# Looks like Greg was correct about those flanges!



## norman (Jan 6, 2008)

Hi Guys:

Looks like Greg was correct about those wide flanges !

Page 3, New Aristo Craft Upgrades :


http://aristocraftforum.com/insiders/2012/INSIDER_May-June_2012.pdf 


The assembly line will now do a pass/fail wheel gauge test of the assembled locomotives. Aristo is not taking any more chances on the end customer finding defects!


There is a new collet to hold the drivers in place. What does this collet look like?


Gee, Greg does not even get an honorable mention in this article ! 

Well Greg, your posts have forced Aristo to greatly improve their drivers to the point of even reducing the flange height which will provide for a more scaled appearance. Looks like Scott went all out to fix the defect for good.


Norman


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Always seems to take them at least six months to admit they have a problem. hehehe


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

He was right, and I'm glad Aristo is recognizing it, but I doubt they'll really fix it. The "collett" is just a metal tube insert--it compounds the gage problems and stil requires loctite to work 

Aristo's "prime mover" gearbox is a combination of excellent ideas and poor execution. It's just ridiculous that it has to be held together by loctite. 

They should just key the axles and be done with it. 


For what it's worth, I own a lot of aristo products. They have their strengths, but I've always need to spend time compensating for their bad wheel attachment system


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks like Greg was correct about those wide flanges 
Isn't Greg ALWAYS correct, about everything?


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Link is now toast....


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Link is now toast....Why am I not surprised?


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

http://aristocraftforum.com/insider...e_2012.pdf


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## NTCGRR (Jan 2, 2008)

"will now do a pass/fail wheel gauge test " 
why has this NOT been done over the years??? 

Even us newbies check wheels if our test runs give us problems.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Basically, because it was impossible Marty. The Aristo wheel gage applied to an Aristo steam locomotive FAILS. 

The actual problem was that the flanges were so thick, that it is impossible to have both the back to back gage, and the wheel gage correct at the same time. 

This will require a redesign of the wheel contour. 

Those of you who have purchased the latest batch of Dash 9's have the improved wheel contour which makes complying with the NMRA and G1MRA specs possible, and will operate on any track that meets NMRA gage specifications. 

Hopefully this contour will be applied to the steam loco wheels. 

I'm still not confident that they "get it" completely. But I have hope, they "fixed" the 3 axle diesel wheels. 

Regards, Greg


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

... Now they need to fix the quartering problem. Instead of the cheap jack innacurate way they do it at the moment. Nice locos spoilt by a stupid design.


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## W3NZL (Jan 2, 2008)

*Until Aristo decides to make the tapers on their axles and their wheels **the same, *
*that system will never fly, a 6 degree IA axle taper, an a 7 degree wheel taper just *
*don't cut it... Once they get the tapers matched, the**n they need to use a decent size *
*and length Allen head cap screw, **suggest a 6-32 x 1/2 SS cap screw with a close *
*fitting SS flat washer, a tiny bit of **blue locktite on a couple threads ONLY, a halfway *
*intelligent person to assemble th**is thing, making sure the axle does not protrude *
*above the seating shoulder in t**he wheel... I just love all these "work around" fixes *
*that they come up with, including **this latest bag-of-worms, bushings, collars, or *
*whatever... While it might not be the best m**ethod of wheel mounting for a steamer, *
*it will work very nicely if its done right...*
*I've done about 35 or so of **these things, a third of them my own, and with a 100% *
*success rate so far... Here is **what one looks like when I get done with it.... And the*
*wheel S**TAYS PUT...*
*Paul R...*


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

That's why I "lap" my axles to the wheels with valve grinding compound. Once the tapers match, and they are clean, and I use a good screw and washer like you do, I get the same results, no slipping. 

Actually the new metal insert in the wheels makes doing this HARDER. I can't figure the logic out, maybe they thought the coefficient of friction between the metal insert and the chromed axle would be better. 

Greg


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

An insert/shim on a taper affects the gage.... so should Tapping...hmmm


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