Large Scale Central

Hale & Norcross

Modeling Technical Modeling
#61

David Maynard said:

I wasn’t talking so much about air pressure build up, I was talking about heat build up. We have all gotten into a car on a hot day when the windows were left rolled all the way up, and we felt how much hotter it was inside the car then it was outside. You are building buildings with plastics. How much heat can they stand for how long before the plastic starts to get brittle? If letting cooler air in at the bottom, and hotter air out the top, extends the life of the building a few years, then isn’t it worth it?

My thoughts,

Heated air “pressure build up” in model structures is not an issue at all, in my opinion. But, as David said above, hot air relief is an issue when it comes to preserving the integrity of your buildings material and your glues/solvents over time. Take a look at the structures we live in, the attic spaces are well vented high and low for air flow to unload built up heat. This venting helps preserve the building materials as well as lowering your cooling costs.

There is a second reason that the attic of your house is ventilated as is the crawl space under your home and that is moisture/condensation issues caused by temperature changes and the air releasing it’s moisture.

I haven’t seen this mentioned here in reference to model structures but, here again in my opinion, it is the main reason to vent our model structures. Maybe not quite as important in a building formed of Acrylic or such but in any wood application non venting is built in self destruct. All of my structures receive venting no matter the size, even the flats only 2 inches deep are vented.

I use small ( 1 inch round) aluminum louvers, you can get these at Lowe’s etc painted or unpainted for about 10 bucks a dozen. In places that don’t show I just glue on a piece of Vinyl window screen. These methods keep the bugs out and let the air flow.

Really enjoying your design stage Cliff.

Rick

#62

Oh look at the pretty Flying Wings!

Just kidding or am I kiddo?

John

#63

A small update.

Modeling is progressing, and the core acrylic wall and roof parts are almost done. I’m starting on the detailing of external sheathing, which (due to cuts through it) is impacted by doors, windows, and other features. I’ve applied some cosmetic textures for shingles & siding, just to give a basic look.

Doors and windows are cast resin; stacks are rod or pipe. Other than that, all the basic parts shown here will be laser cut. Parts will be assembled into 4 modules, each consisting of a structure (base & wall) and a separable roof.

About the roofs. Cupolas (design in process) will be hard-assembled onto their respective roofs, as will be the stack stubs. Small stacks will just be painted. The large stacks (1" PVC pipe) will have long extensions above their stubs, fitted loosely with short pieces of hose inside their joints. This is because when (not if) I bump into them, I want the tall stacks to “break” off without damaging the roof / building.

I’m focusing my design effort on the main laserable structure, which I’d like to cut, construct and have as a physically examinable thing while finalizing sheathing and details. Anything touching those core wall / roof sub-structures needs to be completed enough to be sure the underlying design accommodates it. Also, I need to do lots of checking for interferences, fits, overly-thin portions, etc.

After that will come the pattern-making: exporting 1:1 frontal views of each acrylic part, and nesting them on sizes representing the laserable sheet sizes. This is a 2D CAD operation (vs. 3D modeling).

So it will still be a while before I cut anything. I’m really looking forward to that though!!

Thanks for viewing,

Cliff

#64

David Maynard said:

Yea, but I was thinking something that would look natural on the building, like an open window, or half opened door.

For some reason, my notifications quit and I only just saw this David. Better late than never, right?

That would look natural, and would certainly work. I’ve been fighting insects though, who seem to love my switch machines. Always some web or buggish nest in there when I have to repair one. Also, since my layout isn’t fully landscaped, mud splashes onto the buildings when it rains.

But I’m probably being over-cautious. So I’ll agree that, say, a 1" cube of open-cell foam, behind an aperture, would certainly work. Beyond that, it’s purely aesthetics. An open window is a good candidate.

Thanks,

Cliff

#65

Hey John… hmm, he’s either kidding or not kidding… he’s usually kidding… you’re KIDDING. Right?!?

So where’s my prize? (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)

Marty, thanks for the further insights. You’re corroborating Dave’s and Chris’s thoughts, and adding to the weight of the reasoning. Bruce C. pointed out similar small vents before,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFESGPC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And, if one wanted more options, I just ran across this.

https://ventmastersstore.com/collections/small-round-vents

Nice and cheap!

Thanks all,

Cliff

#66

What about a 3d printed roof vent that actually looked like a roof vent, and functioned as one?

Roof Vent

Chris

#67

Nice link, thanks Chris. My default plan was to print under-eave vents, as shown in:

http://www.largescalecentral.com/forums/topic/26741/first-laser-building-project?page=3

But that’s a really nice part design, tempting for sure.

#68

If you want to consider it, let me know. I will give you the file to play with to best modify it to your needs.

