Out with the old, in with the new!

This forum is dedicated to Riding Scale Railroading with propulsion using other than steam (Hydraulics, diesel engines, gas engines, electric motors, hybrid etc.)

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Gra2472
Posts: 273
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:02 pm
Location: Monte Rio California

Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by Gra2472 »

Good evening live steamers!

I wanted to share with you a project that I have been working on this winter. First, let me be the first to say that I am NOT A MACHINIST like many of you very talented people. Everything I know I taught myself. This project actually started about five years ago when I started the conversion of my Grizzly G0704 to cnc, because well, thats the only way I’m going to make anything. Over that time a lot of stuff happened, but this summer I finally finished the conversion and put the machine to work.

On to the project. My father and I have three of the old West Valley project locomotives. The original motors are actually surplus 12v American-Bosch motors that were sometimes used in Jeep vehicles in the 50’s and 60’s. These motors worked well over the last 40 years, but it was time for an upgrade. After much searching and research I decided that the motors from Plum Cove were the best candidates, so I ordered 12 of them. After that, we were off the proverbial races at the speed of a tortoise stuck in the mud.

After I received the motors i was able to begin the design work. The new motors are an inch larger in diameter than the old ones. At 3” in diameter, they fit in the old traction motor housings with room to spare, but required a new mount. After a little fiddling and fitting I was able to produce a final design and start production. Here’s where I had to carefully learn how to setup the mill and use the software. Plus I had to learn how to tram the mill, that a was more interesting than I though it would be. There are lot of smart people out there that put their knowledge online. I learned a lot from a machining textbook I bought and yes, YouTube. Sorry guys, but I’m one of them.

(If anyone is interested, I use BobCad/Cam for the design and post processing, and UCCNC for the machine controller.)

Machining the motor mounts taught me how to set up parts in the machine, and how to recover from mistakes. I took my time and I can proudly say that I did not fling any parts across the shop. I did give a small blood sacrifice to the god of the machine shop, but that was because I sliced myself on an endmill as I put it in the tool holder. As I learned, those things are sharp!

After making a dozen new motor mounts it was on to the motors themselves and the traction motor housings. I chose Plum Cove motors because the shaft size is exactly the same as the old motors. The biggest challenge that I ran into was locating the motors within the housings. They ended up being slightly too long for the housings, but it also offered a solution to support the back of the motor. I ended up machining a relief in the side of the housing that fit the rear bearing housing on the motor. The most difficult part was figuring out where that hole had to be located to ensure that the motor was parallel to the axle. It took a while, and more than a few trial fittings to get it right, but it works well, and the back of the motor clears the wheel by 0.125. As I said, I am not a machinist, nor a mathematician. Math is my worst subject. I really envy you people with the calculator app installed in your brain.

Once I figured out the location of the hole for the back of the motor in the traction motor housing, I was confronted with an alignment issue. I had to open the original bolt slots up by .100. I designed the motor mounts to use a 1/4-28 stud to secure the motor to the housing. The originals were 10-24 bolts that tended to back out over time. I also had a bunch of 1/4-28 aircraft nuts left over from another project. The studs are locked into the mounts with loctite thread locker, and secured with aircraft nuts.

After a lot of work I finished the last truck today. When I started, one truck took me two days to complete. The last one I did in just under four hours including machining time. While I did not build these locomotives myself, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Hopefully my father and I will have the locomotives rewired next month and ready for train mountain in June.
Attachments
1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg
4.jpg
7.5" Allen Mogul
3 x 7.5" West Valley Baldwin Westinghouse Electrics
The railroad is almost done.
G. Augustus
Monte Rio, Ca.
User avatar
Bill Shields
Posts: 10459
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:57 am
Location: 39.367, -75.765
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by Bill Shields »

You seem to be doing just fine..
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
Pontiacguy1
Posts: 1566
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:15 am
Location: Tennessee, USA

Re: Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by Pontiacguy1 »

Retrofits can be very difficult. Trying to rebuild something with modern motors, gasoline engines, drive systems, bearings, controllers, etc... whether gas powered or electric, can be fraught with problems and clearance issues. Glad that you were able to get this done. Hopefully this will last another 40 years before someone has to figure out how to do it all over again.
ccvstmr
Posts: 2230
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by ccvstmr »

Hello Garrett...

Looks like you've turned your shop into a production facility. Well, if you have to make one part...might as well make a bunch. In which case, your CNC mill conversion came at the right place and right time for you. Look forward to see your (3) West Valley steeple cabs all running and mu'ed.

As for tramming your mill, make or get yourself a mill head tramming indicator. Something like this...

IMG_1343.JPG

This makes tramming the head in both the X and Y directions easy and quick.

Can make something like this yourself. Get a couple dial indicators on line for as little as $15 to $20 each. It's another nice tool to have in your arsenal for machine set up...or at least, getting back to 0-0. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
Gra2472
Posts: 273
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:02 pm
Location: Monte Rio California

Re: Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by Gra2472 »

Good morning. Yeah Ccvstmr I broke down and got one of those after trying to tram the mill with a piece of drill rod and some dial indicators. The tramming tool made things so much easier. However, it was tramming the column to the bed that was really a pain. Turn this bolt…..looks good, tighten another one down and its now wildly out of whack. But I finally got it.

Retrofitting is tough, especially when I do not have any drawings or even a vague sketch of the traction motor housings to work from. During this process I found my favorite tool in the shop. If you have a cnc machine, I highly suggest that you get a touch probe from CraftyCNC. The probes are very high quality and the software he has made is extraordinary. By that I mean it actually works and is not expensive. The only hitch is that you should be running UCCNC software to ensure accuracy. It does work with Mach3, but some people have had problems with it.

Now, where should I start on my honey-do list? Its longer than Santa’s naughty and nice list.
Attachments
1.jpg
2.jpg
7.5" Allen Mogul
3 x 7.5" West Valley Baldwin Westinghouse Electrics
The railroad is almost done.
G. Augustus
Monte Rio, Ca.
Gra2472
Posts: 273
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:02 pm
Location: Monte Rio California

Re: Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by Gra2472 »

How do I correct photo orientation?
7.5" Allen Mogul
3 x 7.5" West Valley Baldwin Westinghouse Electrics
The railroad is almost done.
G. Augustus
Monte Rio, Ca.
User avatar
rmac
Posts: 786
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:48 am
Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Re: Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by rmac »

Gra2472 wrote: How do I correct photo orientation?
Click here for some hints.

-- Russell Mac
Gra2472
Posts: 273
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:02 pm
Location: Monte Rio California

Re: Out with the old, in with the new!

Post by Gra2472 »

Ah, its on my end! Thank you
7.5" Allen Mogul
3 x 7.5" West Valley Baldwin Westinghouse Electrics
The railroad is almost done.
G. Augustus
Monte Rio, Ca.
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