Wednesday, September 22, 2010
We have a 1994 LPKF Protomat S91 PCB mill in the lab for making prototype PCBs. Here it was used to cut a circular part (not a PCB) which was first drawn in CorelDraw, then saved in HPGL format, and then opened in BoardMaster which is the program that controls the mill through a quirky [...]
Saturday, September 18, 2010
I turned these knobs from 40mm stock on a manual lathe during the week, and JI cnc-milled them to shape today. There's still one bit missing from the wedge: the fine-adjustment piece for the azimuth-angle during polar alignment. I'll try to make it on the lathe next, and then everything should be ready for anodizing.
CNC-turned from stainless steel, this is a 400mm long and 38mm diameter IOM keel bulb. A slot will be milled in the middle for the keel fin. Unlike a lead-bulb this one will require no surface filler/sanding/painting. But the density (compared to water) of stainless steel is 8 at most, while lead bulbs can be [...]
Monday, February 22, 2010
Jari machined these steel fin moulds for the PIKANTO over the weekend. The fin will be moulded with a clear glecoat, one 200g carbon layer as a surface layer, and one 250g/m2 UHM UD carbon layer. We are going to use either cnc-machined balsa cores, or a 2-component epoxy foam core. The bulb attaches with [...]
We've done the CAD design, CAM-toolpaths, and CNC-machining for a set of RG65 model yacht (looks roughly like this) fin and rudder moulds. They will be shipped to the customer on Monday. From time to time I get enquiries about making moulds like this, for fins, rudders, bulbs, etc., from people around the world. Usually [...]
This jib-support part which goes into the bow of the boat has about three or four different purposes. First, it stiffens the forward deck to take the loads from the rig, second it provides a 6 mm i.d. tube for a dyneema-thread type no1 rig swivel, third it provides a 3mm wide slot for recessed [...]
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Jari cnc-milled rudder moulds for the Pikanto IOM this weekend. The design is similar to the Sails ETC rudder, but slightly larger and with a NACA 0006 airfoil profile, and a slot for a 4mm rudder stock.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Most of the electronics I've ordered for the lathe has arrived by now. Still waiting for the servo-drive for the main spindle. Bottom left are three switched-mode power supplies: 5V 3.5A (logic etc), 12V 3.3A (brushless amps, E-stop chain, etc), 24V 1.3A (spindle brake) Bottom right are two Chinese 350W 48VDC 7.3A power supplies for [...]
Digikey corrected their mistake and shipped The Real McCoy to me today.