Is it time to update N Trak Standards...???

[asciibaron]

tooling the wheels isn't a major cost.  the major cost is probably dealing with a massive inventory of the damn things.

[JoeD]

Tooling wheels is EXPENSIVE and technically challenging...which most don't appreciate.  We produce them each month to meet production and as far as I know, there aren't any barrels full of them we are trying to unload...you need extras?  ;D. 

Joe

tooling the wheels isn't a major cost.  the major cost is probably dealing with a massive inventory of the damn things.

[asciibaron]

Tooling wheels is EXPENSIVE and technically challenging...which most don't appreciate.  We produce them each month to meet production and as far as I know, there aren't any barrels full of them we are trying to unload...you need extras?  ;D. 

i worked in the industry - i was being snarky.  is the tooling 4 parts?  engineering it to not have flash on the tread is the hard part, esp. with multi part tooling.  wait, the pizza cutter is actually the flash! 

-steve

[JoeD]

I knew you were  ;D  Yes, 4 slide molds that run on converted Button Makers.  The cool thing about working at MTL is the history in the building.  There are tools that Keith and Dale fabricated 40 years ago or modifed themselves for a specific task.  But I'm with you, those flanges might as well be flash as thin as they are.  These new wheels present more of a problem due to the closeing faces of the mold.  On the existing tooling, that sharp edge is easier to manage, which may have been the motivation when the final design was cut.  The new mold shuts off on a radius and any mis-match really stands out.  So far the 36" wheels have been testing very well...I hope to run a bunch on a local layout later next week on a combination of Atlas Code55 and hand laid track.  If I had been able to make it to the NMRA show, I would have run them on the modules there as well.

Joe



 

Tooling wheels is EXPENSIVE and technically challenging...which most don't appreciate.  We produce them each month to meet production and as far as I know, there aren't any barrels full of them we are trying to unload...you need extras?  ;D. 

i worked in the industry - i was being snarky.  is the tooling 4 parts?  engineering it to not have flash on the tread is the hard part, esp. with multi part tooling.  wait, the pizza cutter is actually the flash! 

-steve

[asciibaron]

glad to see some thought is going into "updating" the MTL wheels - i still won't buy their stuff - i'm a scale modeler, not a toy collector

[sizemore]

So far the 36" wheels have been testing very well...I hope to run a bunch on a local layout later next week on a combination of Atlas Code55 and hand laid track.  If I had been able to make it to the NMRA show, I would have run them on the modules there as well.

Joe

You might get banned from NTrak layouts nationally and NSC Conventions permanently.

NTrakers might be forced to accept a new wheel standard and NSCers will complain the wheels don't match the legacy equipment!

 ;D
The S.

[bicknell]

I knew you were  ;D  Yes, 4 slide molds that run on converted Button Makers.

This has to be one of the most interesting factoids I've seen in a long while.

Converted button makers!  Ha! 

[wm3798]

Heh... I can see the whirring flywheels and the canvas belts connected to the waterwheel... ;D

Lee

[TrainCat2]

If I had been able to make it to the NMRA show, I would have run them on the modules there as well.

Ha!

Eric said you you were right were you should be ... designing! Now get busy and design the HW cores I suggested so some brass sides can be made.  ;D

[Blazeman]

I like the idea of a transition module. Clubs have corner modules for their members. Would be a logical extension of the concept.

Then with a more scale-like setup and maybe one or two tracks, some switching can be shown to the public. That's what makes people really stop and watch, especially adolescents and teens. This is something they don't have with their video games. It shows to them that model RR'ing is a viable alternative with many challenging tasks and will help them develop skills other than exercising their thumbs.

A more realistic appearing set of modules will also attract some converts from the other scales.

[John]

I like the idea of a transition module. Clubs have corner modules for their members. Would be a logical extension of the concept.

Then with a more scale-like setup and maybe one or two tracks, some switching can be shown to the public. That's what makes people really stop and watch, especially adolescents and teens. This is something they don't have with their video games. It shows to them that model RR'ing is a viable alternative with many challenging tasks and will help them develop skills other than exercising their thumbs.

A more realistic appearing set of modules will also attract some converts from the other scales.

Here is an example of just that ..

[John]

[John]

[John]

[John]