Engineering a better harness bar (warning: long…)
Royale with cheese
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,256
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas, by way of Poulsbo, WA
When I get an FD again, hopefully these will still be available. And about the upgraded quick release pins... Those are the same pins that we use in the Airforce, as armament safety pins. Ours are about 3/8" by 10" or so, and they prevent munitions form being inadvertantly released. So, if one of those pins can will stop a 3000 pound fuel tank from being explosivly ejected from an aircraft traveling over the speed of sound, I think it will do its job in this application. I would recommend the uprgrade to everyone who buys the bar.
Thread Starter
Place your ad here...
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 2
From: Dayton, OH
When I get an FD again, hopefully these will still be available. And about the upgraded quick release pins... Those are the same pins that we use in the Airforce, as armament safety pins. Ours are about 3/8" by 10" or so, and they prevent munitions form being inadvertantly released. So, if one of those pins can will stop a 3000 pound fuel tank from being explosivly ejected from an aircraft traveling over the speed of sound, I think it will do its job in this application. I would recommend the uprgrade to everyone who buys the bar.
This is one of the places where I got the idea for the push-button pins.Keep in mind, the standard clevis pins that ship with the bar system are more than strong enough (they're grade 8). The upgraded push-button ones aren't really an upgrade in terms of strength. They just offer quicker/easier fastening, and have a certain "coolness" factor associated with them
-Rob
Thread Starter
Place your ad here...
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 2
From: Dayton, OH
Update
It's been a little while since my last post, and an update is obviously long over due.
Since the initial prototype was created, I have recognized some areas and methods in which to improve upon the design. Of course, there was nothing "wrong" with the prototype, but as an engineer I am always look for ways to improve existing ideas. Changes to the design are located primarily on the left and right side mounting brackets, as can be seen in the picture below (for those that were asking previously, the length of the 5/8" mounting bolts has been increased). Personally, I feel that this most recent revision is a much more elegant and classy looking design. Plus, it is even stronger than the previous design.
I also finally got around to setting up a little better website. I'm continuing to add information daily, so check for updates often.
http://axiomautosports.freehostia.com/index.html
There are only a few extra bars that are still unspoken for. So if you're still interested, you need to place the order before they sell out.
-Rob
Since the initial prototype was created, I have recognized some areas and methods in which to improve upon the design. Of course, there was nothing "wrong" with the prototype, but as an engineer I am always look for ways to improve existing ideas. Changes to the design are located primarily on the left and right side mounting brackets, as can be seen in the picture below (for those that were asking previously, the length of the 5/8" mounting bolts has been increased). Personally, I feel that this most recent revision is a much more elegant and classy looking design. Plus, it is even stronger than the previous design.
I also finally got around to setting up a little better website. I'm continuing to add information daily, so check for updates often.
http://axiomautosports.freehostia.com/index.html
There are only a few extra bars that are still unspoken for. So if you're still interested, you need to place the order before they sell out.
-Rob
It's been a little while since my last post, and an update is obviously long over due.
Since the initial prototype was created, I have recognized some areas and methods in which to improve upon the design. Of course, there was nothing "wrong" with the prototype, but as an engineer I am always look for ways to improve existing ideas. Changes to the design are located primarily on the left and right side mounting brackets, as can be seen in the picture below (for those that were asking previously, the length of the 5/8" mounting bolts has been increased). Personally, I feel that this most recent revision is a much more elegant and classy looking design. Plus, it is even stronger than the previous design.
I also finally got around to setting up a little better website. I'm continuing to add information daily, so check for updates often.
http://axiomautosports.freehostia.com/index.html
There are only a few extra bars that are still unspoken for. So if you're still interested, you need to place the order before they sell out.
-Rob
Since the initial prototype was created, I have recognized some areas and methods in which to improve upon the design. Of course, there was nothing "wrong" with the prototype, but as an engineer I am always look for ways to improve existing ideas. Changes to the design are located primarily on the left and right side mounting brackets, as can be seen in the picture below (for those that were asking previously, the length of the 5/8" mounting bolts has been increased). Personally, I feel that this most recent revision is a much more elegant and classy looking design. Plus, it is even stronger than the previous design.
