That's cool, Looks like the big wheel is powered too? How much more work after Solidworks till finished piece? I had to make a giant DNA Helix a few years ago, I wish I knew such a machine existed. How about some video???
Video coming up. The big roller is not powered. The collet is on a geared rack which supplies the power to push bend parts. This is actually a very complicated (sophisticated) CNC tube bender. The collet pushes, and it also has a pressure die assist. The long clamp--behind the actual small clamp ( small clamp in front) actually pushes ahead with the collet to help the tube bend around the die. The order (in increasing sophistication) in the tube bending world is as follows.
tube bender, manual
mandrel tube bender, manual (the mandrel is little ball shaped thing that goes on the inside of the tubes to prevent them from crushing when you bend them)
mandrel tube bender, CNC
mandrel tube bender, CNC with pressure die assist
mandrel tube bender, CNC with pressure die assist and collet pusher
mandrel tube bender, CNC with pressure die assist, collet pusher, and a stacker. (The stacker allows you to bend 2 (or more) different radii in one set up.)
Ours is the last one. This is what allows us to make really, really tight bends. Also, we don't have to use a mandrel on the little 3/4 stuff because we can literally cram it into the die as we are bending it to prevent the wall from collapsing.
In this picture Sandwich is lining up the roll bender. I will post video as I know it is about impossible to explain otherwise. When you see a video, it all becomes clear.
Here is the link to the new video we just put up. I am really excited about this video. It shows how accurate the new CAD systems are. I am amazed we can bolt a hundred parts together and then bend a tube that actually fits! After all these years of bending everything by hand.
It is really cool to see a bent tube fit so well into the chassis. Technology marches on and leaves those behind who don't jump on the bus.
Here is a calibration video. This is how you calibrate the CNC tube bender to compensate for different tube thicknesses, diameters, and materials. This is the video of the "push bending" or "roll bending" that I have been talking about. It is really quite cool to watch.
for video editing, there are a few free apps out there. if you are on a mac, imovie does a nice job. If you are on a PC, windows movie maker can get the job done (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...r/default.mspx).
No bells and whistles in these but very very basic editing, they will both get the job done. If you need a hand, or want to do something a bit more involved, let me know, would be happy to help.
Cobra Make, Engine: Don't think I'll be getting a Cobra for a long time... Do have '94 RX-7 R2.
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Originally Posted by David Kirkham
Anyone know of a good video editor? I have some footage but it is way too long and fragmented to post.
David
I tried finding an open source video editor, and did not like anything that I tried.
As for commercial ones there seemed to be some people who like a product by Adobe and others that liked a product by another vendor. However, there seemed to be just as many people complaining about both vendors products and switching between them. That could just be like the big block versus small block or ford versus chevy religious discussions here.
I ended up getting a copy of Sony Vegas Movie Studio. It was similar in price to the other 2 companies for the consumer version of their software. I mostly decided to get it because I did not see anyone complaining much about it, unlike the other two companies.
Sony, Adobe and the other company also have more expensive professional versions of their software. I just got the consumer version.
Cool! I will drop you guys a note tomorrow. I think just the very, very basic for now will do. I just need to cut out the long pauses (like where we can't get the machine to work or we drop a wrench or something) and splice some footage together. I don't need to be Spielberg--at least not today. (You know how those things go...you get your foot wet and the next thing you know, you want a million dollar piece of equipment!)
When the aluminum body is made, the areas where the aluminum wraps around the body are left long. Here we are trimming them to fit. We use an air saw to cut the aluminum with a 24 or 32 tooth/inch blade. We don't use sheet metal snips if we can help it as the snips tend to distort the aluminum. In this video we are trimming the aluminum that fits right at the base of the trunk.
I'm just glad there are people out there who want to see it. When you throw a party you are always nervous if the people you invited will really show up! I know I am.
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or we drop a wrench or something) and splice some footage together. I don't need to be Spielberg--at least not today. (You know how those things go...you get your foot wet and the next thing you know, you want a million dollar piece of equipment!)
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