About 2 miles from my home, they have an M60 tank on display, in a park. I went down to look at the tracks a few days ago. It looks like they would be something I could build in my basement machine shop.
Also, at work they gave me a few hours of Solidworks (a 3d drawing computer program) training. So, I have been drawing up metal tracks in Solidworks, patterened after M60 tracks (1/6 scale, of course). The track parts look very easy to build, but the problem is the "parts count". There are 9 parts per track segment (not including roll pins to hold everything together). I figure I need 150 track segments, times 9 parts = 1350 parts. If it takes 10 minutes to build each part, that turns out to be over 200 hours of machining. If I can build good jigs, maybe I can get it down to 175 or even 150 hours. A few years back, I completed two 500 hour projects (I built a pair of 10 barrel gatling guns - 500 hours each), so a 175 hour project is not that scary. The tracks would have two rubber pads on each track segment, just like the real thing. They would engage the drive sprockets with lugs on the outside of the track, just like the real thing. It looks like less than $150 for the raw materials, aluminum flat bar and 3/16 inch stainless steel rod. After the tracks get built, I would need to build a tank to go on top of them. Tomorrow , I'll post Solidworks renderings of the tracks. Mark -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat
