Modeling on the African West Coast - Namibia

Hello to all fellow machinists and modellers!

My name is Joe, and Iive 50 meters from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, in Swakopmund, Namibia. Now sort of retired, from a Career in Electronics for Jets and Helicopters, and now doing lots of modelling, Ham radio and small Unmanned Aircraft.

On the far left, a DRO fitted Emco FB-2 Mill ,then the drill press, a band saw, then another Emco FB-2, converted to full CNC, and then on the right the large (1000mmx900mm) Router.

Big Mill

Large Tool and Cutter Grinder

Small T&C Grinder

Small Router / Engraver for PCB's

Engraving a PCB - Pad spacing 0.5mm using a floating spindle head

Emco Maximat V10P Lathe - My Baby..

One of 3 Emco FB-2 Milling machines - this one re-fitted with a Jones and Shipman Direct Drive spindle and Three phase speed control Inverter.

Small Sensitive Hi-Speed Drill - up to 25K RPM, using RC brushless motor and purpose made ER11 Collet drive.

Solder Paste Dispenser I made to extrude solder paste onto the PCB for reflowing - Uses an Arduino processor to generate pulses to the stepper motor on the handheld extruder, which presses a plunger onto the paste in the syringe and extrudes out a fine nozzle. The left hand hold a pressbutton which when pressed lets the stepper advance an adjustable number of pulses, squeeze paste out and then quickly retract more than advanced to stop the paste, making a small dot of paste , from 0.3mm to 0.5mm diameter -

Strip down of the extruder, syringe and plunger. This unit fits into a heater ( see top right of previous photo) to heat the solder paste to around 35-40deg C prior to use, so the paste flows freely.

A PCB pasted - not done to neatly - just a test.

The smallest squarish pads are 0.6mmx0.4mm

Some Toolpost Grinders - Er8 and ER11 collets.

My Late Father-in-law's Career Tooling:

Lorch Lathe and lots of Watchmakers tooling, fully restored now by me.

The Electronics Shack

Radio ham stuff

V51JN/ZS6JGN

our small UAV's -2.4meter wingspan, 5kg, auto-launch,flight and auto-land.

Welcome to the forum Joseph,

That's probably the most comprehensively illustrated first post ever!

Neil

Very nice kit, Joseph

Can you tell us more about the T&C grinder, please.

MichaelG.

Good Morning Neil and Michael.

Thank you. Have lurked on this site for many, many years... Was around 10 years old ( now a young 59..) when I was 'lurking' in the locals magazine store - the Central News Agency -'CNA' , back then, spending a large part, if not all, my pocket money on Model Engineer, or one of the then popular Electronics mags, esp, Wireless World..

An Italian Friend of my Father had a small Engineering works, and I used to spend many a school holiday with him in the Shop - He taught me to use a Lathe at 9 years old - It was a Graziano Lathe - I know not the size and specs. All I know is that it took me a minute or two to walk from the Headstock to the Tailstock.. I stood on a small table to see the work piece, and my right knee would work the saddle stop...Ah, the days...

Michael, where should I post any more info on my bits, T&C included? I have lots more stuff about, all squozen into two 'garages' and my 'Study' and enjoy hugely making machines and tooling to make more machines and tooling - sort of incestuous , but keeps my head in place..

Regards

Joe

.

Joe,

I feel sure that there will be lots of interest in your T&C grinder [especially as it appears to be driven by a BLDC motor] ... May I suggest that you start a new thread, to show-it-off and get some [hopefully useful] discussion going.

Here is a direct link to the 'start a new thread" page: **LINK**

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/new_thread.asp

MichaelG.

EDIT, Joe from the link Michael provided I would suggest you select "Workshop Tools and Tooling" in the topic box to start threads about your T&C grinder in and welcome to the forum. J

Edited By JasonB on 27/11/2016 08:17:01

What a superb set up.I am just having a cup of coffee before I go out and give my workshop a much needed tidy up.After seeing your workshop I will make another cup of coffee .

Frank

Welcome to the forum Joe, what a super set of equipment, makes my single garage conversion look like a cupboard.

George.

Welcome to the forum Joe. That's one hell of an impressive workshop you have. And scrupulously clean, unlike mine. Impressive work too on the solder pasting, and fully automated UAV.

