Annual loco sales?

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FWLR
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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by FWLR » Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:47 am

Looking forward to seeing your 1st model. :santa:

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Busted Bricks » Thu Dec 21, 2017 12:11 pm

FWLR wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:47 am Looking forward to seeing your 1st model. :santa:
That makes two of us. Just getting my hands on my lathe again makes me excited. It's been mothballed for the past couple of years. I fly to Denmark on 14/1 and the container with all my belongings should arrive a few days later.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by FWLR » Thu Dec 28, 2017 9:25 am

Busted Bricks wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2017 12:11 pm
FWLR wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:47 am Looking forward to seeing your 1st model. :santa:
That makes two of us. Just getting my hands on my lathe again makes me excited. It's been mothballed for the past couple of years. I fly to Denmark on 14/1 and the container with all my belongings should arrive a few days later.
:thumbright: :thumbright: :thumbright:

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Busted Bricks » Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:20 pm

Another small step in the right direction. Looks like I'm finally getting a fiber laser for cutting metal. Just waiting for the paperwork from the leasing company to come through. It will be a machine with 1300x2500mm cutting area and a 1000W laser source. Should be able to cut up to 10mm carbon steel and 1.5mm brass. If all goes well I will have it here before Christmas.

A couple of weeks ago I started the first 20 week course at the metal college. So far I have spent a lot of my time assisting the teachers but we will soon get on to the more juicy topics so I can learn something. First up is ISO programming (G-codes) of CNC lathes and mills.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by tom_tom_go » Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:22 pm

Excellent, good luck!

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by IanC » Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:39 pm

Good luck with your training and manufacturing projects.
Ian

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by FWLR » Sat Sep 29, 2018 7:48 am

At last something to get your teeth into. Have some fun also, I did when I did my course 30 years ago. It was one of the best things I did in my long career in engineering.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Busted Bricks » Sat Sep 29, 2018 7:31 pm

Thanks gents. The laser is built now so will start it's journey from China to Denmark. Can't wait!

School is OK but the pace is a bit slow for my liking. I prefer to be at work and learn more there. My boss has just bought another lathe with C-axis, Y- axis and sub-spindle so I hope I can get some training on that soon.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by FWLR » Sun Sep 30, 2018 10:18 am

Wish I was going back 30 years into engineering. I miss it, making things from a bit of steel or brass, even aluminium, but had to be a bit gentle with the material.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Busted Bricks » Sun Sep 30, 2018 11:38 am

In terms of locomotive production, the pace should pick up a bit when the laser arrives. Then I can have a play with chassis and bodywork. With regards to the engine, it will use components that can also be used in stationary and marine steam plants. Because of the advanced machinery I have access to it is possible to make a lot of parts in a single workholding which cuts down on cost. I'm still aiming for the budget market - last time I looked there was little choice below Β£500 for a live steamer.

I've always liked the "Project Loco" and I've been in touch with Hale Bros. about ladder chain. The sprockets can be cut on the fiber laser.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Busted Bricks » Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:00 pm

Shipping got delayed because of the October holiday in China and a misunderstanding at the leasing company I'm using. However tomorrow is the day the laser sails from China and according to the sailing schedule the ship will dock in Hamburg on 29/11. I expect it will arrive here in Denmark app. a week after that. I still don't have a date for when the technician will arrive to do final installation and training but I really hope it can be sorted before Christmas so I can spend the week of holiday I have on tinkering with the machine.

I have collected a big stack of bar ends at work and I'm getting a lot of training on a CNC lathe so I hope to have a go at making some wheels after working hours.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Big Jim » Tue Oct 23, 2018 7:28 pm

That sounds like good news.
If at first you don't succeed, use a bigger hammer!

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by FWLR » Wed Oct 24, 2018 7:34 am

Hope all goes well….Hopefully you will be making some Xmas presents then.

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Busted Bricks » Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:11 am

I'm happy to say the laser is operational now. The technician was not able to come last week of December and I was not available in January due to an exam at the tech college I attend. However he did turn up on February 3rd. 3 days had been set aside for installation and training. However after 1.5 day we were done so he headed back to China (he had been to customer sites in Portugal, Italy and Greece before visiting me).

I'm very pleased with the machine. It's fast and has good edge quality. Between my day job and the laser cutting I do for regular customers there is not much time left for playing around with the machine but I have tried a few things out. I was keen to see if it could cut small, detailed parts. No problem there.
small grid SLG.jpg
small grid SLG.jpg (78.75 KiB) Viewed 3885 times
Here is a video of the part being cut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bbfPXCvpk0

Progress on loco building is stalled for the time being as I lack funds to buy in parts. Even though I can obtain parts at an attractive price from my place at work, they still need to be made in quantity to make it viable. An apprentice salary is minimum pay and unexpected expenses means I will need to start saving up again. It's not a project investors stand in line to support ;)

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by tom_tom_go » Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:25 am

Steel body kits with that kind of detail, sign me up!

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by FWLR » Sun Feb 24, 2019 8:47 am

Wow, that's impressive. Like Tom, sign me up too...

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Re: Annual loco sales?

Post by Busted Bricks » Sun Feb 24, 2019 9:59 am

Thanks guys. Whilst I now have the tool, I'm not sure I have the ability. I'd need the original loco to be able to design a body kit around it and I would also need an indication of what people are looking for, preferably pictures of the kind of detail they would like to see. There is a distinct shortage of narrow gauge locos around here to look at ;) ;) Even then it is tricky - it might well be that only one person likes a particular design. Us railway modellers are a picky lot. Just look at the discussions when one of the big manufacturers release a new model. Another example is when I offered to make wheels over on the 7/8ths forum. People were moaning about the lack of suitable wheels but could reach no consensus on what size/type they should be. With CNC manufacturing, the cost is in the setup time so a certain batch size has to be reached to make it viable. Because I own the fiber laser my cost to produce a body kit is quite reasonable but I would still need to be sure I can recuperate the time spent on designing the kit, which can be considerable.

What I am aiming for is to manufacture a complete loco of own design, then different body styles could be added. It's a big challenge and progress is painfully slow for a number of reasons. It's a labour of love more than anything else. My machines primarily earn a living cutting components for various customers.

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