N-Scale Catenary - Anyone Printing?

[BCR751]

Is anyone 3D printing N-Scale catenary?  Looking for the type used mostly in Switzerland.

Doug

[bbussey]

Etching and wire. Only 3D printing are detail parts such as transformers and relays.

[AlwaysSolutions]

I did a Milwaukee Road design for FDM I was playing with.  I don't have a Bambu or other super dialed in printer so it took a lot of experimenting to get a design that worked for me and my printer (Kobra 2).  Here's the design with execution:

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

So, it can be done with a little patience.

-Mike

[InterurbanModels]

I did a Milwaukee Road design for FDM I was playing with.

Ingenious design !

[Lackawannae8]

Is anyone 3D printing N-Scale catenary?  Looking for the type used mostly in Switzerland.

Doug

@dem34 is doing catenary poles mostly NJ PRR stuff and philly area but I am sure he can work something out for whatever you are needing

[bbussey]

Mine has to be functional, at least to the point where the pantograph shoes touch the contact wire. So I have to use metal. Etched phosphor bronze should be adequate but I haven’t done the full analysis yet. My towers and poles will be brass and the steady wires will be stainless steel, that much I know. They will keep everything in register and fortify against damage. 

[dem34]

Is anyone 3D printing N-Scale catenary?  Looking for the type used mostly in Switzerland.

Doug

Something like this type of style?

[peteski]

If the goal (Bryan) is to have the pantograph's shoe actually make contact (under slight spring pressure) the wire then I would be a bit worried when using photoetched catenary.

If a typical round cross-section wire is used for catenary the contact area is very small and wire surface is smooth. Photetched metal's edge is not very smooth and it actually has sharp edges (almost like a blade). If double-sided etched  the raised sharp edge is in  the center of the etched surface.  Having the pantograph's shoe (usually made of soft metal or even plastic) rubbing against that will likely be rough on it, creating scratches or in time even grooves.   Maybe a solution would be to make the shoe from a material which is harder than the photoetched catenary - that way it would actually burnish the rough surface.

[bbussey]

The bottom edges of the (simulated) contact wire have to be sanded to ensure a round surface to make contact with the shoes.  The wire placement also will slightly offset from one side to the other from pole to pole (or tower to tower) as per prototype to insure the wire travels across the entire shoe.  With phosphor contact wires and stamped steel plated or otherwise, the wear danger is more with the etched wire than the shoes.  But this arrangement should remain intact for decades, certainly beyond my life expectancy.

[James Costello]

Tis a shame we haven't heard from Bob @TrainCat2 lately and his potential etched brass options...

[BCR751]

Something like this type of style?

More like the one on the left in your bottom photo.

From what I can tell, I think printing the structures would be fine in HO but I think it would be a bit oversize for N-Scale.  I'm going to have to ruminate on this idea a bit longer.

Doug

[nkalanaga]

The Milwaukee Road didn't offset their wires.  Instead, the track was so bad, the motors rocked enough to even out the wear.

[bbussey]

The Milwaukee Road didn't offset their wires.  Instead, the track was so bad, the motors rocked enough to even out the wear.

Funny! 

New Haven offset theirs.  Pretty sure Pennsy did also.

[Iain]

Now I wonder if Norfolk Southern offset their wire.  Hard to tell from the few (and grainy) photos that exist.

[nkalanaga]

Bryan:  Funny, but also true.  Their track wasn't good, at least in the later years.  And even when new, it certainly wasn't up to European or Pennsylvania standards.

Also, their untreated cedar poles tended to warp as they aged, which offset the wires in random ways.  Then, as the poles rotted off at the base, they "stubbed" them.  Instead of replacing the pole, they dug a hole next to it, put a treated stub in the hole, and tied the pole to it.