Some thirty odd years ago I jotted down a formula to calculate the diameters of three dissimilar gage pins that when bundled together with rubber band could be used to gauge a hole of larger diameter. Recently, the need arose again and after the disappointment of searching my memory, I undertook the exercise anew. In my experience, the most common gage pin sets a machine shop will have run from .061” – .250” and .251” – .500”. These occur in a variety of tolerance classes. The following has been formulated for “minus” gage pin sets. Manipulation of applicable hole tolerances...
Continue reading...Design, Engineering & Manufacturing
Let’s Change Gears | Steve Wait – Sometime in 2004
This post in regard to the wheel Involution, not any particular motorcycle it was used on as those are creations of others. Many years ago I conceived, designed and manufactured several unique wheels for motorcycles. Collectively, those using a planetary gear arrangement I dubbed the Involution series. Since I have never ridden a motorcycle, my motivation was never the “bike” but rather the mechanical design and artistry needed to produce focal intrigue. “Functional Kinetic Art”, as titled in a Robb Report piece, was a very much appreciated, and appropriate, description of the result. The wheels were fully functional, in some...
Continue reading...Programmable Surface Tooling | Steve Wait – September 16, 1993
Early in the 90’s I developed two variations of re-configurable dies or molds. While the idea of re-configurable tooling was certainly not new, these concepts provided a unique approach. Advances in this technology are ongoing even today. A relevant example being the DYNAPIXEL product developed by CIKONI GmbH. I have spoken at length with Dr. Farbod Nezami, Co-Founder and Managing Director at CIKONI, and am impressed with their application. An excellent resource for those interested is the 2007 paper entitled “Reconfigurable Pin-Type Tooling: A Survey of Prior Art and Reduction to Practice” by Associate Professor Daniel Walczyk and Research Assistant...
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