One Track Mine Co - part one

The three little One Track Mine Co. machines are so much fun I decided to build them first as some sample models. As I designed the routing reliefs I made some modifications to make them better. I'm sure more modifications will follow as we build the pieces full size as well.

I built the vector files completely in EnRoute. The track files are a lot like the tank files we built a little while ago but these sport a little more detail. The biggest change from the concept sketch was the addition of a motor hood. I built it in three sections (two sides and a front)

I started with the track backing plate. This was created as a relief 0.2" thick. The center was then dropped by half that to effectively create the chain links between the treads.

The cleat sprockets were next and were created as separate reliefs 0.3" tall.  I then selected the track pieces and combined them with the track shape. I could do this because they protruded outside of the track shape. The sprocket pieces were MERGED HIGHEST with the track back.

The center springs were created by modifying the track background relief.

The wheels were next and were created as separate reliefs. These were then MERGED HIGHEST with the track back.

Next the wheels were dished down by modifying the base relief using the subtract and dome tool.

And the wheel lugs were then added by modifying the base relief and using the ADD TO and dome tool.

The top portion of the track support was created as a separate relief and then merged highest with the track relief.

Last up for the track reliefs were the cleats. These were created as separate reliefs that were one inch tall. Since they were outside but overlapped the base relief I selected the cleats and the base relief and then used the combine tool to make them one relief.

The floor and hood of the little tractor was created as a separate flat relief. that was 1.2" tall. The hood vent slots were then dropped into this relief using the subtract tool. This new piece and the track relief were then selected and combined into one relief.

The grill of the tractor was next. I first created a zero height relief.

I then used the chamfer tool to round off the front edges uniformly all the way around.

The grill and started holes were then created using the subtract tool.

I then created a zero height relief and used the merged highest command to effectively clip the bottom off the grill. I then used the slice tool to take off the zero height portion of the relief.

I then modified the track relief by adding the little circle to the base bracket. This will be used to mount all of the accessories to the tractor.

The last step was to create a dirt base for the tractor This was done as a simple flat relief which was 1.5" tall. This new separate relief and the tractor relief were selected and combined to form one relief.

The track relief was duplicated and flipped so I could glue it to the back of the original to create the tractor. The grill will be glued to the end of the motor housing.  The piece was now ready to be tool pathed and sent off tp the MultiCam. It will be routed from a piece of 1.5: 30 lb Precision Board. Stay tuned for the next steps...

Piece by piece!

It is pure magic as we install the scores of features at Skallywag Bay in Trinidad. It's been four years since we started building the fourteen shipping containers full of features. We packed the last of them into the containers more than two years ago. Now at last it is time to install everything. Today was the day to assemble two of the attraction signs. Being too tall to fit out of the shop door we built and shipped them in sections. Today was the first time we've seen them put together. They are every bit as we imagined they would be and will look even better when he gardens are planted!

Every piece lifted beautifully which was amazing as we could only estimate where the lift points needed to be as we fabricated the pieces. Everything fit together perfectly as well... a testament to our team's engineering and fabrication skills.

Some of the pieces we fabricated were shipped as parts for final assemblies. These logo skull brackets were plasma cut from 1/2" thick steel plate for each side of the posts in the train station and entrance building.They looked great welded into place!

Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow!

One track mine concepts...

Last month I did a step by step of building a little display tank. It was a fun little project!  Now i looks like we may just get to build a series of tracked features which use some of those ideas.

A client has asked us to come up with some ideas for a mining theme adventure golf. Our first concept was pretty conventional, being a narrow gauge mining railroad car. We just built one a few weeks ago so the concept came pretty quick.  But as I finished the concept we knew we could get a whole lot more creative. After some discussion we came up with a ring machine, protruding from the ground. Golfers would golf into the broken chute from an upper level. The ball would go down chute and then around he corkscrew of the boring machine before dropping onto the golfing green.

Once we got going in a creative (and somewhat silly) direction the ideas came much faster. The mining car became a power wheelbarrow, with a single tractor tread. The brand name of he manufacturer was dubbed 'ONE TRACK MINE Co.' - just for fun. 

The crawler wheelbarrow immediately spawned more ideas with the mono-track, each more creative and ridiculous than the last. First up was a small mining bulldozer.