Chris

#69

Ah, I didn’t know that was your file, haha! For the present though, I’m keeping the stack designs sealed, with vents under eaves. Probably being over-cautious… But the other reason is that the stack appearances for this mine don’t accommodate that approach. Probably being uber-anal… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

Again, nice design. Not that you asked, but for further application purposes on Shapeways, you might add variants for:

  • Differing slopes, say, 20 / 30 / 40

  • With or without a stabber-tube that goes down through the roof, say, 1/2"

And all my files are yours too, just ask if you see anything useful. And thanks for offering!

#70

A bit of an update. I’m about to be called to dinner, so I can’t decent captions to these at the moment; but I wanted to post on progress. Things are moving along quickly, mainly because I’ve made this dang model my priority, and have to admit I’m obsessed with getting to the laser cutting stage. Lots of things to work out until that point, so I’m working on those lots of things.

Siding, wall trim, roof trim are done, along with the cupola details.

Here’s the stacks, and the all-important flagpole.

I took everyone’s advice, and put lower and upper vents in. Long story there.

Platforms are the latest addition, including a stair to the bin level.

The bin is the next area of modeling.

Cheers,

Cliff

(Posted 30 seconds before the dinner bell, haha!)

#71

Good thing you put in extra vents, miners were known to eat; a crust of bread and beans, 3 times a day!

Are we having fun yet?

What phase of operation are you modeling? Good times, bad times, end of times…?

John

#72

looking very interesting and fun to watch you learn and grow wisdom with your new adventuring with lasering

keep the post coming

Dennis

#73

John Caughey said:

Good thing you put in extra vents, miners were known to eat; a crust of bread and beans, 3 times a day!

Are we having fun yet?

What phase of operation are you modeling? Good times, bad times, end of times…?

John

Hey OJ,

I’m having too much fun! That’s the problem, because I don’t want to go in to work anymore!!

For era, I’m picking and choosing, based on the notion of “What if the Comstock mines kept hitting pay dirt?” (And maybe, “What if the Great Fire of 1875 hadn’t happened?”). That gives me the most flexibility. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

===>Cliffy

#74

Dennis Rayon said:

looking very interesting and fun to watch you learn and grow wisdom with your new adventuring with lasering

keep the post coming

Dennis

Thanks Dennis, that means a lot!

BTW, I’ll commend to you the plastic supplier that’s been helping me. Saturday I requested samples of greens, reds, browns; also a scrap of bi-color to play with engraving. Today, they said they’re shipping it. Really responsive folks. In case you need a backup source, I’d give these guys a try. Ask for Olivia.

https://www.johnsonplastics.com/

C

#75

An advantage of having messed-up priorities is that you get a lot done on the stuff you’re obsessed with in a shorter period of time. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)

I’m now delving into adjunct structures and details, to the extent they impact the main building. So I’ve modeled the platforms, ore bin and water tank in a very rough sense. And as a result, I’ve needed to make some small changes to the base sheets of the main building modules.

The ore bin chute mechanisms are only vaguely roughed in here; I’ll develop those kinds of details later. Again, my main objective at the moment is to finalize things affecting the core structures, so I can cut and assemble them, test-fit them “on site,” and make any needed corrections from those findings.

===>Cliffy

#76

Looks great Cliff but not understanding the vents on the bottom unless the cupolas are vents on top? If so and the structure is open inside then good fore thought IMO.

EDITING as I have not read through it all only looked at the drawings/pictures presented

#77

Hey Rooster,

I have to give credit to Dave M., Chris K. and Rick M. for pushing me to this, but yes, I’m finally seeing the light. Your added confirmation is icing on the instructional cake, so many thanks.

To clarify: the structure is open in the interior. Top vents are under peaks of the eaves; and lower intakes are semi-hidden, with screens to help prevent buggage.

Thanks!

Cliff

#78

Don’t give any credit to that oversized parakeet!

Your building is looking great Cliffy. Going to make an impressive addition to your layout.

Chris

#79

Or overwhelm the layout…

Just kidding, because I am a tad jealous.

#80

Thanks Chris, I’m glad you’re liking the design. The laser-related stuff is almost done – need to do serious prototype checks, to make sure I’ve not gone completely stupid with the process-driven mod’s. E.g., the cupolas need help. Anyway, the design is almost done, woo hoo!

David (M), yep, it’ll do that. Just wait till the other seven mines are in (maybe 16 years from now), and you can say you told me so. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)OTOH, having an excuse for building the mine models was the reason I got into garden RR’ing, so I’ll be getting what I asked for. Whether that was an intelligent plan remains up for debate. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)

I hope to start pattern-making this weekend, and maybe begin cutting of the core panels. Don’t know why, but I just love putting kit pieces together. So I’m really looking forward to the stage when I can peel the paper off and dry-fit the core pieces.

C