One small point on the PCB layout. Where the tracks meet the larger rectangular, and square thru hole, pads the acute angles may possibly act as acid traps?

About all I know about Namibia is that it is popular, particularly with the Germans, for long distance gliding.

Andrew

Very impressive Joe. Not only is it clean and tidy, but you have a hefty fire extinguisher.

Lots of cross-over between technology hobbies here. Electronics, amateur radio, computing, microscopy, astronomy, horology and the rest all snuggled up with model and mechanical engineering, which I suppose is the mother lode. You may be the only one with an interest in transoceanic tropospheric ducting though!

Dave

Hello Joseph

I have spent a lot of my working life doing projects for Namdeb and De Beers Marine so I know your area well. Like you I also have an interest in amateur radio as well as engineering. I am due to be in Langstrand in March to see some old friends and wonder if you might have the kettle on ?

Kind regards

Alan G4EEE

Well that's a warm Welcome from you all! Thank You Kindly!

Perhaps what I might do, Michael, is a separate post in a relevant forum on each of my endeavours and see what cooks..

I will start with the grinders..

Regarding all the comments on the cleanliness- Well I have to admit I may have become a bit 'anal' on this....I tend to clean each machine at the end of the day, every day, the floor to while I am about it. But its not that bad, mostly its because I have an inane fear of the equipment rusting, and from it developing a coating of silica and mica dust! We live in a desert, on the edge of the ocean and the winds are potent most of the year. When from the east it brings lots of dust, silica, mica, quartz, etc. When from the South-East , which is most of the time, we get a lot of dust as well, but the air moisture content is very high, always in the 90's. So, I clean, and oil, and cover everything, and start again the next day. The Woodwork shop is worse - I have to clean off all the oil from the machines worksurfaces first since it stains the wood. And then saw-dust soaks up any oils thereafter, and things rust. Bah! Frustrating!.

Andrew, that small PCB is a RF Microprocessor module, with a GPS, that we use in a Wildlife Tracking collar for Lions. It is fully encapsulated in Epoxy in the collar, after cleaning, so should be ok - The collar has a D-size Lithium battery, and lasts around 2 years on the Lion. I guess the PCB should survive the 2 years ok...

If interested, check out the project we work on here:

**LINK**

SillyOldDuffer - (thought that's me, or if I am not so old, SillYoungDuff....) - Thanks for the Kind words as well, but now I have to find a dictionary to see if you are cussing me or not...

Alan - Nice to meet you, and will be even better in person! I will be happy to put the kettle, or more, on! Please do visit. How do I give you my email address without broadcasting it???

Thanks again to all.

Now let me try post some stuff..

Regards

Joe

Hi Joseph

I have sent you a private message via the site to allow us to communicate.

You should see this in your messages in box.

Kind regards

Alan

That's a very interesting link, I never realised there was so much wildlife in Namibia. From my atlas a lot of the country seems to be quite high, above 500m, although it's not clear whether the areas are desert or more fertile.

Acid traps are a potential problem during PCB manufacture. So if the board has been finished, and works, then it'll be fine. Which it clearly is.

Andrew

Phew - thr Namib would be a wonderful place to do some astrophotography!

Neil

I think I've eventually fallen in; presumably the PCB shown is milled rather than etched? In which case acid traps are irrelevant. Ah well, you have to be patient with us country yokels.

Andrew

Andrew,

Perhaps you have not fallen at all..

There are two PCB's in the pics above - one is on the engraver table, plain tin/lead plated copper surface being engraved. That one does not come near any acids...

The second one is the one with the solder paste dots on it - that one is made conventionally, Photo-resist, etching, drilling, plating, solder resist put one, etc - That one could be prone to the problem, although surely only during mnfr? Not sure..

Country Yokel??? It does not get more country than here, believe me!

Regards

Joe

Well you've got some pretty good soldering skills to boot, i've seen far sloppier joins! And a workshop to die for and discover in heaven.

Namibia is an interesting place to live, i once had a friend who went on a christian aid mission there so thats about all i've got to do with it i'm afraid!

Welcome to M.E/M.E.W forums!

Michael W

Watched some Lions being tracked by radio in Namibia a few weeks back on TV, could have been your transmitters.

Ian S C