Ruby Casting (verneuli flame fusion)

Gotcha. Will do tomorrow when the last piece of the puzzle (I hope) arrives and I can start assembling all the bits over the long weekend.

 

Keep us in the loop! You are making good progress

 

Got the last few parts. Finished assembling rods and figured out rough placement inside cabinet. I need to figure out how to adjust the main platform that will be suspended between the two brass lead screws. Problem is the belt is one set size and if I make the holes in the steel platform at the wrong location I'll have issues with tensioning the belt or having the platform ascend properly. Hmmm....

Oh also, I would like to equip this thing with some limiter switches so it auto turns off when it hits the switch. How would I go about wiring those into the steppers?

 

I'm getting a picture now of how the thing's going to be constructed with that last photo. You can buy lever type microswitches with three terminals: common, normally open (N.O.) and normally closed (N.C.) . If you pass the power supply for the stepper driver board through the normally closed contact, it will cut power to the board when the switch lever is operated. After that you'll have to manually crank the screw to reset the switch.

 

I like to use this center-distance calculator from SDP-SI:
https://sdp-si.com/eStore/CenterDistanceDesigner

It has worked spot-on for me. I also like their site for the general design information they include for noobs like me.

Denis

 

Ok I got some switches. Will see when they arrive. Do I put it so it cuts the power to the driver board? There is another set of power lines going from the power supply unit to the speed controller board. Does that need to be interrupted as well or will it be ok left powered on once the driver power is cut?

Thanks for the site. Interesting calculators there. Unless I'm missing something I'm not sure that they will help for what I mean since I think the site would be more useful for finding a belt size to fit a specific pre-built setup based on the parts in the setup but I'll definitely keep the link for future planning use.

I think I need the platform between the two lead screws to be able to enlarge slightly so I can adjust the lead screw positions to properly tension the belt. That way I can easily match the platform size to the belt size.

 

Not just for belt size. If you click on the "Belt vs Center Distance" button you will see that C-to-C distance is calculated accurately vs belt length. So you might have to a little estimating to get you in the ball park for center spacing, but once you are close you can plug in approximate numbers and get an exact center distance.



Denis

 

Yes, you're right: you need to cut power to both boards with the limit microswitch, it shouldn't damage the controller board leaving it powered on but it would start things up again when you reset the limit switch. Does the controller board default to the stepper being inactive on powering up?.

 

I'm unsure if it does. Only set it up one way and haven't had the guts to play with wiring it up differently.

I spent hours today making precise holes and tapping a few holes. I then welded up some supports which seem to be ok. I think the two lead screws are parallel but will see tomorrow when I make the platform between the two. Hopefully it doesn't bind anywhere.

As for the issue with the belt I realized I can just use a tension pulley to apply the right tension to the belt and then forget about worrying over the platform and belt size. Sometimes I feel like I miss the forest for the trees... easy solution.

Here is where I stopped today.

 

Did more work, got a lot of precise holes drilled and tapped. Super time consuming and fiddly. Just remember a few months ago I tapped my first hole haha how did I make it this far without that ability?!

Got the cabinet mechanics nearly finished. Couple more things to make then I'll move on to assembling the post and burner.

Made the snail cam for the tapper mechanism. I think I'll make a tapper like the last diagram

 

Tapping takes sooo much time. Made the swivel arm for the driving motor to sit on and a 5 mm to 10 mm coupling.

 

WHEN you get your mill, you will find that power tapping is very sweet. I modified my Starrett tap holders to fit into collets in the mill. Using good quality HSS spiral point (not spiral flute) taps and in back gear you can drill and tap a hole with minimal work, very precisely, and never worry about starting crooked. You will love it.

Denis

BTW, it looks like you are doing some very nice work.

 

Power tapping is the only way to fly. I was nervous as hell first few times, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly.

 

Found a supply of pure aluminum oxide for feed stock. https://www.advaluetech.com/products/high-purity-powders/high-purity-alumina-powder

Here for future reference seems fairly affordable.

I think I'll use calcium sulfate or silica beads to dry the oxygen made from electrolysis. I can make a reactor container to hold the drying material.

 

Next installment.

I added a slide rail to stabilize the platform. You can see it out front. It makes the platform very stable and takes out the wobble. Happy with that. No binding, all parallel.

I also finished the spring tensioner mechanism that holds the worm screw onto the main gear. I will weld on a small handle on the side where it goes through the cabinet wall to the outside. This way I can uncouple the worm gear and manually wind the lead screw back to starting position.

Next on the list is securing the electronics into the cabinet and building a separate control panel for all the speed dials. Also I got the limiter switches so those will need installing. I may put them onto a screw so they can be adjusted. Will see.

 

You can arrange the microswitch lever to hit the head of a bolt or screw so the adjustment is moving the screw up/down/in/out in a threaded hole and then locking with a nut at the desired position.

 

I secured the electronics in the cabinet and started work on the tapper mechanism. Also finished my post clamps so I can attach the burner and other bits to the clamps.

I think I may need to paint or maybe powder coat? The inside chambers since if rust goes into the melt it will change the color of the gem even at super low levels.

 

One could 'blue' the steel as well. A boron-nitride spray would hold up to the heat. This is what I use for casting into my die molds.

https://www.amazon.com/Aerosol-Lubr...ocphy=1015640&hvtargid=pla-594120395274&psc=1

 

That's the spray I use. It's NOT CHEAP, but seems to go a long way. The thought of paying over 50bucks for a can of ANYTHING makes my blood boil.
Imagine, the average american probably has to work half a day of their life to buy one can. OUCH!

 

Zapins, what temperature range are you expecting inside the chamber?

I have no experience using BN, but I do see that the spray formulations are actually powder suspensions in some sort of evaporating solvent—-could be water or a petroleum distillate depending on the form you purchase. If it is a deposited friable powder, it seems like it, in itself, might easily contaminate your process. Just sayin...

Otherwise, it looks like a pretty cool material with interesting refractory and lubricating properties depending on which of several crystalline lattice structures it is manufactured and packaged.

Denis