Member postings for Jeff Dayman

Based on 5 years experience with my Ender 3 (about 35 reels 1 kg each of PLA plus filament) I'd suggest not buying further nozzles until you need to. I have changed nozzle ONCE in that time on my machine. (Like most people I bought a few when I started and still have all but one). Symptoms of nozzle issues I have had are poor first layer adhesion, or poor adhesion in later layers. If holes start being printed dimensionally too small it may mean the nozzle is worn internally and laying down an oversize width pass. Stringing has many causes but nozzle wear can make it worse. One useful improvement I made was to install a SeeMeCNC extruder, see link below. This worked much better than the stock Creality extruder which "skipped teeth" and mis-fed a lot, and after a while its' plastic frame was getting distorted (creep) by the spring tension behind the roller. I also installed a Creality glass bed about 6 months in as the magnetic build pad was cracking. I am told the stock build pads are better now. Again I suggest not buying a bunch of things to improve the machine before you get to know it.

The single most important thing I have found gives good results is good quality PLA plus filament. Some filament on the market is rubbish. Also important is to use the default settings for your selected material for a while in the Cura slicer. Several times I made things much worse by messing around adjusting settings without fully understanding the effect.

https://www.seemecnc.com/collections/parts-accessories/products/ezrstruder

I've had a lot of fun and done a lot of interesting prints for myself and printed a lot of toys for my nieces on my Ender 3, it was great value for money.

Do keep an eye on the conical axis guide rollers to aluminum extrusion fits - they loosen a bit over time and they need to be as close to 0 clearance as possible for good prints.

Just an FYI - even if the electrical parts or plastic parts are shot, this type of iron with a substantial copper tip can be heated in a gas ring, propane torch, coal or charcoal fire, and still do a lot of good work in its' second life.

Broken plastic handle bits can be replaced by wooden handles, and if all wiring openings are completely filled with epoxy after removing the supply wires, any asbestos inside covers will be contained and there should be no need to open the covers afterward, if it is to be heated by flame. As a precaution I would do any disassembly or wire snipping on old irons outside with the breeze blowing away from yourself, and using an N95 mask (or better).

Does one cable going to the box have the power supply plug? Does the other cable go to the motor? if so the button is probably the reset for a thermal circuit breaker to cut off the power to the motor if it draws too much current in an stall or overload situation.

If the cables are routed elsewhere I have no idea what it resets. Is there a lamp mounted integral to the drill press anywhere? could be a switch for the lamp if so. My drill press has a lamp in the housing behind the spindle and in front of the column.

Some sizes are available here in North America, see link below. Multiply inch sizes by 25.4 for mm conversion

https://www.mcmaster.com/pvc-rectangular-tubing/

Welcome Rachel! Have you seen any books or articles on car modeling by Mr Gerald Wingrove? They have many excellent techniques shown. His jigs for making spoked wheels were invaluable to me.

It's just a heatsink - just drill clearance size through and use a bolt, lockwasher, and nut.

I don't worry about it and just get on with the work at hand. Life is much too short for anxiety on axis designations.

steps I used to make a number of rivet sets:

1. make a punch the desired shape and size of the finished rivet head, from tool steel (drill rod / silver steel).

2. harden the punch.

3. make the die blank from tool steel also, anneal it, pre-drill the pocket slightly smaller than the desired head.

4. heat the die blank to red heat, drive the punch into it with a hammer or a press to form the recess.

5. clean up the die blank, harden and temper, polish.

A further thought - J E Nystrom in Finland has built several gas fired steam locomotives and has developed a few types of burner for use in them. Might be wise to have a look at his web pages and maybe email him for practical advice. Jan-Eric is a great guy and if he tries an approach an it does not work out - he's honest about it, and tells us about it! Just as important to know what doesn't work as it is to know what does.

http://sparetimelabs.com/animato/animato/steam/index.html

No idea why LALS or IBLS have not responded. Could just be no one has been checking their email portals recently. At some clubs in the US there is no one there, or very few people there, mid week. Busier at the weekends, generally, I understand.

In any case, at one time a few years ago many people at LALS were using a burner setup by Marty Siegel, called the "Marty burner". (no idea where they get these cryptic names.) They do work well, I have used them in several projects and they do throw some heat. Very simple to make. A link is below to the IBLS page on these, just FYI. Note that as with any gas burner in an enclosed space they are very sensitive to draft and a heavy exhaust blast at the chimney will pull the fire off the burners. If planning a gas fire I suggest making the blast pipe easily removeable or easy to modify, in case you need much less or a little more blast.

http://ibls.org/mediawiki/index.php/Marty_Burners

That looks like a nice hefty chunk of vibration damping easy to machine cast iron all right Mr. Greene. And at a very reasonable price in Canadian dollars even! (probably less in UK due to no trans pond shipping needed)

You might also try steel suppliers to the injection mould trade , such as Hasco Inc. at www.hasco.com

Their quality of steel and the quality of finish of the plates is very high. Excellent supplier for high precision tooling steels.

In another video I saw on this engine they showed a reciprocating generator very briefly. The principle was the same as kids' shake-to-charge flashlight. The coil looked like it surrounded the piston rod extending out of the engine housing. Presumably the piston rod has magnets inside, like the shake charge flashlight, or a special wound armature fed through slip (or in this case slide) rings.

In another video I saw on this engine they showed a reciprocating generator very briefly. The principle was the same as kids' shake-to-charge flashlight. The coil looked like it surrounded the piston rod extending out of the engine housing. Presumably the piston rod has magnets inside, like the shake charge flashlight, or a special wound armature fed through slip (or in this case slide) rings.

Thanks very much David!

A zip disc in an angle grinder for roughing out the sheet, then finish with grinding wheels and sanding drums in a Dremel type tool. That is the best method I have found to work thickish stainless.

Look up "rifling bench" for gun making. No need to waste time to re-invent the wheel.

Just more clickbait flypaper to try and get investors. Nothing new to see here. I imagine it shakes like crazy, reciprocating unbalanced. Just my opinion.

Don't play around with air filters. Get the right one and get it in. Any engine is extremely costly to repair or replace these days, not smart for OP to risk one on an air filter substitute. (or for any other filter, for that matter)

Edited By Jeff Dayman on 18/01/2023 17:59:52

Cheers Alex! Thanks for letting me know. A bit far at 3200+ km to have you come by and have a shop visit! Anyway do keep us posted on the launch and powerplant.