This weekend has been another busy one and I am say here on Sunday evening wondering where the weekend has gone once again.
Saturday was the Abingdon Model Railway Clubs annual show in Abingdon and once again I was kindly invited along to sit and talk to people about my models. Although for some weird reason I was a bit nervous at the start of the day I ended up thoroughly enjoying myself in the end. Thank you to everyone who came and had a chat. Below are some photos that Mike (MikeOxon) took of some of my bits...
Thank you Mike for allowing me to post them on my blog.
I have been just as busy today which started off by stripping apart the Proxxon CNC mill to change the spindle to a ER11 collet holder. This now means I can use upto 8mm diameter tools on the mill and not limited to the 1/8" diameter shafts of the old spindle anymore. This is quite a significant step for me as it now means I can use 4mm diameter shank carbide tools which are significantly cheaper than the 1/8" equivalent.
Of course to celebrate this fact I spent the rest of the day playing with some bits and bobs on the mill...
From left to right there is...
1. My first attempt at a driving wheel centre for a 4mm diameter wheel. I think a few things went wrong here but mainly it looks like the plastic was way too soft.
2. The second attempt using regular plasticard and although its better than the first (it couldnt be any worse really!) it still wasnt good enough for my liking.
3&4. This was done with PCB material and they came out really well.
5. As I was happy with the way the wheels turned out I decided to have a go at a 0.3mod gear too. I think it might even work!
So you are all now upto speed on what I have been doing....
Julia :o)
I rather like those wheel centres. I realise that they are probably just experiments but are you intending to make patterns for casting or will you fit tyres and use pick-ups rather than split-frames?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reply Paul and its an interesting one too.
DeleteOriginally my idea was to build a chassis the same way as standard 2mm stuff with a split axle but I had a thought that maybe it wasnt such a good idea as the gap between the chassis sides isnt much (I cannot remember how much it is off the top of my head) as its designed for 4mm gauge. Because of that I thought that the half axle wouldnt be that long once an isolating gap was taken into account and maybe the wheel wouldnt be held in place by much.
Therefore my plan changed to a single solid axle and isolate the wheels using pickups as you have mentioned. This means the axle would be stronger but then I have to think about pickups. There is always a trade-off!
What do you think?
J.
Make the chassis live by shorting out the wheels on one side so you only need one set of pick-ups?
DeleteHmmm yes, I get what you mean Paul. Thats interesting although I will have to rethink the bearings amongst other things. I think I am going to concentrate on seeing if its possible to make reliable 4mm diameter wheels first then if I can I will think about chassis options.
DeleteThank you.
Julia.
Good to see you again on Saturday Julia. CoT is starting to look like... CoT now and I really like the road/rail tank too.
ReplyDeleteRegards, Andy
Thank you Andy, it was nice to catch up with you too and to see your latest marvellous creation (the Hall).
DeleteI used the show as an oppertunity to make a start at revisiting CoT to tidy up a few bits such as the splashers. When it was first built it was more of an experiment to see if my design worked than an actual engine. Looking at Mikes photo above it clearly shows there is still plenty to do on it, I really want to do the engine justice so I am taking my time with it to make sure its as good as I can make it.
As for the road tanker, that has been forgotten about now until I can build a suitable 6w chassis for it to sit on. It was a fun little scratch building project to make and not that difficult to do.
J.
Hello Julia,
ReplyDeleteI PM'd you back, I don't have your e-mail either.
Alex.
Thanks Alex, you should have an email now.
DeleteJ :o)
Interested in your spindle upgrade. It seems to have overcome your previous disappointments. Was it just an afternoon's spanner job, and do you need particular friends to get hold of the parts? :)
ReplyDeleteFrancis K.
Hello Francis.
DeleteApologies for the delay in replying, I have been away for easter.
With regards to the spindle conversion it wasnt too much of a pain once I figured out how to take the old one apart. On my mill the motor fits into the spindle by a splined socket with a corresponding gear on the motor spindle. The splined socket unscrews from the spindle and then the spindle should come out relatively easily. I tried a few ways of unscrewing it including buying another gear that fitted but I managed to remove it eventually but pulling off the fan which is a press fit over the splined socket and then using some mole grips to clamp the splined socket while unscrewing it with the spindle collet spanner at the cutter end. The replacement spindle from USOVO (http://www.usovo.de/shop/CNC-Machines-accessories/CNC-Machine-accessories/Accessories-CNC-Machines/Proxxon-MF70CNC-accessories/Tuning-spindle-for-Proxxon-MF70-with-a-serial-no-%3C-%3D-12001::276.html) comes with everything you need to do the conversion (apart from the collets which you need to buy yourself). It took me about an hour to convert it (once I figured out how to take the old one apart!)
J.