beautifully created in materials that suit the application perfectly, and I truly enjoy looking at your progress as it happens. Thank you.

Richard

 

[StuB]

Hi Mario & Bice

It really is lovely to see some genuine model engineering and done so beautifully.

You mention spark erosion for producing some components. I used to belong to a model engineering group where one member built his own spark erosion machine. It did not have the power of industrial machines but it did the job. He did a good line in sparking out snapped off taps. Do you have any local model engineering groups that may have access to such a machine.

Stu

 

[nickelminers]

QUOTE (Richard Johnson @ 31 Mar 2014, 05:23) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>***Hello again...

Yes, I do understand.... and yes, it is of course a matter of pragmatic benefit when the overall view does not end up with observers actually seeing such fine detail.

Visually though, I do wonder if high resolution SLA type 3D printing (Powdered metals or resin + Laser fusing ) may work - high end SLA machines can 3D print metals including steel and stainless steel and the resolution of the better machines can be as fine as 1~5 micron. It may not of course create actual the nuts and bolts, but could possibly model the entire part including close to scale socket head cap screws and washers already in place...

Cost may well still be a factor though - high end machines demand high end costs per hour used.

In the meantime, I really respect your approach to the models you build - they are well thought out and beautifully created in materials that suit the application perfectly, and I truly enjoy looking at your progress as it happens. Thank you.

Richard

Hallo Richard,

always nice hearing from you. We definitely agree that Selective Laser Sintering/Selective Laser Melting techniques can work well for prototyping small metal parts for modeling. The issue, again, is cost. Working on top-notch machines at high definition takes time and money. Using the technique for a single small piece, the time spent for setting up the machine, etc, becomes disproportionally high.

Expanding the discussion, "other" methods of CAM, such as laser-cutting have somehow become popular in modeling. Small modeling-oriented shops present their laser-cutting services (send us the file, we make the piece). In reality, it is not so simple. Serious X/Y laser cutting machines are expensive. A serious laser needs half an hour to warm up, and has a limited life of some thousand hours. So, serious laser-cutting shops only embark in mass-production, where they can amortize their costs. And, laser cutters usually refuse to use your own piece of material. The reason is that some materials, including some plywood glued with phenolic resin, generate enough fumes to smear the front lens of the laser. Our own experience in laser-cutting dates back ca. 2 years. We had to cut one curved Y-shaped piece of plywood that supports two tracks and a turnout in one section of our layout (the piece, together with other pieces, simulates a suspended concrete structure). One local industry, in the outskirts of Milan, did the job (and only because we were acquaintances of one of their acquaintances). The cost took into consideration the time lost from their regular production, the setup and programming of the machine, cutting time, and reverting to normal production. End line: 150 Euros for a 20 x 70 cm piece of 6-mm plywood cut out with 80% wasted as edge trim. We knew it, we did it, since we were out of time, but, regularly spending 100 Euros for one meter of track is beyond our current modeling budget.
CAM methods are great for industrial prototyping, but the hoped-for combination of fast production time and precision appears to be far from our modelers'desires.
P.S. also heard some horror stories of modelers who bought on Internet for 1000$ "small" far-East produced X/Y laser-cutters. The machines never had a decent precision, and their lasers died after some tens of hours. Well, we are old. We still like sawing, milling, drilling and sanding pieces of wood and metal.

With the best wishes from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

QUOTE (StuB @ 31 Mar 2014, 08:12) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi Mario & Bice

It really is lovely to see some genuine model engineering and done so beautifully.

You mention spark erosion for producing some components. I used to belong to a model engineering group where one member built his own spark erosion machine. It did not have the power of industrial machines but it did the job. He did a good line in sparking out snapped off taps. Do you have any local model engineering groups that may have access to such a machine.

Stu

Hallo Stu,

Congratulations to your fellow who scratch-built a working spark-erosion machine. The issue of machining out broken drilling/milling bits sounds VERY familiar (more frequent in working life, rather than in our modeling activities). Amongst our local acquaintances, none have ever built, or have had direct access, to spark-erosion machines; the only option remains to cope with local industries doing industrial prototyping. Yes, they do the job. At a very high cost.

