Chris' Build of a Lombard Hauler Engine

[crueby]

That curved T might need to be printed.  Perhaps a Shapeways job?

I presume the door hinge was checked against interference with the blast nozzle.

Could a printed part withstand the hot oily steam exhaust? It would have to be the right material.


I was thinking about making it in an upper and lower half, milling the channel with a ball end mill, soldering the two halves together, then shaping the outside down. A bit tricky, but that pipe is very visible in the final model, want to get the right look.


The hinge only intrudes 3/8" in to the smokebox, the stack outer diameter starts more than that back in, so plenty of clearance for the exhaust tube and chuffer. The chuffer is ordered, and just got word that the front plate for the door has shipped, pics when those arrive.

[kvom]

They print the part in wax and cast it in the material you choose.  Cost is per cubic cm, so you can design and upload an STL for free to get a quote.

Two 90-degree el fittings machine in the center of the output and soldered might work as well.

[crueby]

They print the part in wax and cast it in the material you choose.  Cost is per cubic cm, so you can design and upload an STL for free to get a quote.

Two 90-degree el fittings machine in the center of the output and soldered might work as well.

Ooh, interesting, didn't know that was an option. Do you think they could cast it with a core so the curved sections would be hollow? That is the key for this part.

[crueby]

This morning I got the first sections of the piping fitted from the boiler down to the engines. At this point, realized that I need to drill the mount holes for the front boiler support cradle and make the strap over the firebox to lock the boiler down before I can do the final pipe section. So, that is next then finish the pipes. The angle looks odd in this picture, since the pipe was not screwed all the way in, and the elbow's weight is tipping it forward. It will get some sealant in the threads when it is tightened up for good.

[Dan Rowe]

Chris,
They use a 3D printer to print the part and it can be hollow, you have to obey the thickness rules for the material. The wax is then investment cast which also works with hollow parts as the investment will fill the void. The bronze is 90% copper 10% tin so that is my usual choice. I have had casting numbers put on 7/8" Shay truck boxes and it looks great.

Dan

[crueby]

Chris,
They use a 3D printer to print the part and it can be hollow, you have to obey the thickness rules for the material. The wax is then investment cast which also works with hollow parts as the investment will fill the void. The bronze is 90% copper 10% tin so that is my usual choice. I have had casting numbers put on 7/8" Shay truck boxes and it looks great.

Dan

Interesting. Just went and looked at their web site, looks like this fitting could be made quite easily there. I would prefer to be able to make it myself, so will try it first, but it looks like a great backup. Going to keep them in mind for future stuff - thanks!

[crueby]

I got the boiler shell bolted down to the front support frame, and added a strap over the back end to the firebox shell, which will be hidden by the cab. Also made up the angle braces that run from the front of the boiler down to the front of the frame. They were made with a little blacksmith elf from a bit of thin rod stock, heated up and hammered flat at the ends, then heated again and the bends put in.

Then the ends were drilled for the bolts, and rounded off on the belt sander. These supports were part of the reason for the long hidden hinge, the door assembly has to swing out and away enough to clear the left side one.

Here are a couple of family shots of everything so far. The piping to the cylinders is done too. I ran some air in through the backhead fitting to the steam pipe, and it ran the engine, though there was one leak at the right lower elbow. That has been re-sealed, should be able to post a video of it later or tomorrow morning.

[crueby]

And for those who don't believe it without pictures and/or video, here is the new steam piping after fixing the one leak, running on compressed air. The air was connected to the steam tube on the backhead, which will take the output of the throttle valve (once that is made), runs down the inside of the boiler at the top to the steam box, then tees out to each cylinder from the sides of the smokebox. On this run, I was using the regulator on the compressor, which is a very coarse valve, hard to control, so it starts way too fast then I was able to throttle it back down a bit. It runs much smoother with the needle valve in the line. All looks good so far, so on to the exhaust piping...

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkNJhuTFvFM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkNJhuTFvFM</a>

[gbritnell]

Hi Chris.
I have been following along since day one of the build. I have picked up so many tips and machining setups along the way. A very unique and outstanding build.
gbritnell

[b.lindsey]

Outstanding Chris!! Thank for the video too😊

Bill

[crueby]

Hi Chris.
I have been following along since day one of the build. I have picked up so many tips and machining setups along the way. A very unique and outstanding build.
gbritnell

Great to have you along on the build. Next part, the exhaust manifold, should be an interesting one too, think I know how it will be done as a two piece shell.

[Johnmcc69]

 
Oh man Chris, this thing is really looking the part! I can't wait to see it running on steam!
 Fantastic work!

 John

[fumopuc]

Hi Chris thanks for the new video. Always a pleasure to see the progress.

[kvom]

As an exercise in Solidworks, I modeled the T.  I uploaded it to Shapeways, and the cost to cast it in either bronze or brass is $14.  As modeled, I set the wall thickness to .015", which they gave a warning about.  Should be about .025" minimum.  The tubes are .25" diameter so that could be adjusted to fit the scale.

I also submitted a half section thinking that two could be soldered together, but the price each was the same.

It would probably  not cost much to add the three flanges and save that part of the job.

Not sure how it would be done in Inventor, but in SW it's 2 sweeps and 2 sweep cuts.

[crueby]

As an exercise in Solidworks, I modeled the T.  I uploaded it to Shapeways, and the cost to cast it in either bronze or brass is $14.  As modeled, I set the wall thickness to .015", which they gave a warning about.  Should be about .025" minimum.  The tubes are .25" diameter so that could be adjusted to fit the scale.

I also submitted a half section thinking that two could be soldered together, but the price each was the same.

It would probably  not cost much to add the three flanges and save that part of the job.

Not sure how it would be done in Inventor, but in SW it's 2 sweeps and 2 sweep cuts.

Very slick! If the home built one fails, will give them a try. Imagine submitting the entire model... Instant kit! Very interesting to have a service like that. Opens up all sorts of things...