pal are accepted. Paypal automatically converts from dollars to British pounds so there is no guesswork on your part. There is a lot
of information on
PPD’s website regarding guidelines for producing the artwork. There are mini- mum sizes of parts which are based on the thickness of the metal. Charts are provided giving the user this necessary information. The minimum part di- mension also varies based on the metal used. It pays to look over the guide- lines before starting your project. PPD will answer any question you might have and is always willing to help out, so don’t be afraid to ask. A graphics program such as Corel , AutoCAD®
Draw® or DraftSight® is
needed to create the artwork. These programs allow you to create artwork that can be separated into separate lay- ers. I use DraftSight (
www.3ds.com). It is a free program and is exactly like Au- toCAD which is what I grew up using. It allows you to save drawing files as .DWG or .DXF, which is what PPD needs. Fortunately, there are many on- line tutorials for these programs so a minimal investment of time will get the user up and running quickly. In order to draw the artwork you need to understand the etching process. The metal sheet is etched from both the top and the bottom. The metal is sub- merged in etching solution so it acts on both sides of the metal simultaneously. The artwork must be drawn in two lay- ers, the top layer and the bottom layer. I normally use black for the top layer and magenta for the bottom layer. It takes a little time and effort to be able to see in terms of top and bottom layers. Simply stated, the top (black) layer has all of the “bumps” on it. Rivets, window frame, raised panels, etc., would all be drawn on the top layer. The bottom (ma- genta) layer is the overall shape of the part. The top layer would literally rest on the bottom layer. Anything that needs to be open like a window or a hole would be left blank on both layers. The absence of color, either black or magen- ta, means that it will be etched away. A shape that is duplicated on the top and bottom layer will result in a full thick- ness object. Whatever is represented in color will remain. One important trick that I learned the
hard way is that when drawing objects, set the line thickness in the program to 0. For example, to draw a square I draw the four lines that make up the square and then fill them in to get the square shape. The four lines that make up the boundary of the square will have thick- ness unless it is set to 0. The result would be a thicker square because of those boundary lines. So, a 1″×1″ square would end up being 1.01″×1.01″
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
The top and bottom layers are shown merged here (above). The black (top) layer is raised up detail. Any magenta showing is lower than the black. It takes a little time, but after a while you can see three-dimensionally when you look at the artwork. The fin- ished etchings (below) resemble the previous image. The light colored brass would be the magenta (bottom) layer and the dark colored brass is the black (top) layer. This im- age best shows the transition from artwork to finished product.
if the line thickness was set at .005″. Setting the line thickness to 0 will en- sure that the square will be 1″×1″. Drawing artwork for etchings is something that needs repetition in or- der for it to yield perfect results. I have had several parts etched and this lat- est set, the E6 panel set, is the first one to come back perfect the first time. Practice really does make perfect here. When the artwork is finished look it over. Then look it over again! PPD is very good to work with and I have had to have parts redone from time to time. The last issue is cost. It does vary de- pending on the type and amount of ma- terial used. The metal comes on a roll so it pays to fit the artwork into the width of the roll with no left over material. That material would just be wasted. The SCL E3/E6 artwork actually produced three sets of etchings per run because the width of the roll of brass was rough-
ly three times the size of the artwork. So, for three sets of SCL E3/E6 etchings the cost was roughly $74.00. That fee in- cludes setup costs, shipping and produc- tion costs. If I were to have more etch- ings done, the only cost to go up would be the production cost. The setup and shipping costs remain the same. That is where it pays to produce extra sets and sell them to others in the hobby to help cover the cost of the project.
The ability to produce your own metal
etchings makes it possible to build things that would otherwise impossible. That SCL E3/E6 would have been im- possible for me to do without these brass etchings. The porthole window frames, stirrup and end ladder could only be done with etched metal and I don’t think that any manufacturer is going to do these items any time soon. Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands and make it happen.
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