3D print of an auto carrier ramp with slider/lock to bridge the car-to-car gaps

Parts exploded view; working on the assembly.

That looks real nice!! Cant wait to see your finished product. I wonder if this is the way of the future, using a 3D printer to make your own buildings and accessories.

Very nice Alan. Looking forward to the completed model.    Joe

Fantastic work on the software (I bet for 123D design; am I right?) and on the 3D printer! 

jpv in France

123D Design for most and TinkerCad (perforated ramps only)

Printer is FormLabs 2 with White Resin V01

Thank you!

Perforated ramps are interesting; I have to do the same thing for a well car (walkways with norton pattern); I have to ask to my "3D guy" if he can do them; if he can't I will perhaps ask for your help!

jpv69 in France

Nice! You built the drivable version of the ramp. The car to car connection is an added bonus.

Good discussion recently on a thread by Mike G. He scratch built one.

Thanks!

Looks great! a lot easier then the way I did it. Cant wait to see the finished product!

Alan, I'd be interested in buying a couple of those!

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

Alan, I'd be interested in buying a couple of those!

Same here!

BUY ONE!  My idea was not to sell them but instead to provide 3D model .STL files so that anyone can MAKE ONE. Clearly, you need a 3D printer to make one, but SHAPEWAYS (http://www.shapeways.com/) does provide a service that will make them from .STL files.

I am not copyrighting any of my designs they are to be used and copied freely. Further, what I hope is that you will take the .STL file, refined the design and make it better! Also, I will provide the 123D Design files to make this easier.

This Forum and others have greatly enriched my interest in the hobby. This is my way of paying it forward and giving something back.

What is the resolution on your printer? What kind of resin are you using? It's a great project.

25 Microns although this was printed with a 50 micron (0.0019685 inch) resolution. Resin is made by FormLabs, the printer maker, (they seem to enjoy a vertical monopoly.)

At 1/4 scale a 1 -1/2" pipe is .03125" which is the smallest diameter that is printable and strong enough to retain its shape. However, details can show smaller bolts if attached to a larger surface.

Take a look at the propane tank next to the seat; see the pipe coming out, this is hard to see above.

This shows some of the details a 50mu.

I just looked at your printer. It's a seriously cool one. Laser-cured resin is getting in with he big boys which is why you're able to get 25 microns. Thread laying machines just can't get there. Have you looked at the system developed by that chemist using light cured resin with an oxygen barrier. It prints entire slices at once using photolithographic methods and is 20 to 100 times faster than raster type machines. There's now a startup making them for industry. The secret is the resins. Some are engineering resins which can be used directly as working parts and that can be sterilized. They're holding the license close to their vests and the cost is in the $30k range. That being said, the technology can be scaled down considerably and could be a fabulous desktop unit. The graphics packages simply have to project and entire slice at one time into the resin (like a cat scan). The company is Carbon 3D http://www.carbon3d.com. Part of the cost is the control system that provides the oxygen interface. If you aren't familiar with it, check it out.

          Nice project Alan. This whole 3D printing process is fascinating. I first learned of it about 8 years ago, and was completely blown away, still am.  Every library should have one!

Don

These printers will one day print resin in RGB color as well. I imagine that the printers laser will strike the resin at different wavelengths causing the resin to solidify in different colors. That will be the day!  

The speed of printing is an issue as some of these prints took more than 5 hours to print. The speed is dependent on the number of layers printed. So the Carbon3D printer that prints entire layers at a time instead of points will certainly save time.

Right now the cost of a Carbon3D is 10 times the cost of the FormLabs 2. So I'll wait.

Me too. And I'll have to wait on all of them. 

OK  so I changed the design to relocate the fencing to the sides and attached ( as part of the build) the tread plates to the frames. (The lines within in the back end of tread plates is an optical illusion created by the complex mesh.) This re-design gives a bit more room for the cars and is closer to the real loader.

I changed the  auto-carrier's inner ramps to flip-down ramps to more closely resemble the actual ramping within the "real" auto-carrier cars. The back end ramp slides into the notches on the Lionel Auto-carriers (with opening doors).

Looking into some sort of hydraulic piston to raise and lower the end ramps; sort of like the Lionel  bulldozer shovel. 

Very very fine work you did!! 

You wrote in my thread "SUPERLINER" you can print for me if I had . stl files; I see in this thread that you made perforated ramps that my "3D guy" can't make because his 3D printer is not enough high performance; my perforated walkways are for a well car and look like your ramps; that's why I ask you this question!

You can email me (mail adress is in my profile) if you want.

Thanks in advance

jpv in France

jpv

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