Dang, I missed that question. It was going great but I haven't needed to do it in a while. I could powdercoat the engine stand adaptors but we just shoot them with flat black spray paint. All the bling items we make right now are either aluminum or stainless so they don't need it. Everything else is either a tool or not something you see anyways.
I do enjoy doing it but there are so many things I like to do that I don't get time for anymore.
We really concentrate on lower cost items like the solid motor mounts, solid diff mounts and engine stand adaptors that are great sellers and make the bills.

Things like the surfacing and the mandrel bender that have so many intangables as far as how much more time and money as well as final product cost are way off the radar

But the cheesy little Harbor Freight powder coat system and the cheap oven I highly recommend especially for any of you that are more strapped for cash than time. You can also get into polishing aluminum that has a low cost for startup.
Then a little compressor as good as you can afford to start off with) and a small bead blast cabinet will help with both of those services. With a small garage some of you could still get some good extra cash on the side. Especially if you do good work and word gets around about you.
If some of you do take my advice on the scrapyards and other stuff I mention be sure to come back and post how things are going.

 

Hahaha, yeah i found that out about scrapyards a long time agao, when in power mwchanincs back in the day findng used and abused Briggs and strattons, and old engines of all sorts! I also have found lots ovf very useful bicycle and motorcycle parts and i have concocted a gas power scooter from the mess using a 110cc gas cement hacksaw centrifugal clutch and a 26cc weed eater engine a jackshaft from a self propelled lawnmower and a scooter frame of the reserve for 15$ and a pice of plexiglass for footplate Lol I got yea beat on the compressor end of things tho my grandpa got one from after the war a new 2600$ balidor 3 stage motor and a 2 stage 280psi at25 cfm and he got that for 200$ My grandpa was a plumber and we have 1lather 1lathe mill a ac/dc 250amp welder, new millermatic 175 mig, oxy acet, all handtools imaginable, glass bead cabinent, sandblast (total loss) so we have a fairly usueable machine shope when it comes to fabricating/repairing. well heres a few links to the scoot
, and scalliwag keep it up with the awesome work!

 

does that scooter tend to lean to the right a bit?

All it needs now is a gigantic spoiler, ground effects, some chromed out spinners and some blinking windshield squirters.

 

ohh and a windshield. ;o)

 

Haha! Yep you know what I'm talking about Koopz! That scooter is great Kinda like a fat chic; fun to ride but you don't want anybody to see you on it (actually that is just an old moped joke I slightly modified for the moment )
And that 2 stage 280psi at 25 cfm compressor is nuck'n futz Now that hooked to a sandblaster could make for a holy terror.

 

I think I'm going on a crusade through the area scrap yards this week.

thanks for the coaching Scaviwag

 

I'm glad we got on the scrapyard subject. Here is what I found a couple of weeks back that I forgot about. They are brand new Bimba air cylinders that still have the the thread protectors in the fitting ports
They are mostly aluminum with some stainless. There are 19 of them. One is at the shop because we goofed with it one night. We put my rather large friend "Chewy" on it. He is the great big guy that helped me put the car lift in the shop for those that remember that picture He is a good 350 lbs.
Well we hit the air valve and it took him up in the air Something about a really big guy getting picked up like that was just funny as hell to me and David

But anyways I will probably keep about 4 of them and eBAy the rest. They work good for clamping fixtures or other things that don't need much stroke but need to hold good pressure.
All 19 of the were $36 because aluminum prices are higher per lb than steel. They are yet another find that I really cannot figure out why they would ever be tossed and especially sold as scrap.
Also what you find is all a matter of timing in the yards as well. There is not much rhyme or reason on that. The more people that are out dumping stuff when you are out there or just that you get something before someone else does.
Something cool could also be dumped 5 minutes after you leave.
In other words just because you don't find something on one trip does not mean squat and just because you strike gold the first time does not mean you will the next. It is an ever changing situation depending on how busy a yard you hit.

 

Thats a wicked find! Now just thinking of what to use them on . LoL belive me the scoot is a beaut, the frame has no more tape on it and is still green, the wheels are now bright gold and the motor/holding plate is dark blue, she goes pretty good i can get about 35km/h out of it and it doest lean to the right a bit more of a bounce cause when i drilled the sprocket bracket i got my holes abou 1/2 a mm out and now it bounces ps: its belt and chain drive, just right now the flat tire is popped cause my friends tryd an attempted theft on it and failed when the tire blew up lol yeah i dont go to the junkyard to often anymore too busy well keep on the good finds all!

 

I just checked the Bimba site and for this model (FOS-702-4RV-DJ) list for $109.25 before some of the option codes (like high temp seals) are added. So that's over $2000 (list) worth of cylinders dumped Now these things don't fetch close to that on eBay but it just goes to show how crazy these things can be.
Some company paid a lot of money for these and someone sold them as scrap for less than $10.

Here is the link to the pdf I got the pricing from http://www.bimba.com/pdf/bmfl.pdf (go to the FOS with 3" bore)

Oh, the latest thing we are working on is 1st/2nd gen short shifter kits. These are the the type of projects that are easy to get to production and have a pretty descent sales projection. So you 1st and 2nd gen guys keep your eyes open for it

 

We've got all types of Bimba pneumatic cylinders in some of our equipment at work. I've never had to replace one but I've rebuilt a few. The rebuild kit has a new o-ring for the piston and a new bronze bushing to seal around the rod and best of all retails for about $2.95

 

Wow - you've been busy Scalli!
Man, if you ever need semi-skilled labor (I took metal shop in HS, and ran a waterjet cutter for the better part of a year), please, please give me a yell - I'll work just for the opportunity to 'play' will all that kickass stuff!
My Dad's got a Vertical mill (retro'd with digital readouts and a good-sized Clausing lathe (he had to build a bigger phase converter for that one), and other assorted scrounged equipment, but you've scored even better deals than he has (that's a pretty strong compliment - Dad's a champion scrounger, too!)
I'm especially jealous of the air compressor - that's what I really need. The dinky little Monky Wards 1-horse that I inherited from Dad (when he scored a big honking 50-gallon 7-horse or so) just ain't doin' the trick. Barely runs air tools, much less a sandblaster. Looks like I need to get out and hit the scrapyards. Speaking of which, I'm in the D/FW area. What salvage yards are you hitting, if that isn't too much to ask?

