*Update #1* The Delrin Gear racks called for in the parts/price list will be replaced with Oiled Steel by the end of June. Also the 6061 T6 Alum plate sets should be ready to ship by then. Email or check FB for more info. MC
The Delrin ones will still be available. I've been working toward steel ones anyway, thinking the plastic version would be poorly received by folks.
* Update #2* The T6 aluminum plate sets have arrived, will be finish milling and ceramic coating them for a week or so. Also, the steel gear racks are on hold, the machine shop fell through last minute. The plastic racks will be ready to go around the same time as the plates.
Got the first half batch of the plates sets back from being ceramic coated today. I'm excited, they look great! I plan to also have the first round of the gear racks ready to go next week. Will post more when I can.
Short answer: the boat builder I work for is an authorized Cera-Kote service provider. Long answer: my co-worker has been doing ceramic coating on everything from rifles and handguns to fishing reels and so much more, and is the one to bring the service to our employer. I felt better about passing the job to someone local that I trust and can talk to vs. more outsourcing. I'm incredibly impressed by the durability of the coatings on a wide range of substrates, and the color options are awesome.
Sorry for the delayed reply. Mainly the difference is in the thickness of the coating and how it seems to adhere. IMO powder coating builds up the exterior and can be chipped or flaked off the part vs. the Cera-Kote. The ceramic coating seems to actually bond to the metal and is much more akin to anodizing. For me it's the better choice as we have an in house system in place for it at my day job. Otherwise I would need to ship parts out of or across the state to have anodized or powder coated. MC
Here are some progress pictures from the user to buy the first set of plates. Can't wait to see the finished build Rod, working on the racks as fast as I can!
Those plates look fantastic, Mike. I really don't like how the Black Box is mounted, sticking out like this. It just calls for a mishap. It should be mounted as close as possible, and parallel, to the edge of the gantry plate.
The customer mounted the control box that way most likely from seeing how I ran mine on the prototype. He may decide to move it later or not. his call. Personally I think he's done a great job on the build. And I like seeing the plates in action, the blue looks great.
Outstanding work! I'm rebuilding my 4'x8' table, which previously used belt drives. It would be extremely helpful to have a rack and pinion option that can be easily integrated with the openbuilds system without having to design my own plates.
The gear rack project is out of development and finally in production today. Look for a separate post on the build list soon....
Mike your machine looks fantastic. Have you look into using the flexirack from SDPI? Catalog | Designatronics Store | Stock Drive Products/Sterling Instrument
I haven't posted here as much as I would have liked, but thank you all for the continued interest. Here are a few pics of what this project has become in the past few months.......
Here's a deeper glimpse of how this project has been progressing, it's now called the Hog Wheel series. Please follow my FB page to see much more. Thinking I might need to post a whole new build on the list for these models...