An open wagon for bulk loads

Drawing and design

The above drawing for Fal type 1000 F2 from the NMBS wagon documentation was used as base for setting out a new drawing with milling plan in Corel draw.

According to the numbers this wagon should conform the diagram but it clearly has different horizontal reinforcements. The type 1000 H1 looks to be closer, photo AV.

This is the Fal type 1000 H1, photo AV.

A CFL private wagon from Arbed where the body conforms the drawing but it has 2 full width operator's platforms and only a single lifting hook per side. Photo AV.

Fal 547385 Private wagen from ETL, photo by Geert Nauwelaerts taken in the sixties. It looks like it is renumbered, thus probably taken after 1958 but before the new UIC numbering. The Y25 bogies were not invented yet and it probably has oil bearings, also the UIC lifting hooks were not there.

This Cockerill Sambre wagon has the same bogies as the older wagen but with roller bearings, again different pattern on top part and no lifting hooks. It looks to be slightly lower than the wagon beyond it.

Screendump of Corel drawing with cutting plan using colours for cutters and depths (note this is not the complete plan as the floor fails).

As you can see there exist a lot of variations with different patterns for the reinforcements on the outside and also having different colours (brown, grey, blue etc) running for various private operators and different steelworks, making it an interesting wagon. The above plan shows the wagon base including a jig for constructing it, mainly using 1 mm ps. The main body consists of 4 sides and 1 sheet for the (folded) bottom of the hopper and a wagon floor to sit it on. The plan is showing colours for different depths and cutters. The cutter paths are directly generated in Corel using the contour function. The text documents the various colours, because that is important, but volatile information, which I tend to forget before the project is even finished.
Apart from these 6 base parts there are several smaller details that need to be stuck on such as the internal reinforcements, lifting hooks and levers for operation. The lifting hooks were originally on the hopper piece, but were separated as these turned out to be too delicate and broke off during construction. The bogies are a 3D component and specifically designed for this wagon. The buffers are also CNC milled from 2 mm PS as done on the Hbikks, this is easier than turning them on the lathe as they can be made from sheet material instead of rod or bar.

The cosmetic part of the bogie designed in C4D.

CAD View of repaired drawing with the adapted spring version.

Production

ß The complete bogie (painted) as produced by the Anycubic Photon 3D printer

The bogie comes out satisfying but there are anomalies visible, these are not from the printer but are in the drawing due to some unfortunate action and observed too late, this will be repaired in due time. As you can see the springs have too many windings, which is an easy to change parameter in the drawing, all details are there such as the 4 bolts on the axle box, the brakes etc. Who would expect all of this to come out a consumer printer? These bogies are printed upside down, but who knows, maybe vertical is even better, I just have to try and see. Originally the axles were 2mm SA 12.25 mm in top hats, but these fell out far too easily. The latest version uses 1 mm diameter axles of 14 mm length, directly running into the axle boxes of 3D printed resin. These run very light and don't fall out. If wear becomes a problem then the bogies can be quickly replaced with a new print.

The wagon body glued together and loosely put on wheels.

The plain underside with the bogies screwed to the floor.

Normally the fiche also shows the floorplan of the construction but that is missing here. However the floor is completely invisible thus in this case I made the floor a plain 1 mm sheet to hold the body and the bogies together. There is a bit of weight on top of the floor beneath the hopper. The bogies are mounted on 2.5 mm turned brass pivots that are screwed to the floor with 2 M 1.4's

Current situation with a painted prototype.

The photo shows the near complete painted prototype. Some numbers and the paperwork grid and some brake details are to still to do. Weathering will follow as these wagon were pretty filty and dusty with the red iron ore they carried.
This can be the first of a series, although this diagram is of a later built wagon, similar wagons were already in use in the fifties as there exist photos of 21 of these wagons behind 2 type 26 steamers and also as double traction of a Nohab diesel with a type 26 running iron ore from Lorraine in France to the steel works in Liege. Thus an appropiate wagon for a 'Gag' on Fremo meetings.

Batch production of a series of sides for 7 wagons on the bed of the milling machine.

Small scale batch production of Y25 bogies with a series of 10 on the platform of the printer, still wet here before cleaning.

front and center a 3D printed 1000F2 body before a completed 1000 H1

It concerns a very easy model needing only a quarter of the wagon drawn up and having the 2D drawings anyway, thus I decided on a trial test. The wall thickness is challenge for 3D printing, 0.4 mm with some ribs of 0.4 mm on top of it. I modified the drawing to the type 1000F2 with heavier angular horizontal beams such as visible on one photos at the start. First print with 2 saw one coming out quite well in run of 2 examples, the other one had some problems in keeping straight and was thrown away. The above photo clearly shows the differences between the original and the newer reinforced wagon bodies. A scond batch of 5 showed that from left to right the printing quality decreased. This needs further inspection. But above photo shows a milled example beside the first print of the H2 painted with brown primer and one of the 5 wagons from the second batch still unpainted. The CNC mill wins hands-up in crispness and flatness, but by taking certain measures to keep them straight during hardening the 3D printed ones win in time/effort required. For highest quality a mixed approach with the long sides milled on top of a 3D printed bottom and heads could be the best solution.
Current state is 8 milled ones in rtr state, a further 3 milled ones still in the flat and possibly 6 3D printed ones requiring a frame plus bogies. However axles and wheels are holding up finishing, this needs a batch of 100 FS160 compatible axles, preferably 5.8 mm diameter wheels on 13.8 mm axles. Cheapest approach is ordering a batch of 5.8 mm N-scale replacement wheels and adapt these to FS160, but this requires a serious time effort in turning them to FS160 profile.

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copyright: Henk Oversloot
date: 11 Jan 2019
update: 30 Dec 2022