How do manufacturers apply lining to locos?

[austinbob]

Something which has always intrigued me - how do manufacturers apply the lining, insignia and numbering to N gauge locos.
In my younger days they used to use (in general manufacturing) silk screening on flat surfaces for applying such markings. How do they do that on curved surfaces e.g. lining around boilers. Very intrigued to know how they do that.

[JasonBz]

I believe it is a process called Tampo-printing or Pad printing, made up of several passes over the object to be printed.

[austinbob]

I believe it is a process called Tampo-printing or Pad printing, made up of several passes over the object to be printed.

Thanks for that - I'll do a google to get more info - isn't technology great!!

[Caz]

Here's one of Kernow's videos of pad printing a 00 locomotive


http://youtu.be/6Qd4v8DKhms

[Sprintex]

Here's a more close-up shot of pad-printing a VIA Rail Turbo Train Power Dome Car at Rapido's factory :-


http://youtu.be/IehdRUfBqg4


Paul

[austinbob]

Caz and Sprintex
Thanks for those videos - fascinating stuff.
How do they use that technique for more 3D stuff like boiler bands?

[Sprintex]

Guessing here but it's not unfeasible that they may use the same technique but rotate the boiler on a jig after each pass of the pad? 


Paul

[EtchedPixels]

Most things and shapes can be pad printed given sufficient wizardry by the manufacturers. Also because they are dealing in plastic in a lot of cases its ok to use pad printing and have some rejects - because the actual mouldings cost peanuts each, the cost was in the tooling. That unfortunately is also one reason it doesn't work so well for 3D printing.

I don't know if it is still the case for Bachmann and Dapol but some models apparently still have small bits of hand applied lining and decals

Alan

[Cutter]

This pad printing is like the Murray Curvex machine technology used since the early 1950s In the Staffordshire Potteries for applying prints to ceramics.