pirzyk Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 (edited) The last 2 weekends NILTC has participated in shows, first at the Abbey in Fontana WI and last weekend at the Arlington Heights (IL) Library. We were given the first prototype R104 double crossover from Coaster to try out. Ballasting was straight forward as seen here: The track is sitting on 2 32x32 and 1 16x32 baseplates for a total of 80x32. I was nervous at first because the flanges of the train wheels were bottoming out. This could have been a problem because we had the crossover on the mains but this only seemed to be happening when the trains were switching lines. When we ran the trains on the straights there was no problem. As the show went on, we saw less and less issues with the trains switching lines. It was like the tracks just needed a breaking in period.I created a video from my phone of the different trains going over the crossover at the Abbey show. It got to the point I wanted to see how fast I could do the crossing and with the exception of the CoNO, speed did not seem to be a problem. Overall I am pleased with the crossover and look forward to Coaster's next iteration, which will have more studs on the stringers. Coaster, I saw in another thread that Shapeways does a polished 3D print. Would that be an option here? Thanks to the CrispyBassist CMF for collecting all the telemetry data. Edited February 21, 2017 by pirzyk Video moved to NILTC channel Quote
coaster Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 Hi Jim, Cool! The flanges on the cross are supposed to bottom out. This way, you don't get a bump when the rail disappears. For the ones that stumble or crashed, I can't quite tell from the video, but it looks like the receiving point is in the straight position, correct? That is definitely an issue with the printed switches, and likely where the CoNO bit it. Unfortunately, the parts are too big for Shapeways to polish, and even then, the polish is more of a sandblasting than polishing. I've been looking to find a high end printer that can do it and give us a much better finish, but so far no luck. Found an amazing one where the print bed was just 1-1/4" too short. Naturally. Anyway, I'll keep working on it, we'll get it right. I should have a big announcement in a few months, too! Thanks for beating on this, and for the video of all those trains running through it! Quote
pirzyk Posted February 16, 2017 Author Posted February 16, 2017 5 hours ago, coaster said: Hi Jim, Cool! The flanges on the cross are supposed to bottom out. This way, you don't get a bump when the rail disappears. For the ones that stumble or crashed, I can't quite tell from the video, but it looks like the receiving point is in the straight position, correct? That is definitely an issue with the printed switches, and likely where the CoNO bit it. Correct the flanges should support the wheels for the gap in the track, we just have very precise tolerances. Hence the wear taking care of the issue. As for the CoNO, I think it derailed at the crossover part and not later at the recieving point. I can't remember if that point was thrown. I do know in later tests all the points were thrown but I *think* I did that for all the tests. Quote
dr_spock Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 Cool. It might be helpful for video analysis to color the points with a black Sharpie or zoom in for a close up of the switch before each train run. Quote
CrispyBassist Posted February 19, 2017 Posted February 19, 2017 On 2/15/2017 at 10:54 PM, pirzyk said: Thanks to the CrispyBassist CMF for collecting all the telemetry data. LOL! Sounds about right - I'm sitting trackside in Nebraska as I write this... The video looked great. You'll have to bring it next time I'm at a show with my big motors and passenger cars! Quote
M_slug357 Posted February 19, 2017 Posted February 19, 2017 Looking good! Any chance of dying the pieces in dbg to match the regular PF track...? Quote
coaster Posted February 19, 2017 Posted February 19, 2017 Just now, M_slug357 said: Looking good! Any chance of dying the pieces in dbg to match the regular PF track...? Sure, but these are just prototypes. I hope to actually mold them. Quote
M_slug357 Posted February 19, 2017 Posted February 19, 2017 @coaster Oh, that's right!! :) Will this double crossover be available on shapeways sometime soon? (before the kickstarter) Quote
coaster Posted February 20, 2017 Posted February 20, 2017 Sure. I have some refinements to make, but I'll open up the double crossover and both switches fairly soon. Quote
M_slug357 Posted February 22, 2017 Posted February 22, 2017 @coaster Thanks for that!! I was also wondering about the 9v version of the switches; how would you go about electrifying the 'flipper' and the following curve section? Are there channels/grooves somewhere for wires to go through? I couldn't really see any on the shapeways preview... Quote
legoman666 Posted February 22, 2017 Posted February 22, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, M_slug357 said: @coaster Thanks for that!! I was also wondering about the 9v version of the switches; how would you go about electrifying the 'flipper' and the following curve section? Are there channels/grooves somewhere for wires to go through? I couldn't really see any on the shapeways preview... I cut holes underneath mine to light them up. I didn't bother with the throw itself, but I considered drilling through the pin and snaking a wire through. The official Lego ones only activate the curved section when the switch is thrown. I permanently wired mine so both the straight and curve are always live. Edited February 22, 2017 by legoman666 Quote
112123 Posted February 22, 2017 Posted February 22, 2017 Looks great but can't see the details, must buy. Quote
Freezingvettes99 Posted February 27, 2017 Posted February 27, 2017 On 2/21/2017 at 7:32 PM, M_slug357 said: @coaster Thanks for that!! I was also wondering about the 9v version of the switches; how would you go about electrifying the 'flipper' and the following curve section? Are there channels/grooves somewhere for wires to go through? I couldn't really see any on the shapeways preview... So are there plans to accomplish this in 9V? I would love that! Quote
M_slug357 Posted February 27, 2017 Posted February 27, 2017 24 minutes ago, Dansharos said: So are there plans to accomplish this in 9V? I would love that! I think the current plan is to attach metal in a similar fashion to ME Models' 9V tracks. And in this case, I was wondering how the middle sections were to be electrified. Do you have a pic or two to share @legoman666? Would be great to get some close-ups/ detailed views of your implementations! Quote
coaster Posted February 28, 2017 Posted February 28, 2017 HI all, sorry, I've totally whiffed on this. The internals of the 9V switches look like this: As the switch rod toggles back and forth, it connects the appropriate unpowered rail. The point (when active) gets power through contact with the straight-side rail. On 2/22/2017 at 0:45 AM, 112123 said: Looks great but can't see the details, must buy. What details do you want to see? Either way, I've got a few cleanups on the models to do, and then I'll post everything on Shapeways for those that don't want to wait for the Kickstarter. Quote
M_slug357 Posted February 28, 2017 Posted February 28, 2017 This is definitely great work @coaster!! I'm interested in getting these not only for myself, but also to possibly tempt my local club into jumping in on the kickstarter for these 9V ones... Definitely let the community know how&when the kickstarter kicks off, so that we can advertise it further! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.