Laser Cutting a Model Railroad Control Panel

[@BoulderCreekRailroad]

Oh wow, what timing. I just finished laser cutting a control panel for my new layout 😃 Believe it or not but I used TinkerCAD to create the SVG that was sent to the laser cutter. I used acrylic instead of wood but I really like the natural look of the wood! Acrylic cuts really well but has a lot of not nice fumes, you’d probably need to cut it outside with an open frame laser cutter… our leave the room. But it’s probably not a good idea to run the laser unattended… Can’t wait to see updates of MRR Two 😉

[@billhastings8634]

Do a search for two color acrylic. It's usually a 3mm white acrylic sheet with a very thin layer of a colored acrylic on top. You use the laser to burn off the colored top, leaving nice white markings. You can get almost any color for the thin layer, allowing you to match the panels to your layout color scheme. I did some control panels for a friend, and they turned out beautifully.

[@edwardaudet8367]

😊 WOW That looks great, sure beats the pinstripes from the auto store. This really going to look cool

[@melkitson]

This turned out really well. It is visually appealing as well as being functional.

[@southern207hobbies]

Jimmy take a look at ideal lever wire connectors there available at all major home improvement centers plus no soldering needed!

[@Uptownloki47]

That panel looks really well done, I’ll have to try this if I ever need to make a panel. Now that you have a laser cutter are you going to try making buildings with it?

[@johnbanicki7232]

Panel looks great. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheyMakeItLikeThat]

You’re really tempting me with that laser, Jimmy.

[@kenr86]

Instead of using wood, could an opaque styrene sheet be used in that laser cutter?

[@Trains-With-Shane]

That turned out pretty nice! Are you going to leave the wood raw or are you going to seal, paint, or stain it?

[@acrranscaleandlifejourney4330]

Very nice looking. Thanks for sharing.

[@thomascanady1967]

Do you have a link for the push buttons? Are they normally open momentary?

[@nedmerrill5705]

Could one use a Cricuit to achieve something like this?

[@CM-ARM]

That is really nice

[@robbewuyts7867]

I use RD Works for the lasercutter (I'ts free)