CAD work

OK, slow progress, inspiration was low after the boiler disaster. But now, I've made the CAD drawings for the platework, here is a screenshot of the parts to be cut from 3 mm / 1/8" (green) and 10 mm /3/8" (yellow) steel plate:

I've also used the CAD software to check that the parts will eventually assemble correctly, here's an example of a "test assembly" I made, note how I've put tabs on most of the plate parts - this will ensure that they fit together like jigsaw pieces. I intend to weld most of the joints in the frame (in the prototype, they were riveted), preferably with TIG, if I can get hold of a suitable little machine...

If you want to take a closer look at this drawing, you can get the CAD file HERE, and load it into your own CAD software... Please let me know if you have problems with the file, thanks - I've done it on my Mac, and there may be compatibility issues!

I have also made CAD drawings of the parts for the tender - these are to be cut from 2 mm stainless steel, sturdy enough so that the tank can function as a seat for the driver.

Due to the complicated 3-dimensional form of the tank, I made a small (only some 150 mm, 6" long) mock-up of cardboard to test that my design worked:

It doesn't look pretty, with all that masking tape, but I now know that the parts will fit together, and most importan of all: ALL the parts are there, making the tank an enclosure. It would have been embarrassing to have left out one little piece of the jigsaw, and have a hole in the tank. ;-)

And - if you wonder, why didn't I do this in 3-D CAD? Well, printing out the 2-D drawing on a sheet of cardboard, and cutting it up, and taping the parts together, took me only 30 minutes. Would have taken me a lot longer in a CAD program!

The entire tank will be TIG (GTAW) welded, every seam has to be watertight!