Low-cost Cardboard T-Trak Modules

[tossedman]

G'day!

As my Aussie friends like to say.

 

I was chatting with Jeff (cten04) about my Party Project 2023 module and I remarked how strong the cardboard module was. After talking for a bit he came up with the idea of making a T-Trak module out of cardboard as it would be much cheaper to build and ship than a wood module. I would also be less intimidating to build as all it would require would be the cardboard parts and a hot glue gun.

 

I've already made baltic birch modules for myself so it didn't take too much effort to modify the file to be cut out of 4mm cardboard. I used 4mm cardboard because I have access to a big pile of it. The module will be 308mm X 230mm in order to facilitate cheaper shipping.

 

I should say now, that though I have access to a laser cutter at the school I teach at, I am unable to make and sell these modules myself. School board rules forbid me from doing so. That being said, I'm more than willing to share the cut files with anyone who can use their own laser cutter or find someone local to them to cut the files to build a module, or two, or ten...

 

I've attached the preliminary PDF file here and well as a .png image so you can easily see what I'm thinking. It still needs testing and should be regarded as a preliminary prototype and not the final product. It should have editable vectors if you have access to a vector drawing program on your computer. If you use any other cardboard that is not 4mm thick the file would require some modification.

 

EDIT - I've removed the PDF file as it is undergoing many refinements. Will post it again later when it's closer to finished.

 

Please let me know your thoughts and suggestions. I'll post more soon with a laser cut prototype.

 

Cheers eh,

 

Todd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15 by tossedman

[tossedman]

OK, here's what I've come up with on the laser cutter. I actually cut everything before my first post but the magic of modern technology makes it appear as though it just happened. How exciting!

 

Well, here it is in all its glory. It fits in a standard 25.4cm x 33.02cm / 10 in. x 13 in. envelope. Might have to reinforce it a bit with some tape before shipping though. The parts and envelope weigh in at 154g.

 

Here are all of the cut pieces

 

Here it is tacked together with a hot glue gun. Does anyone have any suggestions to prevent stringing of the glue? It was a mess. With glue, riv nuts and bolts it's 171g.

 

Here's the bottom. Jeff had suggested using 10/24 riv nuts and bolts so I stacked up three layers of cardboard, and glued them into the corners. I put a dab of hot glue on the riv nut to hold it in. It's as sturdy as! I'm going to make some of the wheels to turn the bolts out of 3mm MDF. I had one here but it's a bit small. That's a job for tomorrow.

 

I think it's pretty good so far. Need to get some feedback from others so I'll whip up a couple more and put them in their hands.

 

Again, please feel free to chime in with any thoughts or suggestions.

 

One thing I'm going to add is to engrave the placement of the Unitrak on the top piece and cut holes for the power cables to route through under the track.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

Edited November 15 by tossedman
Added weights and fixed spelling. Stupid autocorrect!

[Tony Galiani]

Great stuff.  And thanks for doing all this.  I think having the availability of a less expensive option for module would be an inducement to try these.  I have some nice wooden modules I am sort of afraid to work on as I don't want to mess them up.  Having another option to get some experience would be helpful.

Cheers,

Tony

[Yugamu Tsuki]

This is absolutely brilliant for those of us who don't have time/space/are just too darn lazy. I know my local library (was just there 2 weeks ago for a train show) has a "technology room" with 3d printers, engravers, etc. so I need to check next time I'm there for a laser cutter.

[cteno4]

Todd,

 

great, really fantastic work!

 

yes more and more library systems are getting into maker rooms to help get folks into these hobbies where equipment costs too high for many starting out. Use to be like the night adult woodshop classes at jr highs that had wood shops. Alas many of those school shops are gone and the cost and insurance to do stuff outside the main school stuff (if they even have a shop) is just prohibitively high.

 

its nice as libraries are about learning and this is just another form of learning and libraries are about the most common public communal spaces we have. And as more of text goes electronic for borrowing means space may open up for tech stuff.

 

jeff

[tossedman]

Thanks Tony, Yugami Tsuki and Jeff.

 

Question to all. Is there anyone out there who has, or has access to, a laser cutter that would like to give this a try? Please let me know. I'm working on moving parts around to make them easier to cut on a smaller laser cutter like a Glowforge.

 

Todd

[disturbman]

I would love to test this, but I have not access to a laser cutter. But I wonder if there are online services I could try. I also wouldn't be against trying a half-deep module.

[cteno4]

I just got a stack of 9x12” thin corrugated cardboard sheets. I want to try again making a 9x12 module with just mat knife, laminating 2 layers of cardboard, and use simple rabit joints (ala sankei building construction) for strenght and ease of assembly. I did one out of foamcore and cardboard like 15 years back when there were heated discussion on what a Ttrak module base could/should be. They were sturdy. I never did scenic them as they were just proof of concept.

 

but I just want to put out a simple set of instructions for how to make a cardboard one without a lasercutter as well.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[tossedman]

8 hours ago, disturbman said:

I would love to test this, but I have not access to a laser cutter. But I wonder if there are online services I could try. I also wouldn't be against trying a half-deep module.

There are lots of online services. Take a look around. I took a quick look and found Snijlab in the Netherlands, there may be others closer to you. They have 3mm cardboard but I could modify the file for that. Don't know what their prices are like though.

 

Also, check and see if there is a makerspace in your area. Facebook market place has some laser cutting services listed in my area. I also looked on Reddit.com under r/lasercutting and found some people local to me that have laser cutters and may be able to cut a file. If you put a query onto Reddit I'm sure you'd get a response or two.

