Tunnel for Toy Train Set

thingiverse

My dad really wanted a tunnel for our Lionel train set, so I decided to design one in Blender! The video demo can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_qTKXkKmnA&feature=youtu.be This tunnel is 224mm wide, 290mm long, and 140mm tall. It's split into two pieces, with both requiring the entire build volume of the MakerBot Replicator Dual. The guaranteed clearance height is 110mm, while the width is 90mm. A curved ceiling adds up to 20mm additional clearance height, depending on the object passing under it. The platform above can easily fit an object with a blueprint of 160mm x 210mm, but actually has more room due to its mountainous structure. A 70mm diameter hole at the top allows you to fit a plug in case you need to power any decorations. Print both pieces of the tunnel. I used MakerBot Desktop PLA low-resolution (fastest) print settings, except with 5% infill: Layer height: 0.3mm Shells: 2 Infill: 5% Support: yes Rafts: no (I also keep my build plate at 40C) Build time was around 13.5 hours for each piece. Even though MakerBot Desktop projected needing almost 2 lbs of filament, the actual print required less plastic - leaving 15-20% left on a 2 lb spool. I created two holes that can be fitted with pins to join the tunnel pieces. However, using glue may be easier. (I also added no-holes versions of the two tunnel pieces without cylindrical holes inside walls) These "no holes" versions were made because I originally put those holes in there to allow for connecting using pins. But removing them may allow you to use 0% infill to save on plastic - then, simply glue the pieces together using crazy glue or Loctite super glue (or something else that is good at bonding plastic).