Building such a large model pushes OpenScad quite hard - its rendering is notoriously slow when dealing with a large number of polygons, especially brickwork or stone blocks.
The model is built from three distinct pieces: 2x abutments, 3x king piers and 4x 6-arch viaduct sections.
The model attempts to reproduce most of Ribblehead's distinctive features, including the two rows of 5 protruding blocks, thicker base and drain pipes on each pier. The dimensions, including curvature and width, are as accurate as I can manage. The overall length is approximately 36", turning by 4" (14 degrees) over its length. The piers and abutments are printed right-way-up, but the 6-arch sections are printed upside-down to minimise the need for supports and ensure very clean and crisp arches. Since the trackbed is then underneath, that area tends to be a bit dirtier.
To minimise the annoyance of OpenSCAD's slow rendering, the arches and their normal piers are generated separately and combined into a single printed component in the Slicer. A block of 6 just barely fits into the build volume.
- via-cad1.jpg (193.21 KiB) Viewed 58 times
- via-cad2.jpg (229.81 KiB) Viewed 58 times
- via-cad3.jpg (89.15 KiB) Viewed 9524 times
