3D Printed B-Train Shorty Chassis.

[tossedman]

To get around the too small bit at Shapeways you need to print on a sprue. Add three or four together joined by a sprue and it'll print no problem. I've done this previously with small parts.

[lukewang01]

Thanks, I'll look into that.

[tossedman]

3 hours ago, lukewang01 said:

There's something off with the dimension setting. You'll need to make it 25.4 times bigger. I haven't checked for the long bed model with Shapeways yet. For the chassis, Shapeways will not make them because it's still too small.

I think Pete's uploaded the STL to Shapeways using millimetres and it looks like it was designed in inches. That would account for the size difference. Here's what might work for printing at Shapeways.

 

Edited April 2, 2021 by tossedman

[5lyp3t3]

Thanks for your patient help team!

[lukewang01]

Coupler replacement for KATO bogies if you want a shorter gap between cars. Dimensions in mm. 

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4829561

 

[tossedman]

Great idea Luke! I'll have to print a few of those and give it a try. Have you experimented with different lengths?

 

Thanks again for sharing!

 

Cheers eh,

 

Todd

Edited April 16, 2021 by tossedman
Had a second thought...

[lukewang01]

I have. The one on the Thingiverse has a length of 9mm between the end pieces. I think it leaves a reasonable gap between coaches because they have longer gangways. I tried 8mm on Shimakaze and it barely leaves a gap between cars on R 315 curves.

 

If you want to try 8mm, I'll post that as well. It's easy to change this model, so let me know the length you want.

[tossedman]

It's way too short for the R150 or R117 curves. Interesting idea though.

[lukewang01]

It is. I would stick with rapidos or regular ones for that matter. Unless I can figure out a way to make some body mounted couplers. 

[mags_minibuilds]

Hello @lukewang01, are you still offering these chassis for sale? I’m interested in getting a couple. Thanks!

Edited April 17, 2022 by disturbman

[Shinjinkun]

On 4/17/2022 at 3:44 PM, ZandT said:

Hello @lukewang01, are you still offering these chassis for sale? I’m interested in getting a couple. Thanks!

Also interested in some of the chassis, in case they are still available 😛

 

[Shinjinkun]

On 2/21/2021 at 10:52 PM, tossedman said:

Cool stuff Luke! Thanks for sharing this on Thingiverse. Even though I don’t really need another chassis at the moment, I couldn’t resist trying one out. The Kato bogies fit like a charm and bodies click right on. Great job sir! Here are a few pictures. 

 

 

Ohhh, so cool! It is just what I need, as I couldn't find the bandai boogies anywhere at reasonable prices... did you print it yourself?

[tossedman]

4 hours ago, Shinjinkun said:

Ohhh, so cool! It is just what I need, as I couldn't find the bandai boogies anywhere at reasonable prices... did you print it yourself?

Yes, I printed this myself. If you go to https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4769416 you can download the print file. You should be able to find someone locally to 3D print some for you.

[disturbman]

Addionally, most European big cities have "Fab Labs" were you should be able to go and have the files printed for you. There are also online 3D-printing services, like Shapeways, I beleive @tossedmanhad worked out a solution for this.

[Shinjinkun]

9 hours ago, tossedman said:

Yes, I printed this myself. If you go to https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4769416 you can download the print file. You should be able to find someone locally to 3D print some for you.

Ahhh nice... I wish I had a 3d printer, but I don't own one, and neither I know anyone that has... 😞

 

 

 

4 hours ago, disturbman said:

Addionally, most European big cities have "Fab Labs" were you should be able to go and have the files printed for you. There are also online 3D-printing services, like Shapeways, I beleive @tossedmanhad worked out a solution for this.

I live in a very small village where no fab labs are located... about these online 3d printing services, I will check that shapeways one.

[Shinjinkun]

On 4/2/2021 at 5:13 PM, tossedman said:

I think Pete's uploaded the STL to Shapeways using millimetres and it looks like it was designed in inches. That would account for the size difference. Here's what might work for printing at Shapeways.

 

AHh, I just saw this post! Do you still have the STL file with the four boggies joined like the picture? Could I join even more than four? And usually how much could they charge for this? Thanks

[tossedman]

Hi Shinjinkun,

 

I have an .obj file (which is another 3D printing file type like an .stl) of the 4 chassis that you should be able to upload to Shapeways. Shapeways here said it was $10.43 to print. That's about €7.76 plus shipping. You could join more than 4. Easiest way would be to upload to tinkercad.com and add a cylinder between the chassis. I did a remix on Luke's original chassis to make four chassis joined by a sprue and posted it on Thingiverse. You may download it here.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

Edited July 3, 2022 by tossedman
Added a Thingiverse link

[cteno4]

Chassis seem like maybe something good for a cheap filament print. Doesn’t have to be super fine detail or texture and pretty flat build. The two truck bearing discs could just be glued on washers to make the bottom totally flat. Could then make a little jig to hold washers in place while glued on. May even be a smoother surface to pivot on than printed plastic.

