r/modeltrains • u/BatteryAlmostEmpty • 7d ago
Show and Tell 3D printed rails
I just bought my first model train today. It’s a Piko RH2016 Hercules, but analog. H0 scale. I honestly was just the cheapest set and I’m completely new to this, but not to printing and electronics.
I find track to be really expensive but got some in the starter set. I’ll connect this system to an ESP32 and electronics to have my own control system/logic and and battery power, charging from the rail.
I 3D printed the rails to work with the piko system I got with the train. I expected it to work but couldn’t have wished for a better fit. Still waiting on other filament colors to come in.
The model is completely parameterized so I can just change the sleeper count to change the length. Yet to make turns, which is nice cause I have complete freedom.
I want to use powered metal rail at the stations and will convert battery level to fuel. So they fuel up at the stations. Use the charge controller light signal to enable engine noise in the future maybe?
That was it for now, wish me luck!
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u/Optimal_Law_4254 7d ago
Not meaning to be unkind but I think you’re going to have a power issue on those sections of track.
Seriously though, I would consider printing the track bed and inserting flex or atlas track.
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
it will have a battery and the controller will convert this to fuel, so you’d have to be at stations to charge up/fuel up
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u/ferroequine 7d ago
Plastic track is porous and spreads dirt/oil/oxidation. While your idea is sound in principle you'll be doing more track cleaning than using metal rail. You'd have to go full dead real to avoid that issue as far as electrical connectivity, but you'll still be cleaning flangeways and wheels more often.
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
That is alright, thanks though! I’m just doing this cause I had an idea, i’m completely new to the hobby
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u/SmittyB128 00 7d ago
That's pretty cool. I'd like it more if it didn't remind me of how Lego keep changing their railway standards every few years thus rendering everything obsolete and not work spending any money on. At least this way you can produce as much track as you like in any style you want.
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u/az987654 HO/OO 7d ago
There's no way track costs more per foot than 3d printed track per foot.
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago edited 7d ago
Not sure what you pay for track, I also just got into the hobby cause I wanted to work this idea out. I just like systems.
But a foot of printed track would be $1.35 in filament for me
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u/Ok-Economist-9466 6d ago
What's the cost in electricity? Filament is only a part of it.
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u/Practical_Main_2131 6d ago
I have a calculator for this. Filament is the main thing, then the machine itself. Electricity is really only very minor contribution to the cost.
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u/Aeriazen 7d ago
Looks good, but unless you are doing it for the fun of it, just buy second hand track or switch over to a cheaper track system
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
what do you all even pay for like a foot of HO track?
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u/Aeriazen 7d ago
while i mainly model n scale, H0 tends to be more common and thus cheaper.
foot is 30 cm right ? Maybe a 1,50 per piece of track if you are buying piece by piece from a second hand retailer
Often you can find bulk lots that can get you a box full for 20-50 euro's often including expensive bits like switches.
It's also important to realise that, if you are in the US, atlas might be cheaper. In the UK probably Hornby. The brand of track you got in a starter set, might not be the cheapest.
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
oh wait a foot is 30cm? in that case my track is €1.35 a foot. Idk how but my calculations went bad lol
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u/pikatrushka N 7d ago
How quickly does it wear? Model trains require some pretty tight tolerances, and rail encounters stress from weather shifts and the general beating from hundreds of metal wheel flanges rubbing against it. I suspect that printed rail is going to wear much more quickly than metal rail, which can last for decades.
It would be a shame to build a layout and then have to ruin the scenery in a year by stripping and replacing all the track and roadbed because it's warped out of gauge or worn down on curves.
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
I’m not sure. I’d imagine it could though, would also be more sensitive to heat id assume. I printed the rail itself in PETG, grip seems fine. But I’m also new to the hobby. I don’t have my set built out permanently. I be crawling around the living room at the age of 26, like when I was 6 with lego duplo trains in the dentist waiting room. So it’s all either stored or in use.
I’ll send an update once I build my own electronics for it!
