Large Scale Central

3D printed RS3 coupler box

Hey guys,

Had a request so I made a conversion box for the Aristocraft RS3 that uses the Kadee centerset 907 coupler.

Shared on Thingiverse for all https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3983036

NO cutting or gluing

Nice looking!

Do your couplers have the smooth round hole or the hole with 2 facets? There’s a slight difference in clearances between the two types of couplers (this change not announced by Kadee)

Also, just checking, but looks like you put the coupler “in” as deep as you could given the existing “bulkhead” that is part of the pilot assembly, right?

Greg

Dan, Nicely done. What type printer did you use to make the example box?

One thing to watch out for is pilot warpage on some of Aristo’s RS3s. This can affect box mounting height and leveling for coupler alignment with the Kadee 980 gauge.

-Ted

Greg Elmassian said:

Nice looking!

Do your couplers have the smooth round hole or the hole with 2 facets? There’s a slight difference in clearances between the two types of couplers (this change not announced by Kadee)

I have both but there seems to be little difference. Guess the one without the facets is slightly looser. EDIT 19Nov It’s the opposite. The one WITH the facets is a bit looser.-dg

Also, just checking, but looks like you put the coupler “in” as deep as you could given the existing “bulkhead” that is part of the pilot assembly, right?

Yes, this box sits firmly against the the back of the pilot assembly and makes contact with the top as well. Maybe this helps https://www.3dvieweronline.com/members/Idbf3db48ad49a6cbe21fa3ec8b97c8b83/Cag0BHmtbTDaKR8

Ted Doskaris said:

Dan, Nicely done. What type printer did you use to make the example box?

Thanks Ted. I have a Printrbot simple metal.

One thing to watch out for is pilot warpage on some of Aristo’s RS3s. This can affect box mounting height and leveling for coupler alignment with the Kadee 980 gauge.

I read that in your vignette. I see no warpage on either end of my critter but I suppose if there was, I could reprint with a slant to compensate. That’s the great thing about 3d printing.(https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Hi Dan,

Thanks for posting to thingverse. I’m getting my first SLA printer on Wed going to make this the first project, wish me luck. And thanks Greg for pointing it out to me.

Dave

Dave Stubbs said:

Hi Dan,

Thanks for posting to thingverse. I’m getting my first SLA printer on Wed going to make this the first project, wish me luck.

You’re welcome Dave. But I don’t think this should be printed with an SLA.

I recently requested sample resin parts from Formlabs to do my own outdoor exposure tests. Last week I received a follow up call and spoke at length with the representative about the use of their strongest SLA resins specifically for model train parts used outdoors. His advice was the resin they call “tough” would be best suited for static detail parts but should be given a coat of paint and not use resin for any parts that would receive impact or stress. An alternative would be to make a master to cast the part in something stronger.

Good luck