TurboCAD Pro V16.2 Railroad Handcar SAMPLE

Donald B. Cheke
www.textualcreations.ca
TurboCAD Pro V16.2 – Railroad Handcar
Donald B. Cheke
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Donald B. Cheke
Copyright © 2010 Donald B. Cheke
www.textualcreations.ca
TurboCAD is a registered trademark of IMSI/Design.
Published by:
Donald B. Cheke
Saskatoon, SK Canada
Visit: www.textualcreations.ca
All rights reserved
No part of this document may be reproduced, copied, stored on a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form without written permission from the author. The purchaser may, however, print one copy of the
document to paper and may make one backup copy of the downloaded material for personal safe
keeping.
Limitation of Liability
While every effort has been taken in the preparation and the writing of this document the author
assumes no responsibility for errors and/or omissions nor for the uses of the material and the decisions
based on such use. No warranties are made, express or implied with regard to either the contents of the
document, its merchant ability or fitness for a particular purpose. The author should not be liable for
direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the
contents of this document.
Special Note
All of the work presented within this tutorial is based on TurboCAD Pro V16.2. Although users of previous
versions are welcome to try the tutorial it cannot be stated what results will be achieved. Many changes,
some subtle and others not so subtle, are made with each program revision. Although many steps and
directions would be generic some may not be. The same can be said for tools between versions. Older
versions may not have the same tools as Pro V16.2 and if the same tools are available the tools
themselves may have been revised and hence, work in a different manner than they previously did.
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Donald B. Cheke
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Setup .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Initial Lighting .............................................................................................................................................................14
Track Profiles ..............................................................................................................................................................19
Wheel 2D/3D .............................................................................................................................................................29
Axels.............................................................................................................................................................................57
Axel Plummer Box .....................................................................................................................................................60
Deck .............................................................................................................................................................................70
Pump Tower ................................................................................................................................................................85
Drive Gears .............................................................................................................................................................. 102
Pump Spindle/Lever/Handle ................................................................................................................................ 116
Crank/Connecting Rod .......................................................................................................................................... 141
Brakes....................................................................................................................................................................... 152
Tower Grips .............................................................................................................................................................. 178
Cross Bracing ........................................................................................................................................................... 189
Bolts .......................................................................................................................................................................... 200
Ground Plane / Shadow Catcher. ......................................................................................................................... 207
Materials Application ............................................................................................................................................. 208
Named Views ........................................................................................................................................................... 221
Render Scene Luminance ..................................................................................................................................... 225
Render Scene Environment .................................................................................................................................. 228
Saving the Rendered Image.................................................................................................................................. 231
Appendix – An Important Note about TurboCAD Materials ............................................................................. 234
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Introduction
Where would new CAD users be without all the interesting objects that can be found in the world of
railroading? Most of these objects are excellent subjects to practice drawing with, and with so many free
resources available online the whole process is made quite easy. Although the handcar design in this
tutorial is based roughly on resources discovered on the internet, the author has made many changes to
make it better suited to this tutorial.
Within the tutorial the reader will be led through each keystroke to produce all components of the
railroad handcar that is illustrated on the cover of the tutorial. The reader will learn how to create each
object by manipulating 2D profiles and 3D primitive shapes. The reader will learn how to set up their
drawing, how to insert standard lighting and how utilize render scene luminance. The reader will learn
how to establish a render scene environment and the reader will learn how to render their drawing and
save it in a high resolution image format.
This tutorial is in no way intended to teach mechanical design but rather it is intended to teach the use of
some of the tools that TurboCAD has to offer and to introduce the new user to a drawing methodology.
The author feels confident that the techniques outlined within the tutorial can help lay the foundation for
future successful TurboCAD drawing and illustration for even the newest user.
As with any technically advanced software, the user is generally faced with a steep learning curve. It is
the hope of the author that the money and time spent working through a Textual Creations tutorial will
help ease the learning and allow the reader to come away feeling confident that they made a wise
decision.