I also finally got around to setting up a little better website. I'm continuing to add information daily, so check for updates often.
http://axiomautosports.freehostia.com/index.html
There are only a few extra bars that are still unspoken for. So if you're still interested, you need to place the order before they sell out.
-Rob
Thread Starter
Place your ad here...
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 2
From: Dayton, OH
Thread Starter
Place your ad here...
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 2
From: Dayton, OH
-Rob
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,720
Likes: 1
From: Greenwood/Hartsville, SC.
Wow, I had completely forgotten all about this. Sorry for not being able to scout around for a machine shop down here, my engine blew a couple of days after you sent me that email. Glad to see everything worked out though, maybe I'll be able to get in on the next GB.
)
Thread Starter
Place your ad here...
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 2
From: Dayton, OH
Update
Well, the short story is that the ET on completion for the production run has been pushed back by another week or two. 
I spoke with my machine shop late last week. One of his apprentice machinists was running the CNC on a job that was scheduled just prior to mine. The newbie apparently had an error in his programming for that job, and during one of the test runs the spindle came in contact with the bed
. I was purposely delaying posting an update with this information with the hopes that it would be a quick fix and wouldn't affect my schedule. But apparently, the impact resulted in quite a bit of damage, which took some time for them to fix. Unfortunately, it was not an easy (or cheap) fix for the shop.
The shop also has (2) other 5-axis machines, but these are basically scheduled out for the next 1+ month with high-priority jobs (one is for Harley Davidson, don't remember who the other is for). So in essence, my job needed to wait until the broken machine was repaired and recalibrated.
Good news is that the machine finally got recal'ed yesterday, and they are currently working on my job.
Bottom line:
Parts should finish the machining process mid next week. Then it's off to the annodizer. I'm gonna push as much as I can to get this finished by the end of next week. That will give me that weekend to do final inspections of all parts and then ship.
I really do apologize for the delay in machining. But please bear with me, as I'm doing everything in my power to get us back on track.
-Rob
I spoke with my machine shop late last week. One of his apprentice machinists was running the CNC on a job that was scheduled just prior to mine. The newbie apparently had an error in his programming for that job, and during one of the test runs the spindle came in contact with the bed
. I was purposely delaying posting an update with this information with the hopes that it would be a quick fix and wouldn't affect my schedule. But apparently, the impact resulted in quite a bit of damage, which took some time for them to fix. Unfortunately, it was not an easy (or cheap) fix for the shop. The shop also has (2) other 5-axis machines, but these are basically scheduled out for the next 1+ month with high-priority jobs (one is for Harley Davidson, don't remember who the other is for). So in essence, my job needed to wait until the broken machine was repaired and recalibrated.
Good news is that the machine finally got recal'ed yesterday, and they are currently working on my job.
Bottom line:
Parts should finish the machining process mid next week. Then it's off to the annodizer. I'm gonna push as much as I can to get this finished by the end of next week. That will give me that weekend to do final inspections of all parts and then ship.
I really do apologize for the delay in machining. But please bear with me, as I'm doing everything in my power to get us back on track.
-Rob
Thread Starter
Place your ad here...
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 2
From: Dayton, OH
Yes, sorry for being out of touch. I was out of town on a government business trip for the past week. The timing kind of sucked, but there was really nothing I could do about it.
The long story short is that all machining work has been completed. I think my machinist underestimated the time requirement for them. It turned out that he had to decrease feed rates on a few of the features (such as the long slots in the bars) in order to get them to come out clean. So it took a little longer than expected.
The parts have been sent to the anodizer (for those that wanted the bars anodized), and that should be finished by the end of this week (early next week at the latest). I'll then do inspections and testing of each component prior to shipping.
Shouldn't be too much longer. I really do apologize for all the delays!
-Rob
The long story short is that all machining work has been completed. I think my machinist underestimated the time requirement for them. It turned out that he had to decrease feed rates on a few of the features (such as the long slots in the bars) in order to get them to come out clean. So it took a little longer than expected.
The parts have been sent to the anodizer (for those that wanted the bars anodized), and that should be finished by the end of this week (early next week at the latest). I'll then do inspections and testing of each component prior to shipping.
Shouldn't be too much longer. I really do apologize for all the delays!
-Rob