3D printed coupler pocket to mount Kadees to AtlasO cars - thread updated with photos and test results with a 30mm wide pocket

Have a question - Looking on the Shapeways site at the Atlas / Kadee shims.  Do I have to order 2 of the shims or do they come as a pair ?  Doesn't seem clear to me from what I read on the site.  Thanks

rrgeorge posted:

Have a question - Looking on the Shapeways site at the Atlas / Kadee shims.  Do I have to order 2 of the shims or do they come as a pair ?  Doesn't seem clear to me from what I read on the site.  Thanks

RRG,

After you said that, I drew / uploaded a new file with a new design, and its a 10-up pieces, which is enough to do 5 cars.

Whatcha think?

Wow - great Thanks 

I hope you're sitting down. 

Here's the Ultra Detail, near-scale (0.0300" opening)

I didn't think that the 0.300" opening was going to look that much better, but "me likey".  

Compare:

You've done a great job with these, Mario. I have several Atlas cars I'd like to switch over to Kadees.

Guys

These designs appear to be Copyrighted. Be sure you are using the design with permission of the copyright holder mscalzo3  at  Gandyman & Son Trains;

whoever that is.  Just because you can copy a design doesn't mean it's in the public domain.

AlanRail posted:

Guys

These designs appear to be Copyrighted. Be sure you are using the design with permission of the copyright holder mscalzo3  at  Gandyman & Son Trains;

whoever that is.  Just because you can copy a design doesn't mean it's in the public domain. 

 

Itsa Me!

I'm Mario Scalzo, aka mscalzo3, aka CentralFan1976, aka Gandyman & Son Trains.

in that case    great! thanks for the design!!

AlanRail posted:

in that case    great! thanks for the design!!

You da man!

Btw... if you wanted to know what the cushioned draft gear looked like for Atlas (and this is a Pecos River Brass car), here it is installed and painted. 

this is the standard box, with a smaller opening than Kadee yet not as small as the Yoder. Yes, the coupler will go around an O40 curve; but no! The truck will not. The swing hits the side of the box. 

I'll test them on the club layout tonight. 

AlanRail posted:

Guys

These designs appear to be Copyrighted. Be sure you are using the design with permission of the copyright holder mscalzo3  at  Gandyman & Son Trains; whoever that is.  Just because you can copy a design doesn't mean it's in the public domain.

I cracked up when I saw this as I knew that was Mario.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

AlanRail posted:

Guys

These designs appear to be Copyrighted. Be sure you are using the design with permission of the copyright holder mscalzo3  at  Gandyman & Son Trains; whoever that is.  Just because you can copy a design doesn't mean it's in the public domain.

I cracked up when I saw this as I knew that was Mario.

With all those aliases it no wonder Alan was confused.  

Thats because he's still in the closet about really wanting to be a 2 railer 

laughed my tail off......Itsa  me.

Ron

Mr. Rappe, any luck?

Mario  - got one set of pockets (no lids) and one .120" shim.  I sent you an email so we can chat off-line about what I need to order to do an initial set of test installations.  AtlasO uses a variety of mounts on their cars depending on the underframe setup and I want to order the right parts.  Does Shapeways assign a part number to your designs, or do we order just based on the titles in your listings?  Titles work with most items, but with the variety of AtlasO mounts it can get a little confusing.

Candidate cars on my list for upgrade to narrow pockets include:

USRA outside braced 40' box cars

X29 box cars (13)

H21 hoppers (30)

Other candidates include 8k gallon and 11k tank cars.  I have one extremely heavy C&O composite twin hopper that could be used to test the strength of the draft gear/coupler pairing.

The AtlasO H21 quad hopper upgrade raises questions about design, material, and cost.    We do a lot of mine run switching on my branch line and due to reach issues need reliable hands off coupling/uncoupling.  I've found that to get rock solid coupling/uncoupling (especially on slight curves) is to have couplers with identical coupler heads and knuckle spring tension.  My hopper fleet spanned 60 years of O scale modelling and was equipped many different scale couplers.  To get the performance I wanted I needed to standardize couplers on those cars serving the coal branch. (cars on run through trains like a reefer block didn't need to be changed).  After quite a bit of operational testing I found the old 800 series Kadees  worked best on my layout.  The acid test was coupling/uncoupling on a slight curve approach to one of the mines (photo below). 

 I bit the bullet and mounted Kadee 800's on over 80 hoppers (30 AtlasO quads) - the pain was worth the gain!  A downside with Kadee pockets on AtlasO quad hoppers is the gap in the prototype's cast end still. 

If I go with a 30" pocket I'd get an even bigger gap.  Questions - would it be practical to offer a version of the narrow pocket with "wings" to fill the  end sill gap?  Are there alternatives could lower the cost if ordered in bulk? 

These are some things to think about later - first I need to equip several cars with the .30" wide coupler pockets and do some operational testing.

Thanks again Mario. 

Any luck with the test pieces?

thanks,

Mario

Mario - I'm embarrassed to say I haven't followed through with mounting the coupler pockets.   For the last 2 months I've been fully engaged with re-motoring tests related to DCC'ing  4 locomotives.  The test used high efficiency coreless motors to replace Pittman can motors.  The objective was to reduce current draw enabling use of boiler mounted HO decoders.  Lots of time in the shop expended in making custom motor mounts with only mixed results - 2 successes - 2 failures. 

I'll get back on the coupler project and report results after returning from the Chicago O scale meet later this month.  Again - thanks for your support to the hobby.

.

I recently installed a pair of Mario's 3D printed 30mm wide face coupler pockets on an AtlasO USRA outside braced box car and am very pleased with the results.  The photo below highlights the difference in appearance between AtlasO couplers and Kadee 804's mounted in Mario's "narrow" draft gear pocket. 

In testing I found the modified car coupled and uncoupled reliably with other cars equipped with Kadee 800 series couplers on curved track down to 60" radius.  Note that centering is not provided by draft gear springing or tabs, but by the fit of the coupler in the pocket.  This worked reliably with my transition era freight cars thanks to the broad gathering range of Kadee 800 series couples.   I doubt this approach would work as well with Kadee's 700 series couplers as in prior testing I found that their tighter tolerances between coupler heads restricted coupling and uncoupling on curves (thus my standardization on 800's).  Also note that a 30mm wide draft gear face will not support Kadee's Delayed Coupling feature.  (I don't use delayed action couplers as it requires an extra back and forth move to couple to cars spotted over uncoupling magnets) .

Our hobby entails a series of trade offs between the prototype we are trying to model and model railroad operation.  Mario's 30mm wide draft gear strikes a good balance.   It dramatically improves the appearance of AtlasO's cars while supporting reliable hands off operation - IMO a winner! 

Thanks Ed!

I'm glad we could work together on this project and you are pleased with what came of it. I can get the guys at Scale City to get these mass produced. 

One thing that helps with the centering action, is to square up the front of the slot in the Kadee with a square file, which gives the spring a flat surface to push against. 

if there's anything to work on, just let me know. 

PS- I've moved the detail on the side of the receiver box back from the front edge. 

Thanks!

-Mario

Getting the word out, Ed:

https://www.facebook.com/group...nk/1696429363717885/

ED,

Your yard ballast is perfect. Would you share the mix you used?

Sorry to get off topic.

Thanks, Ron H