gas torch for a swap n go? Goto page Previous1, 2, 3Next
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Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
Just remember that ali cans are probably made of very soft alloy; it might machine OK, but will likely be way too bendy for structural robot parts.
Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:33 pm
maddox
Joined: 21 Dec 2006
Posts: 786
Location: Belgium
Melting ali cans with an open torch flame.
Will yield a lot of aluminiumoxide.
Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:30 am
Don Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 21 Feb 2010
Posts: 355
Location: Gladstone, Queesland
nice work guys,I seriously love the way you guys get things done.nicks right tho It might not be overaly good for anything major,but then again take old Burt Munro for an example and just mix a few different things into the batch to get something more structural. Dont know if this has been answered but what type of concrete are you using?
Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:55 am
miles&Jules Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 3973
Location: ipswich QLD
Hi Guys
righto...ill give the cans a test first... when I put an ali can into the last mix it did make some horrid burning fumes as the paint burnt off.....yuck.
Its just a quick set sand/cement mix from bunning. I baked it for like 8hours in the oven at low heat to get all the water out.
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
Could you make a lid with a metal pipe for a chimney to duct off those fumes? Ali cans have a plastic liner as well as paint, melting enough for a ingot might not be good for your health.
Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:17 am
miles&Jules Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 3973
Location: ipswich QLD
Good idea...ya wouldn't stand there while melting though. Once its hot enough we just chuck the can on the top and it sinks in.
I will keep an eye out for any ali from ow on though...and I wont worry so much when latheing...cause if I stuff it up we can just melt it down again. _________________ Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
www.mulesfilm.com.au www.wombokforest.com.au
-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015
Tue Jan 01, 2013 9:18 am
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
You already know all the good places to get scrap aluminium - I'd look out for mowers as the better one have ali decks that are likely made of 5052 alloy. 5052 is fairly strong and very corrosion resistant. Aluminium window frames and shop fittings are usually made of 5005 alloy, which is almost pure ali and very soft.
It would be interesting to try old hard disk frames. People throw them out but the frames have quite a bit of metal in them.
Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:53 am
miles&Jules Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 3973
Location: ipswich QLD
Oh..Yeah hard drives weigh a ton..also out door light fittings...i had one i bought at a market and it has nearly a kg of ali in it ..also computer heat sinks are good to i melted one of them in the first batch (it felt good)...i will ask the local computer shop for heat sinks and dead hard drives...good call Nick!
Also I just weighed the block I made and it weighs 800g....a 4m piece of ali 1cmx1cm weighs 1 kg...they only cost about $8 so if you go by weight, its a lot cheaper than a 1kg 50mmx100mm round bar...must be less turn around (excuse the pun)
I was thinking it would be interesting to mould a 1cm layer of ali between two steel woks (spaced accurately) to create a thick full body spinner shell..... I recon 1cm of ali would be stronger than 2.5mm steel shell of Ringo probably weigh similar to? _________________ Miles Blow - Julie Pitts
www.mulesfilm.com.au www.wombokforest.com.au
-Pickasso- Vivid Sportsman champion 2015
Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:19 am
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
The sad thing is that our work thew out at least 100 disk drives last year and probably more this year - would anyone in NSW like to try melting down the frames?
Edit: I will also be chucking out many other aluminium parts from work over the next 8 months...
Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:48 am
miles&Jules Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 3973
Location: ipswich QLD
Last edited by miles&Jules on Tue Jan 01, 2013 1:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:09 pm
seanet1310
Joined: 08 Nov 2006
Posts: 1265
Location: Adelaide
Miles, you are crazy. I love it. Keep up the innovative ways to do everything. Will be interesting to see how your various mixes go and what the best scrap Ali is for various applications.
Just keep away from them fumes like Nick said or you really may go crazy. Lots of exposure I am sure is nasty for your health.
How is the gas usage of the torch?
Can you find a use in the puppet, film and outsourced work for softer Aluminium's you make yourself when they are not suitable for bots?
Aluminium cans as others have said may not be the most useful, they are very large surface area to volume leading to a lot of Aluminium oxide for the weight, they then have fun paints and plastic film as contaminates to remove from the mix. Still well worth a try and results will be interesting. _________________ Remember to trust me, I am an Engineer.
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
Maybe - I am trying to think of something clever to cast Perhaps disks to make pulleys
I already found 8 drives to be chucked out, might strip them down today. That big torch you saw uses 3.5Kg of gas per hour, So making a furnace with forced air and heat beads or charcoal sounds like a more economical method - start it up with gas, then get the heat beads to finish the job.
Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:42 pm
dyrodium Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney
I've been looking into forges recently but yeah, I think that's beyond the scope of my harry potter workshop under the stairs... _________________ ( •_•)
BTW: for anyone wanting to build their own workshop machinery on the cheap, just search for "Dave Gingery" on Amazon; he has some very interesting how-to books!
@ Harry Potter: a dragon might come in handy
Tue Jan 01, 2013 12:57 pm
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
The first 5 drives have been recycled:
They had aluminium carriers (middle) and provided 10 freaking strong NIB magnets (left). The more I think about it, this scrap would be perfect for pulleys.
Now looking for a small steel drum and a vacuum cleaner to provide the air flow.
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