Custom motor and truck sides

[zephyr1934]

Recently I made some "three axle" sides for the standard Lego train motor. I've talked about these in two different threads, but both of those were focused on other topics, so I'm starting a dedicated thread here.

The first version had a faux middle wheel molded in to the side. The non-turning wheel is just a little higher off the rail and the flange a little smaller so that it can negotiate standard Lego switches and curves.

Trouble is, the faux wheel is the same material as the "frame," so it would look a little odd in gray. To solve this problem I've recently finished up v2, that has a hanger to hold a Lego wheel. So this time the middle wheel is the real deal. Like v1, the wheel is slightly raised so that it too can negotiate switches and R40 curves.

 

This image shows both how the wheel hanger works and the way the 6 long technic axles are discretely covered

 

Unfortunately these are still stupid expensive to fabricate. With v2 probably retailing on the order of $13 per motor side in black or gray. I don't like that price either, so I'm still searching for cheaper fabrication options. For now I am not going to list them in my store because I suspect the price is prohibitive for many. But they are now officially available by request [contact me via EB (zephyr1934) or bricklink (zephyr) messages]. If I am wrong and there is enough demand I will start stocking them. Meanwhile, comments and suggestions welcome.

 

[Phoxtane]

Would it be maybe be worth the time and investment to start making these yourself with an SLA 3D printer, such as the Anycubic Photon or similar?

The advantage to such a setup would be that you'd have total control over production (and cut out the middleman costs). Prototyping new parts would also become much cheaper for the same reasons. A resin printer would also eliminate the grainy texture the current parts have.

The downside of course is that resin printing is somewhat labor intensive, as the parts must be washed and cured after coming off the printer to come to full strength. In addition, the resin can result in severe irritation or even chemical burns if it gets on your skin, so gloves are necessary (and it's not recommended to breath the fumes, of course). And then there's the color matching issue - though you might be able to alleviate that with a very light colored resin that you could then dye to its final color. Of course, there might also be production capacity issues too - I don't know what sort of order volume you get, but one or even two or three printers might not be enough. 

EDIT: What about resin part strength? I'm not so sure it would be much of a concern - they might be comparable to the parts you're currently getting, maybe even stronger. I don't have any experience with resin, just old-fashioned FDM printing.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Phoxtane

[zephyr1934]

Unfortunately there is no cheap solution, as you enumerated, the resin printing brings in a lot more labor time. Also, one of the biggest points of putting these on shapeways or Sculpteo would be to overcome some of the costs and hassles of international shipping- incoming customs can be a major pain for the receiver in many (most?) countries.

[Bartybum]

How about silicone molding to then make a resin cast? That being said, I'm not sure how much cheaper that would be than getting an FDM printer which you could also use for other custom pieces. Either way, unless you're planning to sell a large bunch I dunno how well it'd pay off.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Bartybum