Sunny Coast Slotter Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Hi All I have changed tack after trawling through these very informative pages in regards to my new track. Back in the day a group of my workmates had a once a week slottie race meet at a 8 laner in Annerley , Brisbane. The track was huge and we had a ball. The competitive nature of some of the boys was high but all in good fun. Now I want a 3 lane "Mini King" track! The original idea of a 3 laner with squeezes etc was cool but after seeing some of the awesome CNC routered tracks in these pages I have descided thats me. I have drwn up a CAD drawing of my design and want to price the CNC work. Can anyone guide me as to what is required for the CNC file? Also can anyone explain how to measure the poly line I have drawn for my lane lenght? Your help is appreciated. P.S. Feel free to comment on my design. Aprox 6 mt x 2 mt 3 lans 100mm lane spacing with 100 mm gutters. Cheers Joe Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racinjason Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Joe, Nice track what program did you draw your track with I use http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/download-draftsight/ for all my drawings. When I did mine I made up 3600 x 1800 boxes this was the size of the table on the CNC router that we used you should check with the firm doing the routing to there machine size. I then broke the track down to fit into the boxes trying to get as many of the joins on to straights also draw some track joiners or any other parts that will fit in the left over space to save some work & waste. Check with the routing firm what size cutter they will use mine was done with a 9.5mm compression cutter so the outside required an tool path 4.75mm larger than finished size because the tool offset function was not working on the new machine we used, the slot required a 4.25mm tool offset for the 19mm braid rebate. Also make sure the drawing unit are all clockwise or CCW don't mix them up It may cause some parts to be under size if the programmer doesn't spot it when doing the tool offset in the program & make sure you don't have any open ends on your lines. You can then save the drawing as a DXF file & email them to the firm doing the job they can quote straight from this. Cheers Jason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry J Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Hi Joe, Do as much of the design work as possible to save money on programming. I cut my drawings into sections that fit into the sheet sizes that my CNC guy can handle then save them as DXF files. I do the sheet layouts for multiple pieces too where required. After cutting into pieces I run the slots about 10 mm past the end of the piece so the cutting of the slots starts and ends off the track piece. This may also help the guy doing the program. Also don't have any groupings in your drawings, explode everything. I use a program called Autosketch which is a 2D Cad program from the Autocad people, it's perfect for this stuff. I can do a join on a bunch of connected lines and then look at the properties of the joined line to get the length. I don't use polylines unless I have to. Quote Cheers, Garry J Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry J Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 (edited) Joe, Don't forget to allow space for fences between the straights. 100mm gutters are fine for 1/32 scale but 125mm is better if you want to be able to run 1/24 scale cars. Edited December 6, 2012 by Garry J Quote Cheers, Garry J Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Coast Slotter Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Many thanks Jason and Garry for the info. Jason I used CMS intelliCAD. I have had it for ever, in another life I was a commercial kitchen/bar builder and used it for all my drawings. What joining pieces did you make Jason? This is something I havent thought of. Garry I just had a look at your track and thats the style I want to do. Are all of your legs the same? I see they look like they are adjustable. again Thanks for your help guys Cheers Joe Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racinjason Posted December 7, 2012 Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 I cut the shape of the track 200mm each side of the join I also had the legs cut while we were at it, Have a look at my Bathurst track for what I mean. Cheers Jason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Coast Slotter Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Hi All Just thought i would update my progress on Big Phil's Memorial Raceway. After discussing the style of track with my mates (and a look at tracks on old slot racer) we descided to go down the "road"style track with lots of technical corners, long straights and racing line squeezes. Plenty of elevation too. I have attached a drawing, let me have your thoughts on the layout please. The shed is finished and floor has been sealed with a clear product and looks good. I have ordered the copper tape and have a mate who can print out my layout full size!! The idea is to transfer the layout to the MDF for routing. Will post pix as I go. To make me even more motivated I bought some new cars from Armchair Racer. a brief description of the circuit is , Start Finish line is midway along short straight. Direction is clockwise to up hill rh sweeper along back straight climbing to the highest point of the track(im wanting about 600mm) The rh corner to the "terrace" that will drop down through a series of switch back corners. Over the bridge to hairpin, along straight to under bridge and 300mm rad turn to finish. Cheers Joe Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
branco Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Now that is an awesome design Quote 2019 NZ RTR Nationals Gt 3rd 2017 NZ RTR Nationals NSR Classic 2nd 2017 NZ RTR Nationals Group C 3rd 2017 NSR Classic Challenge 3rd 2015 NSR Classic Challenge 2nd 2014 NSR Classic Challenge 3rd 2015 Garden City Invitation Overall Champion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davnic74 Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 IMHO that's not going to much fun to race on sorry, corners look way to small in radius to handle a car. And too many squeeze sections, what happened to the layout in your first post? That looked great.. Would have been better to add some squeeze sections to that one.. Quote Regard's David Team Phoenix 4 x Australian National Champion. Premier Raceway Build Gallery Raceway Build. Heany Park Raceway Build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yngwie Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Listen to Dave. From what I can tell it seems that ALL your corners are squeezes. This will become incredibly frustrating for drivers. A track is better when it has a flow about it rather than a lot of stop start sections. Anyway, thats my $0.64 worth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnsxr8 Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Imo i prefer to race on track without squeezes at all as it helps to continue side by side battles with drivers and they are less likely to deslot from car contact Quote Check out North Brisbane Slotcar Racing: http://northbrisslots.forumotion.