Machine shop information needed.

I have a friend with a Ercoupe whose steering knuckle/assembly has been
worn to where it is too sloppy.

It's about 2.20 inches in diameter and rotates on the nose strut assy.
It's what the scissors are attach to. It either needs to be bushed or
trued up and add a bearing sleeve to the mating surface.

Are there any machine shops in the DFW area that can do this kind of
work for a decent price?

Thanks

Dave

Dave wrote:

Are there any machine shops in the DFW area that can do this kind of
work for a decent price?

Thanks

If Lone Star is still in business over at Meacham, I think they can.
Otherwise, head to
Breckenridge and Nelson Ezell can do it. BTW, it's always worth a run
to Nelson's place to see
what warbirds he's got in the shop.

Craig C.

Dave wrote in news:tDVLi.2948$yc5.2028
@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:

I have a friend with a Ercoupe whose steering knuckle/assembly has been
worn to where it is too sloppy.

It's about 2.20 inches in diameter and rotates on the nose strut assy.
It's what the scissors are attach to. It either needs to be bushed or
trued up and add a bearing sleeve to the mating surface.

Are there any machine shops in the DFW area that can do this kind of
work for a decent price?

Thanks

Dave

emachineshop.com

I just read an article that said these things are going to be consumerized
soon. Essentially, they take a PC CAD drawing and, using plastic resin,
make a 3Dpart. I'm not sure what kind of resin but there are engineering
expoxies that can be hardened with a UV LED or laser.

My question is will they be useful for homebuilders. I can see making
plastic sand cast cores and maybe custom knobs but could they make
structural items?

Bildan


"Judah" wrote in message
.. .
Dave wrote in news:tDVLi.2948$yc5.2028
@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:

I have a friend with a Ercoupe whose steering knuckle/assembly has been
worn to where it is too sloppy.

It's about 2.20 inches in diameter and rotates on the nose strut assy.
It's what the scissors are attach to. It either needs to be bushed or
trued up and add a bearing sleeve to the mating surface.

Are there any machine shops in the DFW area that can do this kind of
work for a decent price?

Thanks

Dave

emachineshop.com

"Richard Riley" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 2 Oct 2007 21:27:02 -0600, "Bill Daniels"
bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:

I just read an article that said these things are going to be consumerized
soon. Essentially, they take a PC CAD drawing and, using plastic resin,
make a 3Dpart. I'm not sure what kind of resin but there are engineering
expoxies that can be hardened with a UV LED or laser.

My question is will they be useful for homebuilders. I can see making
plastic sand cast cores and maybe custom knobs but could they make
structural items?

Bildan

This isn't going to help much, but "it depends."

The FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) machine I use at work is usually
set up to work with ABS plastic. The parts are pretty fragile, I
wouldn't even want to use them for knobs. But it can also work with
polycarbonate - lexan - and that's useful. You're not going to make
gear legs out of it, but ducts and lids would be fine.

OTOH, the same basic concept is used to scinter powdered steel with
lasers, or powdered titanium with electron beams. So it's probably
just a matter of time.

Actually, after I started the thread I realized that I was thinking of wax
casting cores. If the 3D printer could make 3D parts out of wax that could
be used in 'lost wax' aluminum casting that might indeed be useful.

The company at http://www.desktopfactory.com/ is starting production
of a relatively inexpensive
home 3D printer. If I was not taking flying lessons, I would probably
be getting one of these.



On Oct 3, 10:18 am, "Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:
"Richard Riley" wrote in message

...

On Tue, 2 Oct 2007 21:27:02 -0600, "Bill Daniels"
bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote:

I just read an article that said these things are going to be consumerized
soon. Essentially, they take a PC CAD drawing and, using plastic resin,
make a 3Dpart. I'm not sure what kind of resin but there are engineering
expoxies that can be hardened with a UV LED or laser.

My question is will they be useful for homebuilders. I can see making
plastic sand cast cores and maybe custom knobs but could they make
structural items?

Bildan

This isn't going to help much, but "it depends."

The FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) machine I use at work is usually
set up to work with ABS plastic. The parts are pretty fragile, I
wouldn't even want to use them for knobs. But it can also work with
polycarbonate - lexan - and that's useful. You're not going to make
gear legs out of it, but ducts and lids would be fine.

OTOH, the same basic concept is used to scinter powdered steel with
lasers, or powdered titanium with electron beams. So it's probably
just a matter of time.

Actually, after I started the thread I realized that I was thinking of wax
casting cores. If the 3D printer could make 3D parts out of wax that could
be used in 'lost wax' aluminum casting that might indeed be useful.

No, they can't make structural parts. One company demonstrated did
demonstrate the strength of their material by building a skateboard sans
trucks, added the trucks and rode it for a bit-no fancy stuff though.

You are right about using the printed part for a sandcasting core. One
company makes a material specifically for this use.

A company in germany makes a 3D printer that uses powdered metal melted
by a laser to make parts. I wouldn't trust them for structural purposes
either though.

However, in all cases, the material isn't cheap!! The 3D printer we use
costs just 1.23 a cubic inch for the material, plust cost of the binder
(glue), electricity, maintainence, etc would be closer to 3 or 4 bucks a
cubic inch.

Bill Daniels wrote:
I just read an article that said these things are going to be consumerized
soon. Essentially, they take a PC CAD drawing and, using plastic resin,
make a 3Dpart. I'm not sure what kind of resin but there are engineering
expoxies that can be hardened with a UV LED or laser.

My question is will they be useful for homebuilders. I can see making
plastic sand cast cores and maybe custom knobs but could they make
structural items?

Bildan


"Judah" wrote in message
.. .
Dave wrote in news:tDVLi.2948$yc5.2028
@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:

I have a friend with a Ercoupe whose steering knuckle/assembly has been
worn to where it is too sloppy.

It's about 2.20 inches in diameter and rotates on the nose strut assy.
It's what the scissors are attach to. It either needs to be bushed or
trued up and add a bearing sleeve to the mating surface.

Are there any machine shops in the DFW area that can do this kind of
work for a decent price?

Thanks

Dave
emachineshop.com