New 3 axle buckeye truck kits available

Hi everybody,

I was able to create some 3 axle buckeye trucks that work on MTL 60’ flat cars and MTL 50’ gondolas, both fishbelly and straight side versions. The truck features a coupler mount for MTL couplers. The coupler mounting screw is inserted into the top of the coupler instead of the bottom (due to design constraints of the FUD material). The coupler mount on the truck has a self-tapping hole for the coupler screw to screw into. These models can be found at my Shapeways store www.shapeways.com/shops/Micro%20American%20Rail%20Prototypes the trucks come in 2 sets per order.

The articulation pivot point on the 3 axle truck is offset from the center of the truck. The main reason is that it allows the truck to be used on the MTL rail cars mentioned above without having to modify the bolster location on the rail cars. Another reason is that the farther away the articulation pivot point is form the end of the truck mounted coupler, the farther out the coupler will swing on tight radius corners, making it more likely to cause a derailment.

The trucks can only be made in Frosted Ultra Detail material (FUD)which is acrylic based. Acrylic by nature is a bridal material. These are not mass produced injection molded ABS trucks. They don’t flex and spring back like MTL bogies do when you install or remove wheel sets. So use extreme care when installing your wheel sets

I have also posted some non-coupler mount 3 axle buckeye truck versions on my Shapeways store. These trucks were created for my 250 ton wreck crane and other rail car projects yet to be released. Take note of the different bolster mounting areas on the 3 different trucks. The bogie frame is the same on all 3 versions.

Unfortunately I can’t dictate the orientation of how Shapeways prints these trucks or any of the other models on my Shapeways store. There are 6 different possible orientations they can potentially print any model. That being said, the process requires using support material while printing these models. As many of you know who have ordered parts made of FUD, the support material can require some finishing work. It can leave a crystal like textured residue on the "A" side surfaces that does not look good when painted if not removed. If you’re lucky, the model will be printed in an orientation that the support material won’t show on the "A" side surfaces of the model. If you’re not so lucky, you might have to do some finishing work to remove the support material.

Please do contact me if you have any questions. So far I’ve had a lot of fun designing, creating and finishing these models. If free time exists, I will be releasing new models hopefully before the end of this year and at the beginning of next year.

Those are way cool, how well do they roll compare to the regular two axle?
Ben

I agree Ben! They look great!!!

Rob

Thanks guys, glad you like them.

Ben, they role good up to 195 mm radius track. Anything tighter then that, I have not tested on. But there is some good amount of slop built into them so you can install the wheel sets. As I said, FUD material does not have a lot of give.

I'm used to designing things with many constraints which actually makes things easier to design for components made by different OEMs. I'm quickly finding out nothing is standard in Z scale MFG.... All wheel sets all have different geometry from each other. So I designed these to work for MTL wheels, 36" DIA and 34" DIA.Will other wheel sets work on them? They might, or might not. I do know the trucks will not work on AZL gondolas because the bolster geometry is quite different then the MTL gondolas. The longer 3 axle bogies get hung up on the chassis on the AZL cars.

Yesterday I've ordered a few Shapeways trucks and some of Stony's models too.
$45.00 worth or parts, and this morning I was like, something is wrong, only $6.50
for shipping, that could not be right. I've dig more, and surprise! they are using UPS, and a custom fee bill of $55.00 or even more would have been waiting for me the next month. So I had to cancel my order. I had notice in the Shapeways forum that this is a recurrent discussed issue for Canadians.

How much do you guys in the U.S. pay to import Shapeways parts? Is the custom fees as ridiculous as ours?

Ben

$55? Holly crud! That's absolutely ridiculous.... I do have to pay NY sales tax (varies by county) of 8.625%, that's it, no custom fees what so ever... They ship out of NY and that's why I get sales tax added on. What the hell happened with all that NAFTA and free trade BS I keep being told is so good for both countries?... IS it just one way because I have ordered plenty of stuff from Canada and never got hit with anything close to that. Or is it a UPS custom fee factor for everything I've ordered from Canada did come threw USPS.

Anyway, I'm real sorry about that Ben. No model is worth a $55 fee. That's just beyond ridiculous... I'll make my frustration known to Shapeways but I'm sure I'm not the first one to do so on this subject or the last.

Please don't apologize, this is not your fault at all. It is related to Shapeways choice of shipper.
(An issue they have known for quite a wile now)
FedEx and UPS have ridiculous fees when they take care of custom papers.
I just received yesterday a FedEx bill of $40.00 for having purchase some $35.00 worth of stuff from www.squadron.com all related to their choice of courier. We don't pay much imports when we use USPS and Canada post. If staying all under $100.00 purchases. That's why whenever a store or a company is choosing UPS or FEdEx for low level prices items, it's a no show for us.

Ben

The only way we can get things into Canada at reasonable cost coming thru customs is via the post office mail, so it has to be shipped USPS from USA. We do not have to pay and duties just sales tax. If the value of the shipment is below the daily limit from USA there is no tax charged. IF over that we have to pay post office 8.50 per shipment because they pay the tax to the government and then collect it from us plus handling fee on delivery. I have discussed this with Shapeways on several occasions but they seem to want a signature on delivery EMS is better than UPS you pay more for shipping but at least we don't pay the broker fee charged by UPS and other couriers, only postal mail can enter Canada without brokerage fees.The only other way is to get a friend in the USA to purchase the goods and then ship to Canada via US Mail cheapest rate.

I think Shapeways does not want to have to take packages to post office in USA so they use UPS because they come to the door to pick it up.

regards Garth

Heavy-Equipment-Designer wrote: $55? Holly crud! That's absolutely ridiculous.... I do have to pay NY sales tax (varies by county) of 8.625%, that's it, no custom fees what so ever... They ship out of NY and that's why I get sales tax added on. What the hell happened with all that NAFTA and free trade BS I keep being told is so good for both countries?... IS it just one way because I have ordered plenty of stuff from Canada and never got hit with anything close to that. Or is it a UPS custom fee factor for everything I've ordered from Canada did come threw USPS.

Anyway, I'm real sorry about that Ben. No model is worth a $55 fee. That's just beyond ridiculous... I'll make my frustration known to Shapeways but I'm sure I'm not the first one to do so on this subject or the last.

Thanks Garth.

I've voiced my concern with Shapeways and they have told me that they have "something in the works for alternative shipping". How long until the fix? I don't know and I usually don't hold a lot of hope when no time frame is given....

I think its a bit of a catch 22 going on here. USPS will come and pick up packages from you business if you request it. You can get confirmation from USPS if you use "Priority Mail" service. The extra cost for the confirmation is minimal compared to a $55 fee. But the cost to send via Priority Mail to Canada is quite costly compared to domestic shipping or sending it to Canada threw regular mail. Plus I don't think they can do confirmation delivery when delivering packages in Canada.

Exactly right Garth, so with a little help from my friend , (Not the Beatles)
I'll be able to try some of your trucks Jon.

Ben