The last machine in this series was the drilling machine.

The ideas are so much fun I may just decide to do up some study models. If so I'll post step by steps here. At the very least here will be plenty of CNC plasma cut files to make. Stay tuned...

Wrapping up another successful show

The booth showed extremely well over the last our days as about 25,000 people came by. Our display did exactly what it was designed to do and that was attract attention of all those who walked by. We handed out a lot of business cards, scanned many badges. We met so many great people in our industry!

At the end of the show there is always a mad scramble to pack up the displays. Most vendors wait a long time for the carpets to be rolled up and their crates to be delivered. With our booth it was a simple matter of swinging the two wings of the booth and doing up four bolts to fasten them securely in place, We packed our chairs and supplies into the center space and zip tied the plastic snow fence across the front of the booth. The last thing was to stick the four decals to the sides of the booth and turn in the paperwork to formalize the arrangements to ship it home tomorrow. In well under an hour we were ready to head for supper. 

Another successful IAAPA show is now history!

Another honour!

Last year we were honoured with a first place IAAPA Brass Ring award for best booth in our category. We were so pleased we decided to have a large sticker made to put on the front carpet of our display. We also proudly displayed the beautiful glass trophy in our booth. When we ordered the decal for last year's win we decided to order a second one - just in case. Our hope was that this year's booth might just be good enough to be honoured once more in the next category up, for the 200-299 square feet booths. Competition there would be even tougher.

We received word that we had indeed been honoured once again. The head judge was very amused by our self-congratulating decal we had printed in anticipation and was gracious enough to help us stick the new decal (which had been in hiding) on the carpet beside last year's announcement.

Setting up for IAAPA EXPO

It's been a very busy month of almost non-stop travel for me, with most of the trips to Trinidad as we wrap up the Skallywag Bay Adventure Park. It's looking very cool these days. I'll be posting some photos of that project next week on my return. This week we are attending the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions EXPO in Orlando, Florida. The trade show is massive with over 1000 vendors and 40,000 attendees from around the world. This is our second year as a vendor.

I arrived in Orlando, straight from Trinidad. Since I was the first onsite (the rest of our new was coming from home the same evening) it fell to me to do the booth setup. I waited a few minutes for a connection centre forklift to position our booth in the enter of our space. Then it was a simple matter of undoing four bolts, swinging open the two sides, rolling out the carpets and plugging in the power. As quick as that we were ready for the show.

As I set up our booth I watched hundreds of other vendors unpacking and setting up their displays. Some had been labouring for days and were no where near done. I was grateful for the wonderful CNC tools we enjoy that help us do our work so efficiently. Everything fits together so nicely which makes things go much smoother in the field.

One two three glaze!

With Christmas fast approaching it's a great time to do up some name plaques for those you love. They make great presents and you can practice your painting and glazing techniques at the same time. I'll show three name plaques in this post - all different colours to better demonstrate our techniques.

The first is Elsie's name plaque. We started by painting it an off white colour. We did three coats of colour and allowed them to dry thoroughly in-between. An industrial fan really speeds up the drying.

A light tan was the first glaze. We make our own glazes using a 50/50 mix of clear base (paint with no pigment added at the paint store) with the colour of our choice. The glaze was brushed on liberally nd then wiped off with a soft terry towel rag. The first glaze is only lightly wiped off. The glaze  stays in the lower areas.

The first glaze is allowed to dry thoroughly nd then a second glaze is brushed on and wiped off a teeny bit more thoroughly than the first. This allows the first to peek through and creates a subtle blend effect.

The third glaze is a dark brown and this is wiped off quite a bit. Once this has dried we go back with a brush and add the glaze on the border around the letters. This dark colour makes them pop. Once the last glaze was dry we painted the letters metallic gold.

Dustin's name plaque was done much the same way, one;y with various shades of blue glaze.  The lettering was again painted last with two coats of metallic gold.

Daniel's name plaque was first painted with a metallic gold and then the glass were accomplished in two shades of copper. The lettering was back to the gold.

Any combination of colours is possible but it is important not to get too much of a contrast in the glazes at the start. A gradual buildup of coloured glaze leaves a much richer and pleasing result.