Monorail Sets? (not sure where to post (as usual))

[Daniel Johnson]

Lot's of public libraries are offering this service now. ...often coined as "maker spaces"

Funny you mentioned it. I discussed with a friend in Atlanta, one of the libraries up there (The name escapes me...too many drinks at dinner). He said it's a larger printer, you can buy material there. Something to look into.
And the others are right, How far down,the rabbit hole do you want to go? I really don't know much about scale trains, but to have a working set of each color monorail would be amazing...just beyond my expertise!

 

[landauh]

@landauh do you use a pressure/vacuum chamber when casting parts from alumilite and how do you handle undercuts?

I do not use a chamber as I find that it works fine without one. As for undercuts: it depends on the part. I sometimes make more than one mold and glue the smaller parts together to get the final version, other times the undercuts are not a problem with the flexible molding materials. I tend to make smaller parts out of larger ones to help me control the results. Since I only make parts for myself (don't sell them) the extra work is no issue as it gives me more to do.

 

[MonorailLover]

I'm trying to scan and 3d print some as we speak.

 

[nace888]

Yep, it's me. I had step away from the business last year due to the birth of a future monorail pilot who now crawls around the house and basically takes up all my free time.

Here's a video made by one my customers that shows a two train operation.

The associated website is: http://www.mylazyafternoon.com

The most cost effective way to build up a fleet is to buy incomplete or broken sets off eBay and mix and match the parts!

@landauh do you use a pressure/vacuum chamber when casting parts from alumilite and how do you handle undercuts?

AWE! Hope little baby Pilot gets up and walking soon!! And moreso, your upgrade business! I'd love to have something like this!

Part of my problem is finding sets WITHOUT doors and roof hatches. I don't need more small parts to worry about, yanno? So I'm perfectly happy with solid bodies. There's not often one of those appear.

I'm trying to scan and 3d print some as we speak.

Please let me know how it goes!!!!!

 

[Daniel Johnson]

I'm trying to scan and 3d print some as we speak.

How did it work out?

 

[WhatJaneSays]

My dad is a BIG toy monorail guy. He took a part a set and vacuformed each car to make a mould. The forms aren’t terribly durable but it was quick enough work to make new ones.

He did a set once in very thin black plastic and decaled it with a copy of the Tronorail wrap that I photoshoped together for him – it looked better that the real Tronorail set they did. It simply slipped over an existing train he had, he tacked it down with a few glue dots to keep it from getting knocked off by the cat.

(I also used one of the old moulds to make a white chocolate monorail for the top of his birthday cake last year!)

 

[mousehockey37]

I've also wondered about something similar to this.

They only put out 2 colors a year, and the dang things are expensive enough to start with. I wish they would sell just the train itself separate from all the track. 1 set of included track, even in "small" circle could have 2 trains on it.

That said, anyone know what 2 colors are out this year? Last year was Orange and Blue.

 

[MonorailLover]

How did it work out?

It'll take some time. I've been busy with school and need to recalibrate everything. By as we speak, i mean more I'm actually going to try to get to it soon.

I try... Lol

 

[nace888]

I figure, if you're able to make your own mold, you can make your own shells, and then just build the inside yourself, with new drive systems etc etc... I'm just not sure how to go about it really.

 

[nace888]

My dad is a BIG toy monorail guy. He took a part a set and vacuformed each car to make a mould. The forms aren’t terribly durable but it was quick enough work to make new ones.

He did a set once in very thin black plastic and decaled it with a copy of the Tronorail wrap that I photoshoped together for him – it looked better that the real Tronorail set they did. It simply slipped over an existing train he had, he tacked it down with a few glue dots to keep it from getting knocked off by the cat.

(I also used one of the old moulds to make a white chocolate monorail for the top of his birthday cake last year!)

Btw, do you have pictures of this? :O

 

[WhatJaneSays]

Btw, do you have pictures of this? :O

I unfortunataly do not have pics of the Tronorail - the thinness of the plastic backfired and got ruined quickly. (Florida summer sun + track near window = melty monorail) I'll have to see if I have some shots of the cake, but for ref it came out looking like a longer version of the one they offer at the Contemporary [link].

 

[Monorail fan(atic)]

Yep, it's me. I had step away from the business last year due to the birth of a future monorail pilot who now crawls around the house and basically takes up all my free time.

Here's a video made by one my customers that shows a two train operation.

The associated website is: http://www.mylazyafternoon.com

The most cost effective way to build up a fleet is to buy incomplete or broken sets off eBay and mix and match the parts!

@landauh do you use a pressure/vacuum chamber when casting parts from alumilite and how do you handle undercuts?

Hi Mike!
I've been looking for you for some time now. I'm glad you "disappeared" for a good reason.
I was fearing the worst...

I so wanted to buy one of your kits a few years ago, but was terminally destitute.
Thanks to Dave Ramsey and his wisdom I now have a little discretionary money.
However, your system is no longer available.
Is there any way or anywhere I can find one? I have several monorail sets that I would like to remote control and I really loved the idea of the simulator.

 

[ChrisFL]

Not sure how I didn't see this post until now.

There are some decent molding videos on Tested.com. They also have some good videos about the basics of 3D Printing also.

I love 3D printing as an idea, but it can still be relatively complicated to learn for now, unless you can find existing ones already. Look up Sketchfab.com or Thingiverse.com for models and you can choose a service like Shapeways to have them printed and shipped to you.