This tutorial will assume that the reader has the full edition of TurboCAD Pro V16.2 with the current
Architectural and Mechanical add-ons, although no architectural specific or mechanical specific tools are
used that the author is aware of.
There are many ways to approach a project and it is likely that each person using the program would
proceed in very different ways, so be open to alternative methods as experience builds. What is
important is that the user becomes familiar with the objects that they wish to model and begin to look at
them in a different way than they might otherwise do. What primitive shapes make up the whole? What
will be required of these primitive shapes early in the drawing and how will this affect needs further
along? What component or components should be started with? Many questions can only be answered
through experience, but hopefully some of them will be answered by the time the beginner has worked
through this tutorial. There is a great deal covered in this tutorial and the author urges the beginner to be
patient, to read very carefully and to take the time necessary to do a good job. Try to enjoy the process as
much as you will enjoy the final results.
This tutorial assumes that the beginner has studied the desktop to some degree and can locate most of
the tools. Since there are endless desktop configurations that can be set up in TurboCAD the author has
opted to illustrate the required tools with the V16 user interface, and the default toolbars in their
undocked format (Office 2000 theme).
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Please remember that any supplied images and files are for use within the tutorial only and may not be
shared or sold to others.
Place tutorial images in a permanent location on the hard drive.
A free HDR image is used within the tutorial. paris3_half.hdr is a free image that was found in the
Realtexture starter collection at:
http://www.lightworks-user.com/hdri_starter_collection/realtexture.htm
Although the HDR image has been included in the tutorial download (as items on web pages often
become unavailable at some point) the author encourages the reader to visit the site and download it.
Others of interest are available there and will make a nice addition to one's HDR collection.
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Press the Space Bar to exit the tool.
Select the half rail profile.
Select the Mirror Copy tool from the Copy toolbar.
V SEKE snap the top right corner of the half rail profile to define the first point of the mirroring line. Press
and hold the Shift key down. Move the cursor upward a short distance and then left mouse click to define
the second point of the mirroring line. Release the Shift key. In progress below.
Press and hold the Shift key down. Left mouse click the copied half to add it to the current selection.
Release the Shift key.
Select the Mirror Copy tool from the Copy toolbar. M SEKE snap the long blue line to define the first point
of the mirroring line. Press and hold the Shift key down. Move the cursor upward a short distance and
then left mouse click to define the second point of the mirroring line. Release the Shift key. In progress
below.
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Select the long blue line and delete it.
Wheel 2D/3D
To create the wheel, 2D profiles will be revolved into a 3D shape which will be further manipulated. The
image below illustrates what 2D profiles will be worked toward.
Select the Circle Center & Point tool from the Circle/Ellipse toolbar.
Place the cursor by the edge of the upper left arc of the right track profile and C SEKE snap to place the
first point of the circle. Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter .5 in the Diameter field. Press Enter.
Press the Space Bar to exit the tool.
Select the new circle.
Select the Make Copy tool from the right mouse click local menu or from the Inspector Bar (providing the
user has a large enough monitor) to turn it on.
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Turn on the Wheel / Hub and Rivets layers.
Press Ctrl + A to select all visible objects.
To help place the second set of wheels, select the Make Copy tool to turn it on.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 37.375 in the Delta Y field. Press Enter.
Select the Make Copy tool to turn it off.
Press Ctrl + A to select all visible objects.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 0 in the Y Position field. Press Enter to center the selection.
Press Esc to deselect the selection.
Axel Plummer Box
A very simple Plummer block will now be created for the axel.
Turn off the Wheel / Hub and Rivets layers. Be sure to deselect the highlighted names or all those
selected will turn off, en masse when one of them is turned off. Left mouse click below names to
deselect.
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Switch to Right view and zoom in on the left axel.
Select Plane by Active View from the Workplane toolbar.
Select the Circle Center & Point tool from the Circle Ellipse toolbar.
Select Blue from the color dropdown menu on the Property toolbar.
