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Post by canrailfan on Dec 27, 2018 14:52:50 GMT -8
Robots are extremely accurate and what they do is repeatable over and over with far greater accuracy than humans. A robot would not need a jig for drilling holes. It is programmed to move to specific locations and drill holes in the exact same spot at the exact same angle at the exact same depth every time. A robot can install/insert parts far more accurately than a person can. Robots assemble computers, cell phones, electronics, stuff far more tolerance critical than model trains, every day, all over the world. ... Automation is everywhere in manufacturing and is rapidly expanding. Model train manufacturing has evolved very little since the 1960s. The processes have become a little more complex (more individual parts), but the overall methods have remained virtually unchanged. In theory a 'pick and place' machine like those used in the electronics industry could be used to add detail parts to a model locomotive shell or freight car. There is no question that the required accuracy is achievable and it's an interesting possibility to contemplate. But such machines are only possible in the electronics industry because of years of work standardizing the supply chain that feeds these machines, a supply chain that is used across all manufacturing by many separate companies. In scale model railroad terms that would imply various manufacturers specializing in only particular parts such as truck side-frames, horns, lights, air tanks... actually they do exist already don't they? Next would be a standard method of 'packaging' all the parts for use in a 'pick and place' assembly system. All parts manufacturers would have to agree on one common package format for each type of part. Finally, the various model manufacturers would have to agree to use the 'common parts supply' in their models. This might lead to better models in the sense that an 'accurate' part could used on many models but might make it harder for manufacturers to differentiate themselves from others producing the same model. In the near term such a revolution is unlikely to come about. However there are ways to reduce the manual work currently needed to produce railroad models. One example is removing parts from sprues; Kadee appears to use a punch-like knife block that removes all parts from a sprue in a single stroke, Chinese factories use a number of employees snipping parts from sprues one at a time. Another is robotic painting which could require fewer people and yield more uniform paint thickness and coverage, after the initial expense of setting up the robots of course. The automotive industry discovered robots could apply a better paint job many years ago. Once a manufacturer starts to reduce the manual (human) effort required for each model, the possibility of bringing model manufacturing back to North America will improve. |
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Post by thunderhawk on Dec 27, 2018 19:48:07 GMT -8
The contact page works now. Just an oversight and I didn't expect so many visitors almost immediately.
For the poster saying the site is unsecure; I have no idea why your browser is saying that as it does have a valid security certificate. Validated by a couple payment processors as well. Try it again and see what it says?
Stanchions are a hot topic... Those are still up in the air as I want them to be well detailed yet strong while also not being a nightmare to install.
Frankly, I'd love to sell them all as undecorated kits, but that is not viable in today's market.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2018 21:33:20 GMT -8
At least offer undecorated kits; as there are those of us that are still interested in rolling our own stuff. The stanchions would be a welcomed thing...as it is something that is needed in HO scale for pretty much every manufacturer that uses the "scale-sized" delrin stuff...
With all the 1970's EMD locomotives out there...in HO scale...it would be very nice to have state-of-the-art EMD stanchions to retro-fit as we go along building our engine fleets.
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Post by thunderhawk on Dec 27, 2018 21:43:38 GMT -8
I added undec kits to the site about an hour ago. Good timing...
The nice thing about producing here is it is much easier to do variations and make running changes. Product can be shipped as it's produced, so if an order comes in for an undec kit it's trivial to fill that order.
And I hate flying, so China is not an option.
I'll see what we can put together with the stanchions. It's important to stay focused however as I don't want to be Railflyer with 1000 products in development while actually delivering next to nothing.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2018 5:12:25 GMT -8
Excellent!
Thank you!
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Post by SOMECALLMETIM on Dec 28, 2018 5:22:11 GMT -8
Will this be resin, 3D printed, cast, etc model? What level of detail will be offered with product? What other release information can you share?
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Post by roadkill on Dec 28, 2018 6:56:39 GMT -8
I generally shy away from anything that strays from my era and/or area of modeling interest but I gotta admit this is one loco that could cause me to stray.
