3D Printing Projects 201501 – HO scale wellcars and containers

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The lineup of four, 5-gang well cars and containers all 3D printed.

TPM Technologies had the opportunity to present 3D printing applications to model railroaders at a regional convention. The application chosen was containers and wellcars. Every car and containers starting with the 4th car are 3D printed.

Why containers and well cars?

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The design was developed in SolidWorks and the majority of the parts were printed on the FlashForge Creator, “Cat’s Paw”.

Here’s is a close up of some of the cars in the railroad club’s layout.

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Well cars on the mainline zipping by boxcars on the siding.

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Checking out container loading on the well cars with the forklift.

3D Printing Projects 201601 – Paracord jig with a yard stick and 3D printed parts

IMG_3372At a summer Make Camp we wanted an inexpensive way for the campers to jig up bracelets and other paracord weavings. A clamp for each end was devised that straddled a yard stick for easy sizing. With a trapped screw and nut the ends are easily adjustable to the right point on the yardstick.

The design was developed in SolidWorks and the parts were printed on the Makerbot Replicator in ABS.

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3D Printing Projects 201323 – Keyless door entry clamp

doorclamp3Security is always an issue but occasionally you want to have your place of business more inviting. A simple clamp pinches the crash bar closed thereby temporarily unlocking the door. Having done this numerous times the trick to having it work the first time is to make sure the unit is not too thick and the fingers will fit between the backside of the crash bar and the window of the door. The nice bright yellow alerts someone that the clamp is on. In this case we personalized it for the venue so it doesn’t walk off.

The part was developed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS on the Makerbot in 3 hours, 5 minutes.