very cool stuff
keep up the good wrok!
JKS
Here’s a first pass at a whole diaphragm. It’s really tricky to keep everything aligned with the stretchy fabric, but I’m getting the hang of it. That center rib should be as tall as the one at the engine end. The other end is larger.
You can see in the second photo how it attaches. The little tabs snap inside of the opening on the engine.
I have a working pair of diaphragms built, with magnets installed. They are plenty flexible for the minimum 4’ radius that I have on my layout. I haven’t tested them in motion yet, but they do snap back together when they come within a quarter inch or so of each other.
These are pretty messy. I am not a skilled model builder, and gluing the fabric to the plastic is a real challenge. I’ve been using superglue for these mockups, because I need it to set immediately. But it makes a mess, and I won’t be using TouchID on my phone for a few days.
Eric, They look great to me. Good job, Mark
Success! Video:
Eric
I think those are fantastic!
Tom
Videos from Springfield below. I’m happy to report that the diaphragms worked flawlessly over several hours of running through curves, double slips, and other abuse on the NHGRS layout this weekend. When the engines are backed together, the magnets find each other and engage, and when the pull apart, they disengage. I never had one disengage while running. I’ll post files and more info in a new thread when I get a chance.
Those look great. Sorry I wimped out and didn’t come up to Springfield to see them in person.
Can’t see the diaphragms functioning in those videos …but glad they worked out !
" Rooster " said:
Can’t see the diaphragms functioning in those videos …but glad they worked out !
Saw them live at the show and they looked and functioned excellent! Eric did a great job of choosing meterials as the magnets hold very well and the vinyl fabric is stiff enough so they don’t sag when disconnected.
I need them for my passenger train consist, can I get the step files or buy the frames from you?
(Santa Fe did silver)
Greg
OK I give up, cannot post a video… just youtube…
Either way. I’d be happy to print them or just send the files. That’s the easy part. Gluing the fabric is a PITA!
Eric, research the old bellows cameras and how they folded the bellows, it might help
The rubberized fabric doesn’t stay folded on its own, so it has to be glued to the forms to create the shape.
Bob Cope said:
Eric, research the old bellows cameras and how they folded the bellows, it might help
50 years ago this was the method;
https://sscale.org/pdfs/Making_Diaphragms.pdf
A smaller scale, but …