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Post by sd40dash2 on Dec 28, 2018 6:57:58 GMT -8
Can you also tell us who you are? One of the main characteristics of all vapourware companies is how they hide behind aliases and do not tell us anything about who they are personally. They always seem to have a relatively advanced knowledge of the prototype for a total newbie. Why not properly identify yourself?
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Post by thunderhawk on Dec 28, 2018 8:42:31 GMT -8
Will this be resin, 3D printed, cast, etc model? What level of detail will be offered with product? What other release information can you share? Well, as I stated earlier, I didn't expect the site to be found so soon. Guess I should have put one of those cloak plug ins on it. It is nice to see a fair bit of interest however. I don't want to say too much as some things are not set in stone at this time. The level of detail will be comparable to the other higher end models on the market. Separate grabs, see through fans, etc. There's no way I can expect to move product at today's pricing and expectations with less than that. I'd like to do all metal handrails but I'm concerned about assembly and painting them so that hasn't been decided. Obviously it's different doing one on the bench versus 500 of them... Production of the shells will be with the Carbon DLP process. The only concern, after seeing samples, is the door latches may be difficult to get the depth of detail I'd like. No worse than the typical brass shell however. The resolution is .003 on two axis with the ability for .001 on the third, so detail generally isn't a problem. And to answer the other questipn; I'm not an industry big wig that you see all over youtube or at the shows. I know today is different with the internet but I do feel a bit of privacy shouldn't be out of the question. Saying that, you can call me Todd. And frankly, as noted earlier I have posted it on a FB page so it's not like I'm hiding. Edit-Concerning the newbie comment; I wrote an article for CTC Board back in 2000. Hope that's old enough... |
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Post by gevohogger on Dec 28, 2018 8:50:36 GMT -8
Will this be resin, 3D printed, cast, etc model? What level of detail will be offered with product? What other release information can you share? The only concern, after seeing samples, is the door latches may be difficult to get the depth of detail I'd like. No worse than the typical brass shell however.
Your concern is warranted. The typical brass diesel has AWFUL door latch and hood door detail. Horrid.
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Post by stottman on Dec 28, 2018 9:55:18 GMT -8
On a related note, I saw in ad in facebook today for what basically amounted to 3D printed molds for injection molding. Obviously using something better then what shapaways prints with.
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Post by csxt8400 on Dec 31, 2018 10:10:42 GMT -8
Would love to see them in WC livery as well, but I could probably get the ole' airbrush out, I suppose.
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Post by thunderhawk on Jan 1, 2019 14:12:22 GMT -8
Would love to see them in WC livery as well, but I could probably get the ole' airbrush out, I suppose. Two WC units with pine tree ends are planned along with the MILW's. The full description on either of the MILW unit's shows the planned models. The WC's will have ditch lights and retention tanks while the MILW's will be with and without winterization hatches along with the early and late cut levers along with accompanying end plate mods. Electronic bell/air powered high mount bell also depending on time period and the same for billboard lettering. Edit-Snow shields as well. They didn't have too many variations thankfully. Nose and cab vents are different between the two orders for one. May do some Bandits if there are enough requests. They ran briefly on Soo and then the DME so it may induce a bit more interest. Bandit's would be plausible for those that freelance as well. Don't care for them myself but it comes down to producing what people want. |
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Post by thunderhawk on Jan 1, 2019 14:22:08 GMT -8
I wonder how good is the cardboard box it comes packed in? Reused Nike boxes. Putting the money in the model, not the packaging. |
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Post by GP40P-2 on Jan 1, 2019 16:50:56 GMT -8
I wonder how good is the cardboard box it comes packed in? Reused Nike boxes. Putting the money in the model, not the packaging. Awesome reply! Hoping your “just do it” approach works out well for you (and the hobby). |
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Post by csxt8400 on Jan 1, 2019 17:52:42 GMT -8