 

That is damn good to know. These are new but I have a couple of other Bimba cylinders that are not but I have not bothered rebuilding them. Now that I know they are not only cheap, but insanely cheap to rebuild I am going to have to freshen them up.

 

I always wanted to mess with a water jet. The best I have messed with so far was a big plasma table (55 feet long ) with a Burney CNC unit.
The mill and lathe of your Dad's makes me jealous. Even used Clausing equipment goes for big bucks.
As far as the scrap yards I go to Westex off North Main (FW) and Square Deal off Elliot Reeder (FW) There are a couple more but I can't think of their names. They are all in Fort Worth though. I make the rounds almost once a week. I have even been guilty of skipping lunch from work and hitting them.
One thing I saw that made me sick once was a cryogenics system that is still in production it was so new that the workers had already cut it up with a torch.
I don't think it was a -320 F like you want for hardening parts but it had to still be worth a metric shitload. The piece that a panel I snatched with the model of just one part of the unit was $4500 new. Then there was another unit I did not have the model off of that was even more expensive (i.e.- the panel was from the cheap part)

Hey we are going to have a MNF party at Eric's tonight. How about it Kevin and Damon you guys up for it?

 

Smart smart man. If you guys are looking for someone to do work around the shop come June next year, I'll be happy to help. All I need is somewhere to sleep and food to eat. By that time I'll have fluid dynamics, static dynamics, strength of materials, and Fluids and Thermal Physics under my belt. This is only of course if you guys get set up far enough. Although I wouldn't mind helping out, if I could find a different job there to support housing and food.

- Steiner

 

I am hoping to have enough production soon to require a fulltime person. If that works out and I have more time for R&D I can even run myself ragged with too many skillets in a fire real quick as well. That is where it would be good to be able to delegate some of the work involved in that as well.
The areas you are studying would be very helpful. So much of the equipment I make involve hydraulics and I pretty much trial and error my way through. It would really be nice to have someone that was strong enough in those areas to where they could at least narrow it down quicker.
I don't have the time or the patience (or brains ) to learn the finite details of all the areas of physics I work with and it usually shows. There is a fine line between being a jack of all trades and a one man wrecking crew and I am usually wobbling right down the middle of it
I will PM you some more details on what we are doing here so that you can have some things to think about.

 

Well I will have a basic understanding of it. I'm taking Static Dynamics right now, although that really isn't that applicable in the real world as nothing is ever completely in equilibrium and stopped. But the rest I will be taking next semester so don't expect too much as I will just have started getting into them. Next year i should be getting into the specifics of those, depending on which way I choose to go in my major. Unfortunately I would only be able to be around from mid may to mid August, so I wouldn't be able to stay on for a long time. But I would be happy to help get things running, even if it is just me getting the production stuff done so you can spend your time working on the real projects and furthering your developements, tests, etc for each project.

- Steiner

 

That would work. Your autocad skills will come in handy as well on some projects.

 

static dynamics? huh? isnt that an oxymoron?

 

ps if it doesnt work out with steiner this summer, I'd be interested in the same deal..

 

It is kind of like "Consistantly Inconsistant". I have known some people that were prime examples of that classification I have worked for my fair of them as well
But I am guessing that this may have something to do with static electricity. Or at least that is what www.static-dynamics.com is about

 

Hahaha yeah pretty much. It's the study of forces, moments, torque, distributed loads etc on an object that is stationary. So we deal with structures or just random parts and using some basic trig you can figure out where to replace all the forces with one, or where a moment can be placed etc etc. It is pretty much just an intro course to get the basic concepts and ideas about how to deal with parts FBD's forces etc, so that when you go into other engineering mechanics courses you can go into specifics without having to learn all the basics again. In theory you could caclulate actual structures when they aren't moving.

- Steiner

 

oh ok. I had that but it was just called statics here. they have a seperate course in dynamics.

or 'dynamic dynamics' lol

pat

 

I've just read through all of this and good work with developing the machine for finishing the housings. In my opinion, this is the most important aspect of the project. I am doing similar research for plasma sprayed / wire sprayed coatings and piston seals etc for my masters degree (mechanical engineering) in New Zealand. Even if the material you have does not work there are many more that you have not mentioned (seen?) that could probably do the job. A few things that I have found from bench testing is that one of the biggest differences between the coatings is the wear rates of the seals not the coating. In addition, the published friction coefficients are not related to lubricated conditions and are very dependent on the material couple ie seal material and coating material. I also agree with whoever it was that said the sprayed coatings will be better than the hard chrome (from testing that I have carried out). One of the materials that I have had success with is a Sulzer Metco powder so it might be worth looking at that, they also make equipment for spraying cylinder bores. It might be worth doing a search on PS304 which is a self lubricating material.

 

When you talk about seals are you talking about the seal on the coating or seals as in piston rings or apex seals?

- Steiner

 

obviously the wear time on the seals would change with different coatings due to changes in hardness, coefficients of friction, and how well the oil sticks to it( not sure what the big word is for that)

pat