The New 3D Printing Thread

Yeah, who will create that thread?

Hello all,
I know its a while but here is the Video of trains running over the 3D printed track. Hope this shows nicely how the track performs. https://youtu.be/XFLkWsHF51I and to bring an even bigger suprise, here are the files. https://drive.google.com/file/d/11hGZxX9...sp=sharing

Cheers!

[Super]

Those tracks look very nice Ron and the points work pretty good too.

Thanks Super, have you printed the points? Im thinking about making a video on how to assemble them as they might be a little confusing if someone is new to 3D printing

Very impressive Ron, I will definitely picking up those files you've shared so I can print myself a bunch of track to go with my extensive set of PlaRail Advance trains.

I was about to ask about the points and if they are printed as one piece, but I just saw your reply to Super asking about the assembly. It would probably be a good idea to post a quick tutorial on their assembly as if there is a certain way to do it I'm sure people will appreciate that.

One other question that did spring to mind was what material do you print yours in? I tend to usually use some flavour of PLA purely due to the simplicity of its use, but if pushed I can use ABS although its various drawbacks to tend to make it not my preferred choice.

Are there any other tips about the track you'd like to share before I start printing some? More to the point do you have any plans for anything else in the future?

Hello Nigels,
glad you like them. Theyre all printed with standart Creality PLA. Please keep in mind that I optimized the meshes for my own printer, if you have too much trouble with the printed pieces (especially the switches can become tricky since the mechanics are tiny and a little fragile) then playing around with the slicer settings might improve that. As of right now I dont have any other plans to expand this pack. I do have some ideas what else I could do (N switches, S switches, curved switches, switches with the outer track radius of a Plarail R03 curve and so much more...) but -as of right now- motivation and time are really lacking. I will post the video of how to assemble a switch when I find the time to record it.

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the info, I'll have a crack at printing some using PLA then, my 'main' printer at the moment is a Tronxy XY2SE, but I also have an older Ender 3 Pro.  Most things that print on the Ender are fine on the Tronxy so I'll just give a few a go and see how they come out

What I had in mind as further items would be a slope and/or bridge compatible with the Advance loco's, I know there were some made, but I'm not sure if the gradient was ideal for Advance even though they were supposed to be made for the system, I also don't have any so could never find out unless I come across some these days.  Also I wondered if you'd thought about trackside buildings etc...


Cheers, Nigel

Hello,
funny that you ask for bridges and ramps. I actually did start modeling a ramp piece which would be identical to the official Plarail Advance ramps (AR06) but thats where I kinda noticed I also need to develop a support system then and there is where my ambitions for the project kinda faded. Not saying I 100% wont do it but as for now only the released pieces are available. As for bridges, I did think of another type of track design that doesnt have a trackbed but rather a bridge bed like seen on the grey plarail bridge pieces (R26, R27). Who knows, maybe Ill pick it back up again. If you want ramps now I recommend just using straight pieces and instead of using the male connectors, just model a box that has the same dimensions as the male connector piece but leave out the little "flags" on the ends so the tracks are aligned in their driveable direction but their pitch can be changed (its not a secure connection as you can pull them apart but it should be ok if you have solid ground). Im not really sure what you mean with trackside buildings. Like stations? ...on second thought, a piece that you could attach to the plarail advance stations (AJ-01) but with just one track that stops trains does sound kinda nice. Only future can tell if I continue working on it. If asked for Id also be open to giving out the Blender file where these are made in.

Cheers!

Thanks Ron, I really don't need any of those things immediately, but was just floating the ideas in case you do decide to pick up the baton again in the future. In terms of trackside buildings I was thinking of anything really, mainly because there isn't really that much made by Tomy in the Advance scale. I know they did a few stations with canopies but that's about it really. Say an engine shed, goods depot, signal box, maybe even a train wash would be nice. But its something maybe I'll look at sometime in the future myself, I do create 3D models, but to date have primarily been practical things not related to trains. Of course like everyone the main challenge is usually time...

Cheers, Nigel

I'm still waiting for my prints from magicjayroadprints to be shipped. The people behind it are probably really busy lately.