Doing stuff again.

[Sokramiketes]

So I gotta print another one     

What about a sign saying "Don't Look at the Other Side" 

It would seriously take me almost 2 hours just to change boards on one side. 

Yikes!  But I'm talking about the same visible side, just moving a couple boards on one side of the door. 

[Chris333]

Any possibility of getting some of those lovely Bettendorf T-Section Caboose trucks from ya???? Preferably without wheelsets if you're using FVM's...I've got plenty of 'em.

OR...an stl???

Seriously...

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

https://www.printables.com/model/1836908-n-scale-t-section-trucks

I'll eventually put all this stuff up, it just takes time.

BTW the one on the right modeled after photos of a T-section Truck. The one on the left is from this drawing:
https://www.cumberlandmodelengineering.com/images/ACL%2040'%20Flat.jpg
No idea what kind of truck it is, but they call it "Bettendorf T-section trucks"

 
https://www.cumberlandmodelengineering.com/Dave'sFreightCars.html

[Jesse6669]

https://www.printables.com/model/1836908-n-scale-t-section-trucks

Dang, a website I didn't know existed with some great stuff on it!  Thanks for the tip-off.

[robert3985]

https://www.printables.com/model/1836908-n-scale-t-section-trucks

I'll eventually put all this stuff up, it just takes time.

BTW the one on the right modeled after photos of a T-section Truck. The one on the left is from this drawing:
https://www.cumberlandmodelengineering.com/images/ACL%2040'%20Flat.jpg
No idea what kind of truck it is, but they call it "Bettendorf T-section trucks"

 
https://www.cumberlandmodelengineering.com/Dave'sFreightCars.html

Thank you verrrry much for the link!  Actually, I didn't see that the trucks on the right have coil springs and not leafs.  BUT, I can re-work 'em to represent the very common Bettendorf T-section Caboose Trucks that many cabooses from many different roads had under them starting out around 1915 until about 1960 or so (maybe even later).

Also, I'm semi-versed with Sketchup but I've been learning to use Autodesk Fusion 3D until it stopped working on my Windows 10 desktop.  I think your excellent work and turnaround time, as well as your print quality, has convinced me to stop attempting to get my fairly powerful Win10 machine's MoBo to run "Secure Boot" and just go back to Sketchup.

I'm assuming you render everything in 1:1, then export the results as an stl file, then reduce it to 1:160 in your slicer??  That's what I've done, and it works very well with a few of the projects I've done, working around Sketchup's inability to resolve many small 1:160 details.

Although Sketchup may not be ideal for many 3D CAD projects, I certainly don't see anything about your prints that would be better using a "real" 3D CAD app. for the relatively simple shapes I'm going to use for the vast majority of N-scale projects I've got floating around in my head.

Thanks again!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Chris333]

In Sketchup I draw everything (now) at x100. So 1inch is 100inches. After it's done I use Netfabb to scale it down x100 and also look for mistakes. There are less and less mistakes as I draw more.


Try that same link again. I added a caboose truck based on a photo of a Kadee HO truck. It is a little bit simple, but might work.

[Chris333]

Here is the B&M boxcar.
https://www.printables.com/model/1838051-n-scale-boston-maine-boxcar

If someone else wants to play with the boards...

[Chris333]

I haven't printed anything in 2 days 

You can help 

Was going to do another test print of my 2-8-0 body now that it is beefed up. But wanted to fix the smoke stack first. This is the only way I know how to draw it:


We all know that is wrong and the curve should follow the dia. of the smoke box. So USING SKETCHUP how do I fill in this area?

[chessie system fan]

I know what I would do in Fusion360.    Maybe Sketchup is similar. 

Use two objects:

1. The base.  Make it the thickness it's supposed to be curved around the boiler.
2. The stack.  Make it straight at the bottom.

Then, combine the two into a single object.  And after that, fillet to get the curve at the base.


I've been trying to play around with the 1923 boxcar file with no luck so far.  It's too bad that Scetchup can't export STEP files.  I converted the file into a solid in Fusion360.  But I can't even extrude faces in the file. 

[Chris333]

Yeah I can't do anything with STL files either other than print them with Chitubox.

So lets say you drew the smoke stack for me and gave me the STL file. I cannot put that stack on my boiler.

Fillet trick didn't work at all. I need a plugin just to do a fillet at all. Not sure how a fillet would work anyways because it is just a radius. The base of the stack is more like a complex arch or something like that.

[chessie system fan]

Here's a quickie test. Fusion360 has a variable fillet setting.  Is this what you're going for?

[Chris333]

Looks like there is another plugin called Curviloft that will do it in Sketchup, but it keeps telling me I need to upgrade just to install it. I don't understand why someone doesn't take all the plugins and add them to Sketchup and call it Sketchup.

[chessie system fan]

Okay, next idea. Are you able to merge stl files?

[Chris333]

Google says I can do that online, but I don't work with stl files until I'm ready to print.

Turns out I have Curviloft installed on Sketchup since 2024, but cannot find the toolbars anywhere.

[chessie system fan]

If you can't get that to work, I don't mind designing the stack for you. You can combine it with the boiler later.

[Chris333]

I already replaced the stack with a location hole.

Seems that you need some other plugin installed to get the plugin "Curviloft" to work. I have both, but not updated enough. I can't figure out yet how to update it. Quite a $hitshow using plugins.