Laser Cutting

[DafyddElvy]

I asked this question on both of the face book tramway forums, unfortunately the reply's made me wonder if I shouldn't have come straight here first.

Can anyone suggest where I might be able to get some tram truck sides laser cut please, preferably in brass, thanks?

David

 

[3 minutes of fame]

Although I would be more than happy to cut them for you in 2mm ply, I am assuming this isn't what you are looking for!

Worth a general Google. I did approach a company who advertised their services with laser cutting of metal, but for a couple of small pieces, the setup fee of £75 made it too expensive to consider. If you can put together a larger order however, it might be worth considering as a group buy.

 

[maxi-model]

Have a word with David Williams at Resurgam Resurgam Rolling Stock He used a contract supplier to do his initial ply and MDF cutting a couple of years ago when he started out. He showed his first offerings on their stand at the Warley NEC show 2-3 years ago. They really know how to do cutting. Perhaps they will be able to do the job for you too.

If you are wanting brass then you will probably be looking at a photo etching process rather than laser cutting. Photo etching allows much finer detail to be incorporated including engraved paneling overlays insitu and suchlike. My old supplier Photo Etch Consultants Home are still going strong. All you would need is to draw a the part (following a few simple conventions, they could even do it for you) x 2 actual size and a prototype tool (photographic film plate) could be made up for a one off. There is very helpful guy there (name escapes me right now) in their design department). I only contacted them a couple of weeks ago to talk about a job II was thinking of doing. They do up to 0.9 mm thickness of material, and not just brass.

However, as mentioned above, all this costs. But worth a look, especially if you are gong to use this as a means of making standardized parts that you will be making a number of tram variants from..... or selling ! Max

 

[DafyddElvy]

Ideally it brass I'd prefer, me and wood are not the best of friends, I tend to turn wood in to fire wood.

I hadn't considered etching, I already use Photo Etch for my 7mm scale kits and would agree they a good to deal with, they listen and try to give you what you want.
Max you really have got the grey cells going now, if I'm clever I should be able come up with a three layer etch which should cover most wheel bases for different trucks, ooo you have got the grey cells twitching now, thanks.

David

 

[maxi-model]

Ideally it brass I'd prefer, me and wood are not the best of friends, I tend to turn wood in to fire wood.

I hadn't considered etching, I already use Photo Etch for my 7mm scale kits and would agree they a good to deal with, they listen and try to give you what you want.
Max you really have got the grey cells going now, if I'm clever I should be able come up with a three layer etch which should cover most wheel bases for different trucks, ooo you have got the grey cells twitching now, thanks.

David

The other thing with photo etching is that you can etch both sides of the material. E.G. You could etch longitudinal lines to ease bending of the material to create "tumble home" curvature and folds. Or you can half etch details that would represent an overlay panel. And you have the full size of the sheet you are using and any "redundant" areas, used for apertures, to cram in any detailing and sundry additional components that you can fit in. If you need multiple units then you go to a "step and repeat" photo tool.

While I appreciate you may have reservations about laser cut ply or MDF take a look at a 16 mm scale Resurgam or Lineside Hut made kit some time. their products are very cleverly conceived and executed. They make use of laser engraved lines, and sometimes very thin materials, for surface detail and on the reverse of ply to aid its bending to meet tight curvature. Max

 

[DafyddElvy]

The other thing with photo etching is that you can etch both sides of the material. E.G. You could etch longitudinal lines to ease bending of the material to create "tumble home" curvature and folds. Or you can half etch details that would represent an overlay panel. And you have the full size of the sheet you are using and any "redundant" areas, used for apertures, to cram in any detailing and sundry additional components that you can fit in. If you need multiple units then you go to a "step and repeat" photo tool.

While I appreciate you may have reservations about laser cut ply or MDF take a look at a 16 mm scale Resurgam or Lineside Hut made kit some time. their products are very cleverly conceived and executed. They make use of laser engraved lines, and sometimes very thin materials, for surface detail and on the reverse of ply to aid its bending to meet tight curvature. Max

Max,

I wouldn't dis laser cut ply it has its place, I just don't think it is the material for my application.

I like brass, I can work with brass, I can solder brass, brass allows fine detailing, brass I find forgiving if handled roughly. I'm afraid its brass (or nickel silver) truck sides for me.

David