Radiator wings

seigezapf

seigezapf

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The post by WSRbloke got me to thinking of a project I have considered. I have a couple Aristocraft U25Bs that I like. I have thought of trying to build radiator wings similar to those of a GE U33C to attach to the U25Bs. One way would be using plasticard and some plastic screen/mesh. But could the part be 3D printed? I did find a 3D printed radiator wing on the internet - but it is very expensive, for a different model, and lacks detail. A friend told me that 3D printing is not necessarily good for detail like the grill work that would be needed.

Has anyone here tried to make radiator wings?

Here are photos of a U25B (no wing) and a U33C (wing).

 
Yes, David is right. There may be other, more proper names for them. As I understand it, as diesel makers in the US kept upping the horsepower of their engines in the 50's and 60's, they needed more effective means of cooling and the wings were one solution.
 
I always thought they were added for the dynamic braking? I'll have to go look it up now.........
 
seigezapf said:
Yes, David is right. There may be other, more proper names for them. As I understand it, as diesel makers in the US kept upping the horsepower of their engines in the 50's and 60's, they needed more effective means of cooling and the wings were one solution.
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Think your concept of Plasticard and some fine mesh will be the best bet. I would also think of making them so that they slide on if possible then you can ring the changes with the loco that you build them for.
JonD
 
Yes, I think I would want to make them removable JonD. I was thinking maybe attached with a screw or two.

I am going back and forth in my mind about construction. It is a simple piece. Either way I'll use some fine plastic screen for the vents.

I spent some time with Tinkercad. There is a basic tutorial at the start and the rest is pretty easy to figure. In about 20 minutes I made a very rough model. For real I'd have to scale it and refine it quite a bit. Yet I was surprised how easy the program is to use. It can then export the design to an .stl file which is used in the translation to a 3D printer. So I think a small 3D printer is in my near future. Too many possibilities.

This is my very rough model on Tinkercad made in just a few minutes from moving around some basic shapes.

 
seigezapf said:
I am going back and forth in my mind about construction. It is a simple piece. Either way I'll use some fine plastic screen for the vents
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Here in the UK I use aluminium mesh sold for use with body filler for car (auto) repairs. I would imagine a similar product is available in your auto accessory stores.

s-l1000[1].jpg

David
 
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That's a good point Gavin. It doesn't make a lot of sense. I doubt that any U25Bs were fitted with the larger radiators. And by adding the units I won't be making them into U33Cs since the models are B-Bs not C-Cs and there are other major differences as well (e.g. length of nose).

So why do it? Mostly I like the looks. For me it makes the locomotives look less sleek and more "brute" for lack if a better term. That it won't be an accurate replica is not terribly important for me. Second I like to tinker and fabricate stuff -mostly kitbashing with some plasticard construction. For this, I want to try out the Tinkercad program and I will be buying an entry model 3d printer. This seemed like a good project. If it turns out looking hokey I won't use it.
 
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Finally got everything together to make the wings. I created the part on Tinkercad (my first and only so far design) and saved it as an .stl file. Then I loaded that into CURA to create the gcode file. Both Tinkercad and CURA are free programs that I have only scratched the surface in learning. I then loaded the g code file on a mini SD card and inserted that into my new 3D printer (Monoprice Mini). I then printed the part with PLA filament. It came out pretty good for a first attempt at this stuff. The piece was a little warped but that was easily corrected with a heat gun and pressure. The Monoprice Mini printer bed is modest sized so this is a about as large a piece length and width wise that it will accommodate. I printer with a larger bed is in the works. The piece was painted, with some plastic mesh pieces glued in and I have a radiator wing.

Yep it is pretty crude and I plan to make improvements on the design, But the process was not too daunting and it looked OK for a first try.

 
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Reworked the part to fit better. Winged U-boats. More like a long nose U-36B now. I like the diesels a lot, but never liked the long skinny rear. I know others may dislike the look. But as long as I like it, and I do,



Here is a photo of a couple actual U36Bs.

 
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