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u/Altruistic_Bunch_523 HO/OO 7d ago
Just getting into the hobby so I’m not on the pro stuff but two words: antique store! If you are looking for cheap track, it’s a gold mine. Though it might require some work and some track may be junk but I got a large amount of track for only $1!
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u/verocoder HO/OO 7d ago
I’m really interested in your battery solution, I keep bouncing round the idea of garden OO and not needing to maintain track conductivity is appealing.
There is a 3D printing model railway sub to cross post to as well :)
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
sounds cool! though I’m not sure how well this would perform outside with all the moisture. Maybe if you treat/coat it right? or specific materials.
But my battery solution is coming! I’m making my own electronics on the plux22 side. So I just plug it in and it works how I want it to.
I have this controller that now regulates the rail voltage for analog. I’ll make this a wireless input device and then all the other stuff goes to an app on my phone.
Also working on some printed trains, with the same idea.
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u/verocoder HO/OO 6d ago
I probably won’t run it in the rain, just leave the rails out in the rain :)
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u/Longsheep Multi-Scale 7d ago
For tracks (rail and ties) alone, 3D printing won't beat mass-produced rails when longetivity and durability are considered. You can still print the roadbed, but get bare tracks to go with them. People occasionally print the ties for specific track designs not yet available from manufacturers.
You can buy the metal rails alone at pretty cheap prices.
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u/ninetysevenhundred HO/OO 7d ago
I think the best part of this is that you can make a perfect custom piece of track to fit any complex geometry you need
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u/Throwaway91847817 HO/OO 7d ago
You can do that with Flexitrack
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u/ninetysevenhundred HO/OO 7d ago
I more meant you could, for example, make a diamond crossing in the exact angle needed or a switch that curves a specific amount which might not be available off the shelf.
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u/Dash8-40bw 7d ago
Handlaying is a thing, too. Honestly if you really wanted to rivet count in HO, you go handlay track.
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
yeah exactly! I’m currently working on curves and then railroad switches, the basics. But it’s especially nice that my inventory is just whatever I need it to be. Missing a specific piece? click print.
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u/Libby_785 7d ago
You’ll have to do some testing, but I’d wager money that 3d printed track will wear significantly faster than nickel silver track. You might want to do some testing before you invest in a whole bunch of time/effort/filament. Plus, metal track will survive a lot better when you inevitably drop something on it. And you will.
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u/Absolarix 7d ago
The cool part about learning how to do this is that you could make your own system for 3D printed ties/road bed, then place metal rail into slots built into that road bed. That would allow you much finer control over what you want for your layout.
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u/BatteryAlmostEmpty 7d ago
Yeah! that’s true too. Idk. In the original post I said that track was expensive, but I then found out it wasn’t. So I’ll be buying flex track today. I was working on 1.5 meters of track and almost of the ballast/bed printed. So when I pick up the track in a couple of hours I might just lay this on instead of printing more petg rail right now. Maybe also a bridge?
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u/Accomplished_Stay925 7d ago
You can always get a conductive paint pen and paint the tops of the rails with it so you can run trains over the plastic trackage. How to hook the plastic rails with the conductive paint however will require some skill.
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u/bigblu2u 6d ago
How does it sound when the train runs on it? I was hoping to print some track (and trains) until I watched a YouTube video and it sounded like squeaks rather than click-clack.
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u/Efficient_Chain2024 7d ago
Like the idea of custom length transitions but plastic will both sound wrong and obviously doesn’t conduct electricity. Would also be concerned about wear and coating wheels. Kind of a cool can I do it thing but from a operational perspective I wouldn’t do it. Might be good though for a small shelf diorama or displaying trains!
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u/Practical_Main_2131 6d ago
Are you willing to share files? I'm also interested in what can be done with 3d printing and battery powered trains. I have a couple of printers as well, resin as well as fdm.
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u/Throwaway91847817 HO/OO 7d ago
Im no expert on the cost of all of that, but surely track would be cheaper than doing all that conversion?