THE
VOL 35 No.7
MARCH 2005 THE MODELLER
WEB SITE: www.tsme.ca TSME CHAT LINE: tsme@yahoogroups.com
We are still in it – winter whiteness and all that good stuff to shovel (get a snowblower – you’ll not regret it!) There has been plenty of time to work on your projects, so let’s see what you have been doing since the fall or a few months ago – bring what you have been working on to our next meeting – and share this with your fellow members on
FRIDAY 11 MARCH 2005 AT 8.00pm; usual place -
FOR THIS FRIDAY EVENING’S MEETING, YOU’LL BE HEARING FROM: (as well as, hopefully, some others)
RON MELVIN will talk about making End Mills and a Lathe Back Plate,
DON CARR has been making up Boiler Piping. Don will give some pointers on how to do this work.
RICHARD TROUNCE will tell us about the history and application of Variable Speed Drives,
And, hopefully, JIM SMALL will be feeling better and will be in to talk about Pattern Making
And, If you have some Technical Model Engineering questions – bring them along, and if time permits we’ll have a question and answer session
If you have a project you are currently working on, or recently finished – please bring it along and we will do all we can to fit your item into the program.
WHAT’S UP & COMING : MEETING
DATES 8 April, 13May, 10 June @
UP COMING EVENTS:
THE
LIBRARY: If you have any suggestions for books please let Gerald Gardiner know;
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE FEBRUARY MEETING…….with thanks to Richard Trounce for taking these notes
Our Guests, Aquinas & Brian from the CNIB library showed us how they make raised pictures in textbooks for visually impaired readers. They use hand methods to make a solid model; e.g.. layer buildup using cardboard or paper. The resulting 3D image can be copied in vacuum formed plastic. An alternative is a “fuser” which uses a Xerox-like machine to slightly raise a printed image on paper. This image has no depth, but can be felt. They are looking for help and suggestions for better methods of performing their work.
BERT deKAT His drilling machine has a fixed head but a moving table for drilling small holes, #80 drill or less (a #80 drill is .0135” dia.). The table is driven by an electronically controlled stepper motor which has 10 speeds, the slowest feed is .001” per second. Each feed-rate step increases by the square root of 2. It does peck drilling in an automatic cycle with .003 thou. advance between clearing lifts of .003 thousandths. The logic is run by a micro-controller. That should make control changes relatively easy.
MURRAY AXFORD’s Decorative Solenoid Engine was built because his wife wanted him to clean up the shop, so rather than throwing away all the useless bits & pieces, he made a horizontal style solenoid engine from them! The solenoid is a 12 volt GM trunk release solenoid and the other parts were rescued from the scrap pile.
JOHN CHAPPELL explained the making of this year’s Christmas gifts -117 puzzles in all consisting of 3 red disks inside a green sleeve. When the numbers on one side of the disks add up to 25, the other side gives a Christmas greeting.
PAUL STEARNS showed his drilling & tapping machine, which is driven by a Trico windshield wiper gear motor and timing belt. Power is supplied through a Variac and bridge rectifier to give D.C. to the motor. Some of the refinements include a hole in the base, which is in line with the tap axis so that the drilling alignment can be preserved when transferring from the drill press to the tapping machine. Also, the motor has a spring loaded multiple disc clutch which can be adjusted to vary the applied torque from a 2-56 tap, all the way up to ¼-20.
DAVE BOWES talked about the construction of an oscillating engine that he got the castings for as a prize from Cabin Fever. Most of the castings are aluminum. He also brought in a radio controlled battery powered airplane that he is experimenting with. The controls, wheels and motor are all from a $10.00 radio-controlled car. It has a 1 ft. wingspan & the motor is geared down 5:1. Control is all or nothing.
PAUL DEBRUN showed a simple hot-wire styrofoam cutter that he made and told us how to use it. A CB antenna bent into a bow forms the frame. This keeps tension on the wire which gets longer when its heated. Again, a Variac is used to control the power supplied to the cutting wire, which started life as a hair dryer heating element. When the power is adjusted correctly, very precise cuts can be made, either curved or straight.
Due to a lack of time, DON CARR’s presentation was held over to the next meeting.
TSME WEBSITE
We are looking for someone to maintain the TSME Website – please let anyone on the exec know – if you are interested.
WANTED: by DON CARR: About 15” long piece of Soft Copper Tubing – 7/32” O. dia x 5/32” I. dia
FOR
FOR
FOR
WANTED: by Bob McDonald. Any Model Engineering Mags, Books on Model Engineering and Shop Practice.
Treasurer Art Gordon will accept payment by cash or cheque at the meetings, or in the mail.
$30.00 for the coming year. Of course, if there are any difficulties, a confidential word in Art’s ear will take care of things. We don’t like to lose a member for any reason. If you are joining as a New Member, please provide your: name, address, phone number and e-mail address if you have one, and whether you would like to receive our newsletter, THE MODELLER by email, or by post.