Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Fabricating our first vehicle....

Our test stand used flight weight tanks and valves.
Our first vehicle is going to look a lot like four of these test stands.

Toward that end my son and I have been fabricating and buying parts, we hydroformed and machined 17 tank ends (1 spare ),

We had Thunderbird Water jet cut some valve parts and brackets.

We ordered and received a batch of tonegawa servos from Tokyo hobbies.

Tube services sold us some aluminum tubing to make tanks.

We ordered all the tank weld on AN fittings from Iindustrial liquidators They are a dealer for Earls Fittings.

Lots of Valves, snap rings and parts from McMaster Carr.

I have enough Tellirium Copper to build 20 or so Motors purchased from Cambrdige Lee.

3 Vehicles of solinoids from Predyne.

1.25 Vehicles of ignition modules from CH-Ignitions.

2 Vehicles worth of Composite helium tanks on Order from SCI.

O-rings from Real Seal.

On Friday I pick up a furnace brazed Injector assembly from Certified Metal Craft.

Flowers for my understanding wife from ProFlowers.com....
(Delivered some time Wednesday Morning. Shes' usually home in the mornings, so I've asked her if she can be home Wednesday Morning to receive a very important package for my project, she just doesn't know its flowers for her...yet....)

I'm sure I've left off and forgotten a million vendors.







4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How do Thunderbird's waterjet prices compare to Big Blue Saw?

Anonymous said...

I would be curious as to how you performed the hydroforming process in your garage?! :)

Joseph

Paul Breed said...

I documented our hydro forming procedure here...
http://unreasonablerocket.blogspot.com/2007/01/normal-metal-tanks.html
The picture shows a 6061T6, we shotched to T0 and get a lot deeper tank head.

As for the waterjet Prices I did not shop around as the first quote I got was reasonable.
I paid 4.25 each to have 36 2.5" long valve arms cut out of 1/8" stainless, they provided the material. I paid about 10.00 each for 32 1/8" thick aluminum brackets about 11"x8" again they provided the material.

Carl Tedesco said...

A happy wife is a good life! Smart move with the flowers!