tomix switch points and explosions

[keitaro]

So I was letting the little one play with the train set and he burnt out one of the points cause he was having trouble moving it.
The switch itself is hard to push I think an issue internally so I swapped it with a spare and will replace motor later.

however i have these switched sitting on foam and it melted the plastic coating of the magnaet and some foam.

just wondering if you use stuff under the switch to protect the foam from burning down the house and what it is.

[The_Ghan]

My Tomix switches are sitting on 3mm cork, which is on the foam.  But I could have a problem with my Peco switches, which are cut into the foam ... those thins are pretty darn big.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[brill27mcb]

So I was letting the little one play with the train set and he burnt out one of the points cause he was having trouble moving it.
The switch itself is hard to push I think an issue internally so I swapped it with a spare and will replace motor later.

however i have these switched sitting on foam and it melted the plastic coating of the magnet and some foam.

just wondering if you use stuff under the switch to protect the foam from burning down the house and what it is.

\

How did he overheat it? Using the Tomix turnout control switch? It's momentary contact, so I can't see that happening, unless something was really wrong inside the switch box. If he threw it back and forth constantly and quickly he might make it heat up. If he threw it by hand, there should be no electricity or heat involved. Please explain the situation further...

Luckily, Tomix sells replacement turnout motor units.

Rich K.

[rankodd]

just wondering if you use stuff under the switch to protect the foam from burning down the house and what it is.

Er. Lack of power when not operating the layout, and a fire extinguisher?

[Martijn Meerts]

I've only used the minitrix, fleischmann and roco coil turnout motors. The minitrix and fleischmann ones come in a metal housing and don't cause any harm when burning out. The roco ones are in a plastic housing, but I've never had one burn out.

In the future I'll be using servos for the most part, haven't heard any stories yet about those burning out and causing a layout-destroying-fire :)

Oh, I've also never built a layout on foam, I always have wood as the base for track work, often with some cork on top. It doesn't burn as easily as foam (or, melt in the case of foam I guess)

[keitaro]

So I was letting the little one play with the train set and he burnt out one of the points cause he was having trouble moving it.
The switch itself is hard to push I think an issue internally so I swapped it with a spare and will replace motor later.

however i have these switched sitting on foam and it melted the plastic coating of the magnet and some foam.

just wondering if you use stuff under the switch to protect the foam from burning down the house and what it is.

\

How did he overheat it? Using the Tomix turnout control switch? It's momentary contact, so I can't see that happening, unless something was really wrong inside the switch box. If he threw it back and forth constantly and quickly he might make it heat up. If he threw it by hand, there should be no electricity or heat involved. Please explain the situation further...

Luckily, Tomix sells replacement turnout motor units.

Rich K.

the switch was hard to click up down something inside but others go up and down easy, so when a 2yr old is flicking up down it gets stuck in the middle for too long pressing power through and bam smoke and melted foam.

I filled the melted foam with some plaster issue resolved. I havn't ballasted the switches yet thank god i would have to ruin the ballast lol .

[keitaro]

Went to fix last night but it's worse than I thought. The plastic piece that allows the magnet to move the track is melted also under neath. It's my 3 way switch as well :(

And it's going to be a pain in the ass to take off and replace as both pieces on either side are ballasted

[brill27mcb]

Ouch! Now I understand...

Rich K.

[keitaro]

Anyway issue resolved for 2yr old.

Disconnect the power from switches before allowing to play.

Wish me luck on replacing the 3 way switch. Going to need some creative thinking to replace this one without ruining the ballast.

[stevenh]

I had this issue via bad programming on my behalf... I had the Arduino apply a full 2A 12v for one nano-second too long and the little magnet sucked it up very easily... melted the plastic and the blades just fell limp out of their sockets. They have tiny vertical pins at the top end and these sit in drilled holes in the base of the point; which melt and stretch very quickly.

The expense, the time-cost of removing the point from the layout, the ability to get replacement points and the thought that my code/electronics could very quickly do it again all scare me.

[Martijn Meerts]

That's why for anything other then temporary carpet layouts, I'm aiming for servo controlled turnouts. I've just had too much problems with the coil based turnout motors, especially in N-scale.

[keitaro]

i managed to swap out the point with out any damage to the ballast.

took 1 hour to do.

basic explanation would be i snipped the track on the broken 3 way and removed.

i then took a sharp knife and cut the plastic sleeper behind the metal joiner of the joining track and on each 3 way point slipped them up out of the way so they don't stick out.

I then cut the plastic joiner clips on the 3 way sides and there conecting track.

I plugged in the 1 to 1 side as normal when connecting tomix track.

placed down flat and used tweezers to slide the metal joines on the 3 way side to the connecting track.

Works like a charm and no damage done slight spot of pva just to give extra hold on the 3 way side to give a bit of extra hold since i had to sacrafice the plastic joiner clips.

tested and everything works fine. Even high speeds no derails

[keitaro]

pic of the underneath

[clem24]

Do what I do.. "These are daddy's toys. DON'T TOUCH!!!!!!!!!!!".




Now just wondering how long I can keep that up..............

[clem24]

Double post. someone delete me.