Wooden train switch (Brio, Playtive, Lillabo, ...) - slightly over engineered

This is my version of a mechanical switch for wooden track trains. Some may call it over engineered, but that's what I was asked for ;-)

The tolerances of the connectors are quite loose, so it should work with most of the wooden track trains, such as Brio® (made for), Playtive and IKEA® Lillabo.

I decided to use a rubber band transmission because that seems to be a robust solution. It can't be overtorqued because there is no rigid mechanical connection between the switch tongue and the rotary control.

Printing:

I printed in PLA, with additional perimeters and increased infill, especially for the drive shaft.

 PETG might be an option for the small parts for additional mechanical strength.

Additional material required:

Glue:

• The switch tongue and drive disk are glued together.
• The rotary control is glued to the drive shaft, which might not be necessary, depending on the tolerances your printed parts show.
• I use UHU® Allplast for PLA.

Rubber band:

• The circumference of the rubber band should be around 13cm (5in) and the diameter 1.4mm (0.05in).

Assembly:

The switch tongue and drive disk only fit in one position! The hexagonal shaft is tapering and so is the notch of the drive disk, so be aware of the correct orientation.

When making a version of the switch branching to the opposite side, you have to print mirrored parts of the track, switch tongue and drive disk!