In parallel, one on our friends, a professional builder of modeling stuff, is currently buying from China metal molds for casting resin (made to his own CAD design). He makes locomotive bodies and parts from this molds. These molds are made with spark-erosion, BUT, they are made of weaker metal (apparently Zinc-Aluminum-Copper alloy), AND their precision is so-so. Cost is some hundreds Euros per mold. In parallel, "serious" Chinese-made injection molding molds (such as those used for producing commercial model rolling stocks), made with high-end spark erosion on high-end alloys, cost thousands of Euros apiece. Again, the economics seem to work only for serial production.

All the best from Italy

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear all,

After having not touched our layout since many months, we must now do some remedial work.

Since years we have lived together with a mismatch between the terminal section (the section on the right, supporting the exit ramp of the dumper) and the small backdrop that "seals" the gap between the large photographic backdrop and the section itself (which is at a level lower than that of the other sections).

We have to extend the terminal section, and we also take the chance to extend the exit ramp from the rotary dumper. This will allow us unload 6-car sections (instead of 4). We take the relevant pieces from the garage to our terrace:

https://flic.kr/p/15167700062
The extension is ca. 25 cm long. We leave the connection flange to the other section, the pillar supporting the exit ramp, and everything else, in the same position. We cut out with a jigsaw the curved outside of the section, in order to have a suitable surface to joint-butt the extension. Cutting through plywood, epoxy resin/kraft paper composite and the quartz sand/epoxy finish of the landscape takes a toll on our tools (one saw blade dead after 50 cm of cut).
The base of the extension is made with piece of plywood, cut to size. We butt-joint the pieces together with epoxy glue thickened with an inert filler (silica).

https://flic.kr/p/14981475508
We add some bracing to the base, to support the extension. Again, epoxy on the go.
A final verification of alignment and positioning follows on. Apparently, the pieces fit together.

https://flic.kr/p/15168033275
Now, we must complete the landscape of the new part, blending it with the existing part, hoping to avoid a visible junction.

https://flic.kr/p/14981383660
The ground is made of kraft paper, wrinkled and arranged so as to copy the existing pattern of the soil. Some points of cyanoacrylate and some small shims (balsa) keep the piece in position. We apply liberally epoxy/silica putty on the flapping edge of paper, extending ca 20 mm outside of the wooden structure, to create a solid piece that can be machined. We machine and trim the whole part with flexible shaft and grinding wheels, trying and obtain a smooth transition between the "old" and "new" parts, and leaving a scalloped edge, which should be more pleasant to the eye.

https://flic.kr/p/14981423388
We apply fluid epoxy to the paper, and we apply solid pigments to the wet resin, to match the texture and color of the "old" part". The pigments are: a base layer of quartz sand, sandstones of different colors and grain size. Applying the pigments from sieves, keeping the piece at different angles, has the effect of enlightening the texture of the ground.
The temperatures are pretty high, and force the resin into fast curing (some hours). We install the old concrete pillar (on the left) and the new one, just to have a complete look.

https://flic.kr/p/14981261159
The junction is not visible - unless one has very good eyesight - ;-)

Closer inspection, near the "fault" between the "old" and the "new" areas

https://flic.kr/p/14981518138
Next step will be the extension of exit ramp. We'll keep you informed.

Best wishes from Italy

Mario & Bice

 

[neil_s_wood]

Very nice, lovely work.

Regards

Neil

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

we will exhibit our contraption at the following events (see attached links to the websites of the organizers):

31 October- 2 November:
Jahresaustellung Eisenbahnfreunde Breisgau (in Freiburg - Germany)

http://www.eisenbahnfreunde-breisgau.de/

(click "Ausstellungen"

6 December - 8 December:
"American trains 2015"
organized by Modelleisenbahnclub Schlanders (in Silandro-Schlanders - Italy)

http://mecschlanders.jimdo.com/italiano/eventi/mostre/

Everybody's invited

Mario & Bice