The tracks present the biggest problems with any tank project. The T-34-85 uses a track link design that is difficult and easy to produce at the same time. Due the large size used in our project (1/6 scale) they can be sand cast if necessary, however this can be very time consuming and can present problems with alignment due the final drilling of the link pins. We cast a few of these in aluminum using the sand cast method but later decided it was too labor intensive for so many links.
We looked into a number of ideas when we decided spin casting was the way to go.
In spin casting, a special hi temp silicon mold is used to make many parts at one time.
See our section on spin casting
The track master patterns were built by Dick Bernier of the EastPac group.
Dick used steel, brass and tubing to make an excellent pattern. This master is made appro. 5% larger to insure the proper final size. Dick placed this master into a silicon mold and poured a cinotype metal (average melting temp of 400 degrees) into the mold. This master pattern is then used to make an impression into the hi-temp silicon mold for the spin casting machine.
Below is a few pictures of our test shots using different casting methods. |
