Pics of my track in progress!

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    • #8920
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      OK guys (and possibly gals…=)

      NB: URLs in this post have been updated since StorminCow’s original post – they are now mirrored locally on the ausmicro.com media server. Thumbnail gallery can be located via this direct link

      I’ve got the first three segments of my track done, and thought I would post some pics of it’s construction! I borrowed heavily from Derek’s construction method, however, I was able to use the foam cutter that has sparked many a thread here lately.

      I think I’ll start with the pros and cons of the cutter. First off, the ease of cutting cannot be expressed through mere words. A hot knife through butter probably requires more force, AND I’M NOT EXAGGERATING! I couldn’t believe it! However, this is hampered by the protrusion of the armature that holds the wire. Look at this pic and see what I mean:

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_01_cuttingdiagram.jpg

      You can’t just cut straight through the foam willy-nilly because you have to create room for the armature to move through as the wire cuts. This means it required a lot of extra cutting just to cut the 4 X 8 sheets into 4 X 2 segments. The other problem this caused is that because I had to double back so often to make room for the armature, it was practically impossible to get a straight edge the first time through. I solved this by doing a rough cut, and then clamping the cutter to the wall, and sliding the foam underneath it to do my final, straight edge. Look here to see what I mean:

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_02_clamp.jpg

      and:

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_03_clamp02.jpg

      This seemed to work pretty well, although it meant for a lot of extra cutting I didn’t expect to do (which is why only 3 segments got built). From here on out, I pretty much followed Derek’s example. Here are two of the segments before gluing and painting:

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_04_beforepaint.jpg

      and the exciting part:

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_05_paintdry.jpg

      Now the other thing I did differently from Derek is this. I knew I wanted to make it in segments so I could re-arrange the track if I wanted to or got tired of the original (Not to mention ease of portability). So I made each segment have an opening on the edge to connect with other segments, and I made that opening standard on all of them. Each connecting area was two tracks 8 inches wide separated by a 2 inch wall. See what I mean here:

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_06_layout01.jpg

      and once more here:

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_07_layout02.jpg

      Now that I’ve raced on it with other cars, the 8 inch track width does seem a little tight, but we are getting used to it. I might experiment with different widths on the new segments that are sure to come.

      Does that make sense? Hope so. Let me know if you have any questions. Derek, feel free to post these pics here, and zeroBXU, you are more than welcome to post them at the Admiral’s lair as well. In fact, please do, because I will probably take them off of my site in a few weeks.

      And I’ll leave you with a quick pic of my WRX that I finally got in the mail yesterday! YEAH!

      http://www.ausmicro.com/technical/bitcharg/stormincow-track-design/stormincow_08_wrx.jpg

      HAVE FUN!

      stormincow

    • #13576
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      StorminCow

      I have learned a LOT from this post and you’ve given me some more great ideas for my next track. Your 2″/8″ system is a good size and should allow for fast straights racing with someterrifying hairpins!

      Wouldn’t it be great if we (the forum members of all these differentChar-G communities) could get together and formalise something like this as a “standard”. Then manufacturers could eventually release track kits and accessories to suit.

      Oh…to dream :smiley14:

      Great work once again, StorminCow – next time I’m in the USA, the racing is on at your place (you supply the track and I’ll bring the beer!)

      Derek

    • #13585
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      Pity those links dont load, Derek… Actually, the smiley’s pop-up box didn’t load either, nor the post preview!…

      Maybe the graphics directory(s) are hosed?…

      ?

      Edit: Late News Edition…

      Belay that sentence, above… The sight has now come good… Maybe BPA was screwing around, maybe your site was in the middle of a backup when I came along…

      Who knows…

      But it works now…

      As does the smiley pop-up…

      :smiley8:

    • #13586
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      Hey I like how you clamped the Foam Cutter…!

      And the track looks nice.

      -Floyd

    • #13589
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      Thanks for the tips, stormincow. Now I know I’m not gonna try cutting the foam. Maybe just use it as a base.

    • #13592
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      Glad this is helping some of you! It will probably be a few weeks before I get up the energy to make some more segments (This adventure cost about 7 hours of my weekend), but I’ll be sure to post some more pics when I do. I just got back from the electronics store and have purchased some LED lights and a watch battery, so I’ll be playing with that this weekend!

      STORMINCOW

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