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- #101
The last week and a half has been great for getting the final details nailed down. I've been so busy that I haven't stopped to update you guys here, so let me get everyone caught up with a few pictures and captions to go with them.
First of all, the second run of castings went very well, the shrinkage issues that we experienced on the first run have been resolved, and there is a minimal amount of pitting on the edge of some of the parts where a little bit of sand is falling down into the mold cavity. The foundry said it is no big deal and they can determine the cause of this issue when they do the production run and resolve it on the spot. I want to stress to everyone that this pitting IS NOT internal to the part, it is only on the edges but I expect it to be completely gone in the final run. Here's some parts straight from the foundry.
I've settled on a shop who will do the cleanup on the clamp halves after the foundry is done with them in order to clean up the flashing and give them a nice uniform finish. Here's what they look like after sanding and tumbling.
I had to redesign the mounting base to reduce manufacturing costs, but the benefit is actually twofold. I redesigned it to be a box which can be formed from a single flat pattern piece which can be folded into a box, then only the corners require welding. It reduced the amount of total inches that would have to be cut on the water jet, and greatly simplified the welding process. In the end it resulted in an 18% decrease in the cost of the base itself. This cost reduction really helped out a lot, because the price target was starting to look like it was going to be in the $80 range which I know many of you would not be happy with, including myself. In addition to the reduced cost, it also provides a wider, more stable mounting base. This should provide more flexibility for those wishing to mount it to a roll cage using one or two U-bolts. Here's a rending of the new design.
One other notable update is that I have also settled on a very reputable machine shop to machine the cast parts. They are the same shop that does all of the machining for Toytec lifts which I'm sure many of you have heard of. The owner is a really great guy and has given me a lot of great advice, as well as contacts for local shops and suppliers who are good to work with.
First of all, the second run of castings went very well, the shrinkage issues that we experienced on the first run have been resolved, and there is a minimal amount of pitting on the edge of some of the parts where a little bit of sand is falling down into the mold cavity. The foundry said it is no big deal and they can determine the cause of this issue when they do the production run and resolve it on the spot. I want to stress to everyone that this pitting IS NOT internal to the part, it is only on the edges but I expect it to be completely gone in the final run. Here's some parts straight from the foundry.
I've settled on a shop who will do the cleanup on the clamp halves after the foundry is done with them in order to clean up the flashing and give them a nice uniform finish. Here's what they look like after sanding and tumbling.
I had to redesign the mounting base to reduce manufacturing costs, but the benefit is actually twofold. I redesigned it to be a box which can be formed from a single flat pattern piece which can be folded into a box, then only the corners require welding. It reduced the amount of total inches that would have to be cut on the water jet, and greatly simplified the welding process. In the end it resulted in an 18% decrease in the cost of the base itself. This cost reduction really helped out a lot, because the price target was starting to look like it was going to be in the $80 range which I know many of you would not be happy with, including myself. In addition to the reduced cost, it also provides a wider, more stable mounting base. This should provide more flexibility for those wishing to mount it to a roll cage using one or two U-bolts. Here's a rending of the new design.
One other notable update is that I have also settled on a very reputable machine shop to machine the cast parts. They are the same shop that does all of the machining for Toytec lifts which I'm sure many of you have heard of. The owner is a really great guy and has given me a lot of great advice, as well as contacts for local shops and suppliers who are good to work with.