Would love to see them in WC livery as well, but I could probably get the ole' airbrush out, I suppose. Two WC units with pine tree ends are planned along with the MILW's. The full description on either of the MILW unit's shows the planned models. The WC's will have ditch lights and retention tanks while the MILW's will be with and without winterization hatches along with the early and late cut levers along with accompanying end plate mods. Electronic bell/air powered high mount bell also depending on time period and the same for billboard lettering. Edit-Snow shields as well. They didn't have too many variations thankfully. Nose and cab vents are different between the two orders for one. May do some Bandits if there are enough requests. They ran briefly on Soo and then the DME so it may induce a bit more interest. Bandit's would be plausible for those that freelance as well. Don't care for them myself but it comes down to producing what people want. That is great news! Excited to see some artwork, if you need some extra eyes or info let me know. I have some pretty good WC contacts including myself. |
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Post by thunderhawk on Jan 1, 2019 18:42:06 GMT -8
I'm always looking for more info. The problem is they are now in Chile making things a bit more difficult. The trucks have been the biggest issue as I have not been able to locate detailed drawings of them. (Have them for the rest of the locomotive. From the MILW mech dept.) Section widths and such. I have enough to put them together but would like to know for sure every dimension is correct or as close as can be on an HO scale locomotive. If someone at WC/CN should know of a set the mech dept stashed away that would be beyond great. Take a close look at the trucks. They really are odd. Moreso than I ever noticed before really digging into them. |
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Post by GP40P-2 on Jan 1, 2019 19:51:33 GMT -8
I'm always looking for more info. The problem is they are now in Chile making things a bit more difficult. The trucks have been the biggest issue as I have not been able to locate detailed drawings of them. (Have them for the rest of the locomotive. From the MILW mech dept.) Section widths and such. I have enough to put them together but would like to know for sure every dimension is correct or as close as can be on an HO scale locomotive. If someone at WC/CN should know of a set the mech dept stashed away that would be beyond great. Take a close look at the trucks. They really are odd. Moreso than I ever noticed before really digging into them. Apparently, that is an EMD export truck. A manufacturer in Australia was having an Australian EMD/Cylde(?) model done in HO that had those trucks. A few people snagged some extra trucks from that manufacturer, for SDL39 projects. Maybe, if you can find the manufacturer or the Australian importer, your truck problem could be resolved if they could "do a deal." Might be worth checking out? |
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Post by GP40P-2 on Jan 1, 2019 20:19:47 GMT -8
Auscision Models. This appears to be the truck. SDL39 has two brake cylinders, while this has three, but the gear box and basic truck already exist. V-Line X Class |
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Post by thunderhawk on Jan 1, 2019 20:31:26 GMT -8
Auscision Models. This appears to be the truck. SDL39 has two brake cylinders, while this has three, but the gear box and basic truck already exist. V-Line X ClassThe trucks have been made by at least three foreign manufacturers that I know of (Auscision, Roco, and Austrains iirc. The Roco is for a Spanish prototype.) but they all have clasp brakes. The gear box isn't so much the issue, but rather wanting to get the sideframes correct. They bulge around the bolster springs and I don't have that dimension. Edit-It's actually the 421 class from Auscision that has the trucks. The X class has different axle spacing. www.auscisionmodels.com.au/421%20Class%20Locomotive.htm |
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Post by talltim on Jan 2, 2019 2:28:27 GMT -8
I wonder how good is the cardboard box it comes packed in? Reused Nike boxes. Putting the money in the model, not the packaging. I hope you've bought a lot of sneakers |
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Post by cf7 on Jan 2, 2019 5:50:21 GMT -8
As much as I would love to see this happen, this whole thing seems to have a familiar vibe to it. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about...
Hope I'm wrong.
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Post by Artur on Jan 2, 2019 8:53:32 GMT -8
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Post by oldmuley on Jan 2, 2019 18:47:35 GMT -8
OK, I'm interested, but... I can think of more than a dozen "pop up" manufacturers that promised us something amazing which then turned out to be hoaxes, jokes, empty promises, vaporware or scams. We've previously documented many of them on this thread. Quite honestly I'm going to keep my wallet firmly closed until I see some pre-production samples. Meanwhile, here's my crude attempt at a Kaslo Shops SLD39.  |
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