 

Let me know if you find something and I'll share the cut file again when I've got it a little more ready to go.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[tossedman]

Disturbman, I'll have to adjust the size of the holes for metric rivnuts as these were distend around imperial sizes. That's about a two minute edit though. It's funny how Canada adopted the metric system in 1970s but we're so influenced by the USA that the Imperial system is more easily found in many areas. Let me know what you think. I'd love to see this thing go worldwide.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[tossedman]

7 hours ago, cteno4 said:

I just got a stack of 9x12” thin corrugated cardboard sheets. I want to try again making a 9x12 module with just mat knife, laminating 2 layers of cardboard, and use simple rabit joints (ala sankei building construction) for strenght and ease of assembly. I did one out of foamcore and cardboard like 15 years back when there were heated discussion on what a Ttrak module base could/should be. They were sturdy. I never did scenic them as they were just proof of concept.

 

but I just want to put out a simple set of instructions for how to make a cardboard one without a lasercutter as well.

 

cheers

 

jeff

Jeff, that's definitely a way to go if one cannot laser cut. Carefully cutting out the pieces with a knife it the cheapest way to go by far. Let us know how that works out.

 

Todd

[Cat]

Gator Board is also pretty durable and cuts with a straight edge and box cutter.  It's a thin layer of foam board sandwiched between thin layers of hard board.  
 
Not sure if it's available outside the US or what it might be called elsewhere...

[disturbman]

@tossedman I will check for online services. Being the artist hub it's, Berlin has a good range of creative companies and/or for creative endeavours. There used to be a FabLab in the center of town, but it was packed to the roof and I wouldn't want to go there.

I'll PM you when I have found a place to have this printed.

[tossedman]

On 11/16/2023 at 9:39 PM, Cat said:

Gator Board is also pretty durable and cuts with a straight edge and box cutter.  It's a thin layer of foam board sandwiched between thin layers of hard board.  
 
Not sure if it's available outside the US or what it might be called elsewhere...

I saw an older thread on nscale.net about just that thing. A T-Trak module from 10mm thick gator board. https://www.nscale.net/forums/showthread.php?45886-A-Gator-Board-T-Trak-Module

[cteno4]

The problem with gatorboard is it’s pretty hard to cut with a mat knife, especially for someone without a lot of knife experience. It can also be harder and more expensive to source locally and in smaller chunks than 4x8 sheets. I would suggest a newbie try hand cutting corrugated cardboard or foam core before gatorboard, especially the 10 or 12mm stuff.

 

jeff

[tossedman]

Good point Jeff. I've never seen the stuff never mind tried to cut it.

[cteno4]

 It’s nice stuff. Basically foam core with a denser urethane foam interior and craft cardboard that is plastic impregnated as the outer layers. The plastic impregnated cardboard is not as hard to cut as styrene sheet, but tougher than chipboard, more like a very dense photo board. Thicker stuff is harder to keep your blade vertical in a 10 or 12mm thick cut.

 

we used it a little a long time back for sinage printing where we needed things very lightweight, but as the ultra boards (styrene faced styrene foamcore) we moved over to it as it could take dings better and much stiffer for bigger spans.

 

like 15 years back I whacked out a simple foamcore Ttrak base and was amazed how stiff and sturdy it was. I’ve seen a number of folks use them in finished modules.

 

jeff

[tossedman]

On 11/17/2023 at 2:11 AM, disturbman said:

@tossedman I will check for online services. Being the artist hub it's, Berlin has a good range of creative companies and/or for creative endeavours. There used to be a FabLab in the center of town, but it was packed to the roof and I wouldn't want to go there.

I'll PM you when I have found a place to have this printed.

 

@disturbman Let me know if you find an online service or someone local who can cut the cardboard for you. Please PM me the cost as I'm curious as to whether or not this would be economically viable for people or not. Not much good if they charge €30 or €40 to cut €1 worth of material.

 

I should have the plans finalized by early next week and I'll make one set for metric riv nuts. Looks like M4 bolts and Riv nuts require a 6mm hole. Easy adjustment to make. If you thinks a bolt size should be something other than M4 let me know. Also please find out if they have 4mm cardboard. If not I'd have to adjust the plans for the thickness of the cardboard as well.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

Edited November 19 by tossedman

[tossedman]

Got the latest iteration of the T-Trak module done. Added holes for the power wires and made the inside corners have small tabs that'll need to be hand cut so the pieces aren't loose after laser cutting. If you're just building the module after cutting it, this doesn't matter, but for shipping, this makes things that much easier. I've also got a modified version for 3mm cardboard and M4 rivnuts. Here's the 4mm version.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

Edited November 20 by tossedman
Corrected grammar

[tossedman]

Here are two PDF files for anyone to use. One is for 4mm cardboard and 10/24 sized rivnuts while the other is for 3mm cardboard and M4 sized rivnuts. Line colours and stroke width will have to be modified for whatever laser cutting software you or your supplier use. Right now RGB Red is cut and RGB Blue is engrave.

 

T-Trak_Cardboard_4mm_JNS_mk2.pdfT-Trak_Cardboard_3mm_metric_JNS.pdf

 

Below are copies one could print onto standard paper sizes, tabloid (11" X 17") or B3. Both are for 3mm cardboard. Black solid line is cut, dashed line is for track placement. I've just edited these two files to make them easier to cut by hand if that's your choice.

 

Tabloid_Cardboard_Module_3mm.pdfB3_Cardboard_Module_3mm.pdf

 

 

Let me know what you think.

 

Todd

Edited November 21 by tossedman
Edited files

[tossedman]

Thinking of shipping. I'll try to include all of the material around the sides, ends and inner support pieces to protect everything during mailing. See the top two rectangles below.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd