In typical Panglossian fashion today, I uploaded the STL file for 622’s plastic parts to Shapeways. I might have hit the big “Print” button, if the bounding box hadn’t precluded the use of their highest resolution machine. It’s a good thing I didn’t because the pause gave me an opportunity to assemble all the parts in OnShape. There I found that the gearbox was going … Continue reading Virtual dry fit for 622
I’m just about ready to upload all the printed parts to Shapeways. To support some of the more delicate parts for printing, and more importantly for shipping, I added some sprues. I actually started out making a sprue for all the parts, but then I re-read the pricing guidelines for Shapeways and concluded that this was unnecessary. Sadly, my computer decided it wasn’t going to … Continue reading All the parts that are fit to print
Tonight as I was drawing the step that the fireman would use to light the headlight (imagine that at night at -30 Celsius!), I thought I must be just about finished with the drawing. So, I dropped all the parts into an OnShape assembly to see what is yet to be drawn. I discovered the cab roof is still missing, and maybe I should do … Continue reading Just about finished drawing #622
The erection drawing for this engine clearly shows a mud drum hanging like a uvula from the bottom of the boiler. Extending from this appendage, the drawing also shows a two-foot lever. This puzzled me for quite a while: surely you would have to unbolt the cover to gain access, and a lever wouldn’t be much help once the cover was unbolted. I was getting … Continue reading Mud drum plug
Okay, it may be time to admit I have a keyhole problem. Ever since watching Dan Gelbart’s videos on prototyping, I’ve been thinking about them. This latest design element might be a keyhole too far. What if, instead of screwing down through the smoke stack to hold the front of the boiler in place, I hook it down? The hook will be a T-shaped bolt … Continue reading Boiler keyhole?
This weekend is the third annual Railway Modellers’ Meet up at Simon Fraser University. I always like to bring something to display, but this year, most everything is buried in Mt Flood. So, apart from a whole lot of computer drawings, all I have are the two proofs of concept for the frame. In other words – something that could easily get swept onto the … Continue reading Infographic for Railway Modellers’ Meet
Mark Dance made a great observation on the previous post: Pivot towards something that looks more promising when your existing path is not successful and your rate of learning on it is slowing down. Of course, you don’t know if your rate of learning is decreasing until you have three attempts. As my mother used to say, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try … Continue reading To pivot or persevere…