 

I’ve been tempted by small cheap filliment printers lately but not thought of great things to make and this now sees like am easy one to play with! 

 

jeff

[lukewang01]

Sorry for the late reply. Glad you are interested in them. I'm currently in process of moving across the country and had gotten rid of the 3D printer. I'm not sure if I'll get another one soon so I won't be able to make them anytime soon.

[Shinjinkun]

On 7/3/2022 at 9:57 PM, tossedman said:

Hi Shinjinkun,

 

I have an .obj file (which is another 3D printing file type like an .stl) of the 4 chassis that you should be able to upload to Shapeways. Shapeways here said it was $10.43 to print. That's about €7.76 plus shipping. You could join more than 4. Easiest way would be to upload to tinkercad.com and add a cylinder between the chassis. I did a remix on Luke's original chassis to make four chassis joined by a sprue and posted it on Thingiverse. You may download it here.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

 

Cheers, @tossedman. I downloaded your file with the four chassis. As I never used tinkercad before, I am not sure how difficult it is to modify one of those files. Would it be cheaper to print more in one go, or just printing two of your object would cost around the same? Then, I suppose Shapeways is based on USA, right? Is there any other manufacturer based in Europe (or specifically in Spain) that I could use to avoid paying customs?

 

Then, I also don't know anything about 3d printing. I read some acronyms like HP5210 MJF, SLS, SLA & FDM... what details should I look for for the 3d printing? Material? Process? 😖

 

In other hand, as I have many boogies to convert, do you know usually how many powered units are needed to boogie ratio? For instance, I have the Odakyu VSE 70000, that is formed of 7 cars. Should I suppose that 2 powered units are enough? And what about a full 11 car formation of Yamanote? Maybe 3 power units?

 

Thanks again!

[tossedman]

Shapeways actually started in the Netherlands and still ships from there for the EU I believe. Don't know about local 3D printing services in Spain though. Google might be your friend there. Also, there are many Facebook groups for 3D printing. You may want to look and see if there's anyone local to you. You'd be surprised as to how many people have 3D printers these days.

 

Shapeways bases their prices on volume I believe so it may not be much cheaper to print more in one go. Not really sure though. They use SLS printing (among others) that is stronger and has better detail than FDM (which is what the typical home printer uses).

 

I've run a full 16 car Shinkansen Zero Series B Train Shorty with two power units. Had no problems.  

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

 

 

[Shinjinkun]

11 minutes ago, tossedman said:

Shapeways actually started in the Netherlands and still ships from there for the EU I believe. Don't know about local 3D printing services in Spain though. Google might be your friend there. Also, there are many Facebook groups for 3D printing. You may want to look and see if there's anyone local to you. You'd be surprised as to how many people have 3D printers these days.

 

Shapeways bases their prices on volume I believe so it may not be much cheaper to print more in one go. Not really sure though. They use SLS printing (among others) that is stronger and has better detail than FDM (which is what the typical home printer uses).

 

I've run a full 16 car Shinkansen Zero Series B Train Shorty with two power units. Had no problems.  

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

 

 

 

Ohh, if shapeways still ships from EU, then there shouldn't be a problem. I already found a few retailers in Spain, but I am not sure yet about prices. I should try to get some quotes. So do you recommend SLS for the printing, right? I just hope that is sturdy enough to support the kato boogies. Any other specs I should be aware of?

By the way, that B train shinkansen is really awesome! So small and cute! XDDD

Unfortunately, I still haven't received the Tomix starter set for the Narita Nex (still in preorder, as I don't own any rail or power adaptors yet), so it will take some time still to be able to motorize them . And anyway, I don't have much space to put it permanently.

Thanks for your help 🙂

[Welshbloke]

The bar coupler should be extremely useful in other applications too. There are plenty of prototypes which use a fixed bar within a group of vehicles, some of the double stack cars in the USA and the original Freightliner container flats in the UK for example.

[disturbman]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:45 AM, Shinjinkun said:

In other hand, as I have many boogies to convert, do you know usually how many powered units are needed to boogie ratio? For instance, I have the Odakyu VSE 70000, that is formed of 7 cars. Should I suppose that 2 powered units are enough? And what about a full 11 car formation of Yamanote? Maybe 3 power units?

One should be enough for a 7-car train. You can buy one and see if the Yamanote needs more.

[Shinjinkun]

6 hours ago, disturbman said:

One should be enough for a 7-car train. You can buy one and see if the Yamanote needs more.

 

I will try that. I just bought a kato 11-107, but I thought they were more available. I got the last available at amiami, there are none in amazon jp, and even in zen market, the ones available are quite expensive... 

at the moment, I need to check the 3d printed adapters, as without them, I can't use the bogies. I need to check some quotes.