The cab was drawn to be cut in two layers, ready to fold and solder. The two layers reproduce the layered sheets and the recessing of the window frames on the original.
The first iteration was in styrene, to check for fit and registration (on the right in the photo). I then sent the CAD files to the laser cutter to be cut in steel (left in photo). Alas, the steel is was stiffer than I hoped, and the corners did not bend as sharply as I wanted, even in my press brake. Alternatives are to do it in brass -- which necessitates finding either a waterjet cutter or a turret punch -- and/or separate the sides and front and solder them together.
The dashed lines are for the scribed door cutouts. This, too,
was a disappointment on the steel version. The "engraving" my laser
cutter was capable of turned out to be little more than burning the surface,
and most of the lines disappeared under the primer layer. The conventional
warning about paint is that it won't hide any gouges or cracks, so the
engraving must be about the depth of wood grain, which is not going to
work. Alternatives: cut the doors out separately and hinge them.
Updated on 1 May, 1998.
