Found Dreaming

Figured I would post this over here and maybe jump start someone on building one. Should make for a great tool to have on the bench for helping patterns to release from the sand.

Found this PDF showing details on a commercial version. If anyone finds other links please feel free to add them and of course if you build one some pictures and results would be great. One thing, might want the kids out of the room while searching.

Harry the one in Steve C's book is simpler version of the same thing and the only really hard part in making it is casting the steel pipe section into the body so the ball has something to run on besides aluminum.

David

I still have to wonder how important the steel race is. I know the one I should has the race also, you could probably just press fit it into the casting. I am thinking that you could also have your air in and out on the end cap rather than through the steel race to simplify things and make it so it wont matter if the steel race spun inside of the casting.

One of the things I was thinking is trying different sized race ways. Seems the larger the diameter the ball travels around the lower the amplitude. I have a bunch of 1/2" steel balls, maybe I will try a 1" tiny one with them.

Harry, have you seen THIS ONE?

Thats a lot simpler than the one Chastain made, I don't need one right now but think I will go ahead and make one for pratice.

Thing that I know about this type vibrator is the bigger the ball size and the more air pressure you put on it the more vibration you get. as long as the exhaust is clear, the company I work for uses the air vibrators on all the cement plants that we build and have very little trouble with them.

Harry if you wanta try it, I got a 1.250 steel ball in the door of my truck I can send ya

David

Thats a beauty Rocco, I think I will cut a pattern for something very close to that. Be a good pattern to send around. I will be making it for a 1/2" ball and since I have a box full of them will put a bunch in the box with the pattern so each person who makes it can keep however many balls they need. That is exactly what I was thinking about on wear also, just seems it would last about forever so why worry about the steel race?

David, thats a monster, I may take you up on that offer though. Let me get the small one going first. I still have to send you that buckle pattern (havent had time to fix it yet after I broke it). I will send the 1/2" balls and pattern to you with the buckle, might be a week or two.

Harry you sent it I'll knock out a couple of castings then box it back up so its ready for whoever wants it next. Hopefully by the time it gets here I'll have my muller running with a wheel in it so I can use some oil bonded sand. I found out today that the outfit I ordered the bearings from had to order em and didn't get them till today so I should have them by the end of the week, and one or two evenings with it below 99 I should have the muller ready to see if I can mix petrobond.

They make some ot them air vibrators pretty large but the bigger it is the more air they take, so there's a point that they really aren't much use. and them your electric or magnetic ones take over.

David.

One thing, might want the kids out of the room while searching.

I dont need to worry about the kids (they have gone to bed)... it the wife she was the one that looked and till I told her what I was realy looking for.

I think I will have a go at making the one from the PDF.

thanks for the link

Here is my take on this, I simplified the step he had in there for connecting to a mtachplate. I did not see any need for it being narrower than the race way. I also centered the air inlet so it is in the middle of the race way, as he had noted the tangential inlet with the outer wall did not work as well as the air coming in to the center of the ball. I also made the bottom of the race way a curve to match the ball, the top will have this curve also, I am figuring the less air allowed to pass the ball the more efficiently it will operate.

The last thought on this is the air outlet which I have not added yet. I am thinking the closer to the inlet the better but the commercial design I posted had it in line 180* around the circle. I am thinking just to the right of the inlet hole in this picture. I am guessing the design in Roccos link just exhausts between the lid and the base but it seems this lis losing some of the force of the air as the ball travels around the circuit.

It seems that you could cast what you have there, and have the exhaust come out a hole in the "lid" which could just be bolted into the hub. A little RTV for good measure. Hell, the lid could be wood, MDF, scrap, whatever, no need to cast a cover, unless you want to put FoundDreaming on it and turn a buck! If you have a decent drill press, then you dont even have to make a core, just punch a hole in the casting from the top. A vibrator like that would beat up on my poor lil 2 gal compressor, so I dont see one in the immediate future, but I could see a simple tool like that being a good'n for when I get my hands on a real stand up 2 horse model!