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Ditto the above posts, it will be Avery frustrating track to try and race on,virtually no passing, it willbe good for the suppliers as I can see a lot a car damage.. IMO you should try and find a club track somewhere and go along and have a look at a race night. Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camber Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 The first track is a good one. - Cam Quote Hoo Roo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Coast Slotter Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Thanks for the feed back gents. I do like the first track on this post. My thoughts were that the squeezes made for a more realistic drive, but the stop start and possible constant de slotting would be a pain in the proverbial! one question, should I increase the outside gutter and shrink the inside one? again your feedback is totally appreciated Cheers Joe Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalbfellp Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Yes. Usually 50mm on the inside is O/K. Aim for at least 100mm on the outside. The more the better. Quote Phil https://www.hobartminiaturecarclub.com/ Email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davnic74 Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 If you plan on running 1/32 scale only then 100 mm gutters will be fine, but if your going to use 1/24 also then 125mm gutters minimum. Quote Regard's David Team Phoenix 4 x Australian National Champion. Premier Raceway Build Gallery Raceway Build. Heany Park Raceway Build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Coast Slotter Posted January 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Thanks David, will be 1:32 cars. I changed the layout see below. Im not sure if the inner loop is a good idea or not. It does lengthen the track. Cheers Joe Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlotsNZ Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Joe, inner loop makes good use of space, but a couple of thoughts. Make sure short people can reach to marshal that inner set of lanes, or it will drive you crazy. Ditto the guy above who suggested you go try some racing on exising track/raceway, as that may alter your thoughts on layout. Try and avoid all fixed radious curves. - Maybe you have variety,but it doesn't show in the small CAD file viewing. Also, a bit of "weave" in straights doesn't cause de-slots, but does look interesting and feel visually less terile to drive. Check my track in my sig. file. I have a couple of small meanders at the end straights and the inside straignt, and the only corner on the track which has a fixed radius turn is the left hand front end by the main straight. ps. Length of striaght or track length often seems to be a priority when designing first track. After a while you realise, a bit less running length means you are closer together on average, more dices, more fun. Nothing worse than driving against similar speed guys who are all half a lap away from you, and you never see tham again in a heat unless someone deslots. Quote Recovering Lapsed Slot Addict * Custodian of many used screws (mostly loose ) * Total kidder * Companion of other delusional slot addicts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Joe, Its not to different to how I built mine, depending on where you put your driver stations marshalling could be a minor issue. I find it hard to marshal in the S area of my track on the rare occasion we have an "off" in that area. Having said that its a very competitive track and produces some good racing. http://www.auslot.com/forums/index.php?/topic/5105-snake-valley-raceway/page__view__findpost__p__54181 Quote Regards Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Coast Slotter Posted January 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Try and avoid all fixed radious curves. - Maybe you have variety,but it doesn't show in the small CAD file viewing. What do you mean by fixed radius curves? Joe Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggy Posted January 25, 2013 Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 I like your layout in post #14, but would put some esses in the top short straight just after the 180 degree corner to give some interest and variety, and it also adds to the fun, good esses are fun to drive. Aahh the joys of trying to get your first routed track right the first time. But you are doing the right thing by sounding out others first. Quote * Avatar used with permission Normal people worry me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Coast Slotter Posted February 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Finally I have the plan! after taking on the comments from my fellow slotters as well as having another look at the awesome tracks posted in this forum, this is the one. Thanks to those who have given me guidance with the CAD program. I have purchased some bits and pieces and am looking forward to getting a start on it this week some time. I will use copper tape as my last track was the same and we had no dramas with it. My thoughts for drivers stations was to have 3 along the curved straight(?). Cheers Joe Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow_rusty Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 (edited) Looks like an interesting track... Couple of questions... What direction will it be run (i.e. left to right on the curved straight) At the crossovers, which sections will be raised / lowered... Have you allowed enough room for drifting on the outsides of the corners? Looks a bit tight on the right... This will affect driver positions... Edited February 5, 2013 by shadow_rusty Quote Stolen from SlotsNZ Team ABC Team Leader (Ambitious, But Crap) Home Track Threads - Shadow's Semi-Permanent Layout & Another Rug Racer & Proud of It & Gymkhana Test Track Car Collection Thread - My Car Collection Charts / Diagrams - MJK Tyre Selector / Slot.it 4wd Gearing / PoliCar Rollout / Rollout Chart Generator / SCX 4wd Rollout / Track Wiring with Brake on Track Call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davnic74 Posted February 5, 2013 Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 Now that's much better!!! I'd have the drivers stations on the front straight.. That way you will only need 3 marshals. 1 for the back sweeper and bends in the middle of the track and 1 Marshall at each end. Quote Regard's David Team Phoenix 4 x Australian National Champion. Premier Raceway Build Gallery Raceway Build. Heany Park Raceway Build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny Coast Slotter Posted February 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 What direction will it be run (i.e. left to right on the curved straight) Left to right direction. was thinking of bi directional though. At the crossovers, which sections will be raised / lowered...the "inner loop" will be under. coming off the outer loop the short straight will go over. Have you allowed enough room for drifting on the outsides of the corners? Looks a bit tight on the right... have allowed 100mm all round. Now that's much better!!! yes i do like it much more now!I'd have the drivers stations on the front straight.. That way you will only need 3 marshals. 1 for the back sweeper and bends in the middle of the track and 1 Marshall at each end.problem solved, drivers stations on straight straight!! Thanks for the feed back gents.! Quote Joe Sunny Coast Qld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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