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Eastlands Park Routed Digital...

133633 Views 998 Replies 77 Participants Last post by  Chappy, 
Ade
Hi
Have been thinking about a routed track for a while now and as the current setup is now starting to become a little boring now seems a good time to start.

The table size I have to play with is 12ftx6ft and it will all be done on a single level,the only thing decided so far as regards to track design is that the pit area will have to be along the back straight and it must be long as I wish to have plenty of garage space.

The cars will only be scalextric and running mag free is a added bonus of going copper tape route as with them throttle control is none existent,so need to find a suitable paint for the tyres to have some sort of grip as they will be kept standard.

The track will be digital and it is my intention to sink the digital track sections into the mdf,including the pb..

I have had a quick look for layouts based on my available track size and drew a blank,so if anyone knows of any on here a link to some pics would be great.
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Ade
hi
couple of quick question for all you experienced track routers out there,Does the diameter of the cutter need to be 3mm and what is a good make of self adhesive copper tape to use,i willl be powering the digital flippers by of board psu method.
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Ade
hi
thanks for the info chaps,Off to B&Q for the router bits tomorrow,as already mentioned this will be for scaley cars with standard tyres so wich is a paint that will offer good grip,is it going to be standard matt emulsion or one of the sandtex ones.


not looking for mega grip levels,throttle control round the corners is what i would prefer.
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Ade
hi
spent some time this weekend taking the old scaley layout up and boxing up the parts that are going to be re used and selling ones that are not..

Will be getting cutters tomorrow and placing order for the mdf sheets wich will need to be 12mm.I will also be joining the boards together with 4mm birch ply tounge..

The router fences i will be making myself along with a few new router bases..

The empty table (see pic) is 12 ft x 6 ft and i will be taking about 18 inches off the end near the window as this has always proved troublesome as regards reaching that section of layout...
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Ade
hi
good point about the mdf dust entering parts they should not,i dont really want to mess about with the pb so a coat of pva solution should put a stop to dust once the cut outs has been finalized for the digital sections.

Also managed to get hold of some 3.2mm trend router bits,not bad value either at under £9 each,just need to remember to order mdf wich hopefully should arrive for this saturday.

Colour scheme for the tyres and track markings will be the same as used at spa,yellow and orange.

Other things on the shopping list are 4 more scaley pit garages and 2 pit entrances as the one i had in old layout was the wrong hand and did not want to do surgery to swap them round.
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Ade
hi
progress is a little slow,mainly because i am planning this out so it comes out right first time.

I now have the sheets of mdf and the ply tounge wich i have machined the slots into the edge of the mdf so that when they are butted up they will sit perfectly flush.

Just need a hand up the stairs with them now and the real routing can begin,i have all the parts to hand to make my own router fences.

One question i do have is this,i will be sinking the pb into the board(pb removed from track) and if i use tape with a conductive backing will it carry current the whole length of the track???,the board size is approx 12x6 ft and there will be some scenic elements to it.
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Ade
hi
have made a start at last after the boards were lifted upstairs,first to do is the pit entrance,as i could not sell the clc even at silly money decided to use one of them for a custom pit entrance and saved quite a bit of cash into the bargain as the official scaley ones are well expensive now.

Here is a pic of the first piece to be sunk into the board...
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Ade
hi
i was happy with the shape that was left and cutting it this way means there is still some of the plastic rib left underneath so the section will not sink or move when a car passes over it.

Once it's all fitted and painted it will be virtually invisible,this will also need the solenoids reversing so a lane change will put you into the pitlane.

Will also be cutting the xlc down to get rid of the slight bend as you rejoin the opposite lane,best place to cut appears to be just after the plastic crossroads.....
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Ade
hi
i have been on the phone today to trinity glass to ask about there coppertape.

There website does not show a tape with conductive backing and speaking to the helpfull receptionist she did not know about it either.

So could anyone tell me where i can get coppertape with the required backing in 7/32 size.??
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Ade
hi
time for a bit of an update.All the routing is now done and the lc sections are fixed into the boards.

The power cables are soldered to the underside of the lane changers and will hopefully be starting the copper taping over the coming weekend.

Also need to make a small plinth for the pb to sit on.

Will post some pic's after the weekend.
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Ade
hi
some real progress at last,the pb and all the lc sections now have power to them and the first section from pb to first lc is now coppertaped..
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Ade
hi
a bit back to front but have found these early shots showing parts of the track under construction.
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Ade
hi
the router fence is made from 3mm pvc edge banding i liberated from somewhere. Fixed 20x20 softwood to the side and then once pushed into place screwed into the board..

Very cheap to make and easy to fix and move,in hindsight i should of made it longer but you live and learn....
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Ade
hi
cheers Mr F.

When it came to choose the coppertape it seemed a waste to buy the much more expensive type that has a conducive backing on it as most of the laying is done onto the mdf.

Was also wondering wich way to power the flippers,initially i was planning to power them by a seperate psu but this would of meant adding powertaps in various places,so i chose to take a feed from underneath the pb and then daisychain all the lc sections together.

Then using the coppertape with the non conducive backing running from the pb and upto the first lc section then missing that out and starting again the other side of it,repeated this method all the way round back to the pb.

Now switching back to the coppertape with the conducive backing i used this ontop of the lc sections to link up with the ordinary tape,this now provides powertaps all round the layout with the hassle of having to drill and countersink to sit screws and tape in to get even power.

Pics to follow.....
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Ade
hi
the slot-it cars are still sealed in there boxes,but hopefully will be on track within a few weeks. I have just recieved some re-flashed scaley chips wich are for these cars.

I will post some more pics once i have recieved the conductive backed coppertape and all the taping is completed.
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Ade
hi
here is a pic i have found of the lc sections.

As i wanted to use a more realistic colour than the black that these come in i thought it best to use a primer first so the paint had something better to key to.

The primer is just off the shelf automotive plastic primer and the top coat has taken to it very well.
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Ade
hi
more taping completed today,so far 100 yards used and onto the second roll.

The white border wich is seen on most tracks just before the kerb will be done in white adhesive pin stripe,should be available from motor factors..

Anyway here's a few pics of today work...
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Ade
hi
cpppertaping is now at the 90% finished mark. Conductive tape for lc sections should be here this coming week.
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Ade
hi
no i had not thought of that one but the cars have been pushed round by hand, played particular attention to the parts where the lc sections are sunk into the mdf.

When i routed them i did one complete lane from start to finish and then made a base for the router with a drill bit sticking out the bottom and used this as a stylus.

I actually used the shank of the bit as the guide and using this method the second lane was completed in a couple of hours, the first one took many times longer but this included drawing the plan in pencil and then setting up the fence before i could start.

All this routing was done in house (literally) and it took about 8hrs of vacuming to get the room clean again.
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Ade
hi
no there is nothing as tight as a scaley R1, as it's coppertape and therefore magless and i like to use a couple of pace cars i avoided routing anything that sharp.

The sharpest turn is right before the main start finish straight, this being a clc for pit entry,there is a pic showing it earlier in the thread.

This will mean that a smooth driving style is needed in order to achieve max speed down the straight.

Give it loadsasideways and your going to be slower at the end.
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