Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Robot Parts And Lost Foam Casting - Page 2 — Parallax Forums

Robot Parts And Lost Foam Casting

2»

Comments

  • Heater. wrote: »
    I was kind of wondering, how much charcoal does it take to melt a pint of aluminium? Are we talking the normal sacks of charcoal we can buy in the supermarket for the BBQ ?

    Hmm...Seems you need 1.2 US pints to make a proper Imperial Pint.
    Your beers must be depressingly small:)
    We get beer by the fluid ounce- 8, 12, 16, 24, 32 and sometimes 64.

  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Round here everything is metric. So in a bar you can get 500ml or 330cl glasses of beer.

    A half litre beer is depressingly smaller that the 568cl of a proper pint.

    In recent years the local breweries had a brilliant idea. They started to sell one pint cans of beer in the supermarkets. Bigger is better right? Seems to have caught on as more and more of them do it today.

    Meanwhile, the British beers you can get here are still being imported in the expected 500ml cans. Everything is upside down!




  • I buy the 16 oz size usually, less than 500 ml, but better than 12 oz. If I have to buy 12 oz, I spend more time traveling to and from the fridge than I do drinking.
  • Back in the day... Before I quit drinking.... :) When I opted for beer... I would buy 22oz. long neck bottles. Perfect size for for a good swallow... and always refreshing. Instead of buying a case of 12oz. long necks, I would get a case of the 22 ouncers.

    Now I spend my money on parts and materials, instead of flushing my money down the toilet :)
  • It has been a while since I last posted to this thread, so I thought it was about time that I provided a progress report. As you may have guessed, I have been unable to devote my full attention to this project, but I am very serious about it and I work on it whenever I have the time and energy.

    As reported earlier, several furnace prototypes have already been made, and although I thought I was finished with the prototyping, I still have another design bouncing around in my head that I would like to build. I do believe that I already have a nice design for a furnace, but the new design should provide better product longevity for the customer. Just for fun and since a good friend was being a bit skeptical, I performed a test melt with one of the previous prototypes and I am happy to report that the furnace prototype performed extremely well, but the makeshift crucible almost disintegrated, thus making the makeshift crucible very hazardous. Since that test, I have been designing and fabricating various tools and a heavy duty crucible to coincide with the design of the furnace. At this point, all of the the tools (crucible lifter, pouring hook, and lid remover) have been constructed, and they are all very stout and sturdy, but I still have some work to do on the crucible.

    With other obligations looming over my head, it is highly unlikely that I will get my video made before the snow flies, but I am trying to remain hopeful. At the very least, I will soon be posting photos of a final furnace design and the various tools that will be used.
  • WOW

    It has been almost a year since I started this thread and it is hard to believe that much time has passed. However, at this point, I truly have some nice casting tools, which would make almost any DIY green with envy. Regardless of time, I have kept chipping away at this project and I am almost to the point of shooting some aluminum casting videos, but I have a few more odds and ends, such as purchasing my safety gear, creating reusable pressure heads, etc... I am hoping to start shooting video within a week, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

    Anyhow, in an attempt to remain true to the title of this thread, I am looking for suggestions for an object or objects to cast in the video. Keep in mind that my crucible is capable of containing one quart of molten aluminum, which is quite a bit for small items and that I will be using this full capacity to show off the capabilities of the furnace.

    It would be nice to just pour a complete heavy duty robot chassis, but that sounds complicated and I truly don't know if it can be done. Perhaps some various brackets, steering components, gears, etc... Just looking for ideas.

    Bruce
  • Once again, it has been a while since I posted to this thread, so here is an update.

    As it turns out, I never got to shoot my video during the spring or summer, but that is a good thing, because I was truly trying to rush into it, without being truly ready and now my plans have changed. As it stands now, I only have to design and order a fire grate with my logo on it, and the furnace kits will be ready for sale.

    I was looking for ideas in my previous post for items to cast, but over the last several months, I have put a lot of thought into it. Besides offering the furnace kits for sale, I intend to cast several other items I have worked on over the years, so that I may sell them also. One of these items will be the main body of an automated label dispenser, powered by a Propeller, however I still need to design a much better stepper driver circuit board for this project, which I recently just started

    Additionally, I will also be casting several parts for a hot wire foam cutter, which will include the main support mast, parts for a rip fence, and miter parts. Although related to this project, but not directly, I will also be creating an automated lathe for turning foam masts for the hot wire foam cutters. This automated lathe will also be Propeller powered, and will be the subject of a future thread.

    I will definitely be shooting my video in early springtime
  • Just touching base with Parallax and my friendly forum members...

    As many of you know, my mother has been battling cancer, as well as having a recent major stroke. Since early November, of last year, I have been caring for her intensively, which has left me very little time, for my interests. However, I was very close to going forward with my furnace project, before all this BS started.

    At this point, with a hired employee and paid sub-contractor, her estate is nearly cash dry, and I must do something. So I decided that my best choice was to move forward, with my furnace endeavors. This product is basically ready for market, with the exception of necessary videos, website distribution, and purchasing options, which I am currently focused upon.

    Very shortly, I will present the pudding, to tease your appetite, with YouTube videos. If you like what you see, then make a purchase. However, be forewarned, it will be a bit pricey, for beginners, but for those who have dabbled into metal casting, I will make you think, about investing into my product.

    Any purchases will be appreciated by me and my mother.

  • Due to circumstances beyond my control and the allotted timeline, I will just be pouring ingots, unless someone has an idea for a simple cast related to robots.

    The outdoor video will be shot today!
  • @idbruce

    re: your tag line:

    Necessity is the mother of invention definition

    A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem. This saying appears in the dialogue Republic, by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
  • idbruceidbruce Posts: 6,197
    edited 2017-11-09 19:07
    Dave

    In response to your response :)

    Yes, necessity is the mother of invention.

    I have had a long time interest in casting, but it was an invention (unpatented at this point), that prodded me into creating my furnaces and foundry equipment (new inventions).

    Believe me, at this very moment, my constant thought is.... What can I invent that most people will need and that can be casted from aluminum? Because if I find the answer to that question, then the world is my oyster!

    Due to more circumstances beyond my control, the video was not shot yesterday, but hopefully before the snow flies. Until then, here are the addresses to the new website, for those who may be interested: http://www.porta-melt.com and http://www.portamelt.com

    Very soon there will be indoor and outdoor video, describing this equipment and the use of this equipment. The indoor portion of the video is complete, but not yet posted.
  • idbruce,

    My point was that the quote is not author unknown, the author is Plato.
  • idbruceidbruce Posts: 6,197
    edited 2017-11-09 20:57
    Dave

    I think you are a nice guy, but prove that Plato is the author.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    idbruce,
    I think you are a nice guy, but prove it.
    Different nice guy here...

    How about this: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention

    Of course you could just go to the source and read the Plato's Republic: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html

    Then we might wonder if Plato was the first guy to say that or did he get the idea from someone before?

    Then we might wonder what did Plato mean my it, in the context in which he said it, and is it even true?








Sign In or Register to comment.