johnsmachines

machines which I have made, am making, or intend to make, and some other stuff. If you find this site interesting, please leave a comment. I read every comment and respond to most. n.b. There is a list of my first 800 posts in my post of 17 June 2021, titled "800 Posts"

Tag: bevel gears

September 28, 2020

Ducks in a Row and Bevel Gears.

Another small bronze pour yesterday, and it was my best one yet.  No bubbles.  No voids.  And excellent surface definition.  What did I do that was different?

First, the 3D parts were printed already attached to the tree.  So the trunk and branches were 3D printed with the parts attached.  That meant that I could determine more accurately the bronze flow, the gaps, the spaces.  The only “failure” was that I added some wax air vent sprues as an afterthought.  And those wax parts were the only part of the pour which failed.  Fortunately, the absence of the gas vents did not seem to matter.

The 3D printed tree. There are 9 PLA brackets ready to be replaced by bronze. I increased the height of the trunk for extra melt pressure. The air vents failed, and were not needed anyway.


Next, I painted the tree with a slurry of investment. The slurry was much more watery than the normal investment, but it was thick enough to leave a thin layer of investment on the surfaces, paying particular attention to the corners and internal edges.

Then I used my new, 1 hp vacuum pump to degas the investment mixture. It took about 15 seconds to reach maximum negative pressure, compared with about 1-2 minutes which the 1/4 hp unit was taking.

Then, after pouring the investment, I placed the full flask containing the tree and investment, and degassed the entire unit. I was shocked at how much extra air bubbled out.

The rest of the process was as usual, drying for 4 hours (except that this time it started at 6am, having put the process on an automatic start timer), burnout 2 hours, and baking 3-4 hours.

The cast tree was looking hopeful. And not much surface oxidation to see. (I had given the 15% phosphor copper a full 2-3 minutes to work this time.)
….and there are my brackets. 9 ducks in a row. They need a bit of filing, and some time in the gemstone tumbler.

BEVEL GEARS

Top is a bevel pinion as it arrived, and a mandrel which I made. Middle row is an unmodified bevel gear which is too big for the case. Bottom row is a machined bevel gear which now fits into the case, and a pinion on shaft, which also fits into the case.

While the investment flask was cooking, I experimented with the bevel gears which move the cannon barrel elevation. I had cast some bronze gears, teeth and all, some weeks (or was it months?) ago, but was not happy with the result. So, I had bought some bevel gears on Ebay. They are spare parts for an RC model car. Not quite the correct size, but close. The metal is HARD. Sintered? But, machinable with carbide cutters. (ps. added weeks later. Even carbide cutters struggled with machining these gears, so for the second set I used a tool post grinder on the lathe. That worked well, and produced a better finish.)

It all now fits.

Now before you all start shouting at me to make the bevel gears from scratch, let me just say that I might do just that. Not yet decided.

Leave a comment
Image | February 28, 2014

Beam Engine Governor Gears

The bevel gears on the plans looked rather difficult to make. Finished gears were available from the castings supplier, but on ordering, no, they had not had them in stock for a long time, and even if they were available the cost would be $a254.
So, I tried another option which was successful.
I ordered some angle grinder gears from China, cost $5 per pair, machined new centre holes for brass inserts which fitted the shafts, used Loctite to glue the inserts, and broached the keyways into the brass inserts.

The photo shows the larger gear unmachined at top, and bored ready  for the brass insert at bottom.
The gears were too hard to machine initially, so I put them through a couple of cycles of heat to red hot and slowly cooling, and then my carbide cutters worked…. just. I did not want to risk my expensive broaches however, and that was one reason for the brass inserts. The other reason was to remove some of the angle grinder features from my antique looking model.
The angle grinder bevel gears have curved teeth, which would not have appeared in 1880, but you can’t have everything. It does make them very silent.

Leave a comment