Place the cursor by the edge of the axel and C SEKE snap to place the first point of the circle. Tab into the
Inspector Bar and enter 3.25 in the Diameter field. Press Enter.
Select the Rotated Rectangle tool from the Line toolbar.
Using three Q SEKE snaps place a rectangle as indicated in the picture below.
V SEKE snap the first two points of the next rectangle to the two lower vertexes of the red rectangle.
Move the cursor in a downward direction for a short distance and then Tab into the Inspector Bar and
enter .5 in the Size B field. Press Enter.
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Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 24 in the X Position field. Press Enter.
Select the Make Copy tool to turn it off.
Turn on the Wheel / Hub and Cross Members layers.
Switch to Front view.
Select Plane by Active View from the Workplane toolbar.
Deck boards will now be created.
Select the Rectangle tool from the Line toolbar.
V SEKE snap the first point of the rectangle to the upper left corner of the cross member, as indicated in
the picture below.
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Move the cursor in a right upwardly direction for a short distance and then Tab into the Inspector Bar and
enter 2.75 in the Size A field and 1.5 in the Size B field. Press Enter.
Press the Space Bar to exit the tool.
Select the rectangle. Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter -.125 in the Delta X field. Press Enter.
Select the Mirror Copy tool from the Copy toolbar.
M SEKE snap the top of the cross member to define the first point of the mirroring line. Press and hold
the Shift key down. Move the cursor upward a short distance and then left mouse click to define the
second point of the mirroring line. Release the Shift key. In progress below.
To determine the distance between the rectangles select the Line tool from the Line toolbar.
Using two V SEKE snaps, place a line between the upper inside corners of the two rectangles.
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Select Place on Workplane from the Format menu at the top of the TurboCAD desktop. Leave the objects
selected.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter -1.75 in the X Position field. Press Enter to move them into place.
Turn off all the layers, except layer 0 and Rails.
Select the Plummer block. Right mouse click and select Default Reference Point from the local menu.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter -4.25 In the X Position field. Press Enter.
Select the Make Copy tool to turn it on.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 4.25 In the X Position field. Press Enter.
Select the Make Copy tool to turn it off.
Press Esc to deselect the selection.
Turn off all layers, except layer 0.
Select the four deck timbers and assign them to the Rails layer for now.
Select the four panels and assign them to the Pump Tower layer.
Create a new layer called Crank Plummer Block and turn it off.
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Switch to Isometric SE view.
With the red profiles still selected, Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 0 in the Y Rotation field. Press
Enter.
Select the Simple Extrude tool from the 3D Object toolbar.
Ensure the Use Compound Profile and Two sided extrude options are engaged.
Select the blue profile as the object to extrude. Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 16 in the Height field
Press Enter.
Turn off the Two sided extrude option.
Select the red profiles as the object to extrude. Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 20 in the Height field
Press Enter.
Select the 3D Intersect tool from the Boolean & Facet toolbar.
Select the two extrusions as the object to intersect. In progress below.
Press Ctrl + K to open the Select by Colors dialogue. Select Blue and Red and then click OK.
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Assign the selection to the 2D layer.
Select the Fillet Edges tool from the 3D Modify toolbar.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 1 in the Start Radius field. Press Enter.
Select the lever as the object to fillet. Select the eight inside lines at the as the edges to fillet. Select
Finish. In progress below.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 1.625 in the Start Radius field. Press Enter.
Select the lever as the object to fillet. Select the six outside lines at the as the edges to fillet. Select
Finish. In progress below.
Press the Space Bar to exit the tool.
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Donald B. Cheke
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Select the Line Length tool from the Modify toolbar
Switch to Isometric SE view.
Select the top of the vertical line segment as the line to lengthen. Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 6
in the Delta L field. Press Enter.
Select Plane by World from the Workplane toolbar.
Select the Circle Center & Point tool from the Circle/Ellipse toolbar.
Select Blue from the color dropdown menu on the Property toolbar.
V SEKE snap the top vertex of the polyline to place the first point of the circle (it will snap way down on
the workplane at 0, but that is okay). Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter .75 in the Diameter field. Press
Enter.
Select the Rail Sweep tool from the 3D Object toolbar.
Right mouse click on the Rail Sweep tool icon to open the Properties for the tool. Under the Sweep shape
tab, select Bend from the Corners dropdown menu and enter a Minimum Radius of .375. Click OK.
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Select the circle as the object to sweep and then select the red polyline as the path.
Select the 3D Subtract tool from the Boolean & Facet toolbar.
Select the Don't remove the subtrahend option.
Select the guide as the object to subtract from and then select the rod as the object to subtract. In
progress below.
Turn off all layers, except layer 0 and Wheel / Hub.
Select the Cylinder tool from the 3D Object toolbar.
C SEKE snap the upper edge of the push rod to place the first point of the cylinder. Tab into the Inspector
Bar and enter 2 in the Diameter field and .25 in the Height field. Press Enter.
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Select all the visible components and assign them to the Brake layer.
Turn on all the layers, except 2D for a look so far.
Select Plane by World from the Workplane toolbar.
Tower Grips
Two simple hand grips are required on the left and right sides of the pump tower and these will created
now by sweeping a profile along a path.
Turn off all the layers, except 0 and Pump Tower.
Switch to World Plan view.
Select the Polyline tool from the Line toolbar.
Select Blue from the color dropdown menu on the Property toolbar.
G SEKE snap the first point of the polyline to a grid intersection to the right of the tower. Tab into the
Inspector Bar and enter 5.75 in the Length field and 0 in the Angle field. Press Enter.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter 9 in the Length field and 90 in the Angle field. Press Enter.
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Select the Mirror Copy tool from the Copy toolbar.
M SEKE snap the bottom of cross member to define the first point of the mirroring line. Press and hold
the Shift key down. Move the cursor downward a short distance and then left mouse click to define the
second point of the mirroring line. Release the Shift key. In progress below.
Press Ctrl + K to open the Select by Colors dialogue. Select Blue and click OK.
Select Place on Workplane from the Format menu at the top of the TurboCAD desktop.
Select the Polyline tool from the Line toolbar.
Using eight C SEKE snaps, place a point of the polyline at each circle. Select Finish after the eighth snap.
Press the Space Bar to exit the tool.
Select the first circle. Right mouse click and select Default Reference Point from the local menu.
Select the Rail Sweep tool from the 3D Object toolbar.
Select the first circle as the object to sweep and then select the red polyline as the path. In progress
below.
Press the Space Bar to exit the tool.
Switch to Isometric SE view.
Select the new extrusion.
Tab into the Inspector Bar and enter -35 in the Y Position field. Press Enter.
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With the rectangle still selected, Tab into then Inspector Bar and enter 0 in the Position X and Position Y
fields. Press Enter.
Select Surface From Profile from the Solid/Surface toolbar. This will turn the 2D rectangle into an object
that materials can be applied to and that will render.
Create a new layer called Ground Plane and turn it off.
Assign the still selected rectangle to the Ground Plane layer. In progress below.
Materials Application
Materials will now be applied to all objects. A view will then be set up, followed by establishing a Render
Scene Environment and Luminance. The Render will then be saved to image format.
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Allow the scene to rerender (55 seconds on the author's off the shelf HP).
Saving the Rendered Image
This render will now be saved.
The author has found that saving as a high resolution JPG or BMP produces excellent results. If a smaller
image is required afterward, resizing with an image editor and saving in JPG format retains the excellent
results.
With the desired view now fully rendered on screen select Save As from the File menu at the top of the
TurboCAD desktop.
Under the Save As dialogue, select the desired Save in location from the dropdown menu at the top of
the dialogue.
Select JPG – TurboCAD for Windows JPEG from the Save as type dropdown menu.
Enter the file name Railroad Handcar Tutorial.jpg. Select Setup.
Adjust the setting to match those in the image below. Click OK.
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