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Why don't you drop the "world misunderstands me" routine and do something productive for us. Please sketch us a manifold with pencil and paper (or whatever) that uses Hans's flanges, fits under the hood, uses as many stock components as possible (but not more), and meets your high standards of optimality in terms of air flow.
Been having a tough time getting a hold of the shop that was cutting these for us. Its a small 3-man operation, which is how I was able to get them done in low volume cost effectively, but sometimes they are a pain to get to answer the phone. I hope to have some answer shortly, as I need them too.
Got in touch with the shop, and they have been having problems cutting the o-ring grooves. I was able to print them, but its a bit more challenging to follow the path with a cutter. I am working with them to try and change some of the geometry to get o-rings to fit. If not, I will just get them on the way with the flat bottoms and have some custom gaskets cut.
Sorry for the delay. I just received this information from the shop. I am working on it tonight, and hope to have an update soon.
I haven't looked at your CAD file admittedly, but I do know they sell O-ring cutters for CNC's. (an undercut tool essentially) As with most things, the right tool can make all the difference for your shop.
edit: When we do parts like these we often ask for the mating part so we can test it on the mill and make any depth changes etc. at that time. If you can supply them with the o-rings it might save some headache later on if they don't fit. Just thinking.
Best,
Ben
Last edited by BPG_Austin; 06-09-2015 at 10:52 AM.
It looks like the o-ring grooves are officially out. The material just got too thin in several places and was causing issues. I have a gasket file laid out, and will include a set with all flanges. It is an industrial gasket stock made from Buna-N and Aramid fiber rated to 400degrees and 1000psi of sealing. If this presents an issue for anyone, please contact me and we can discuss options.
Thanks all for your patience and support. I hope to have these in my hands in the next week or so.
Here is the long overdue update. First the bad news: the shop that was lined up to cut these flanges fell off the face of the earth. I tried calling them and emailing them relentlessly, and when there was a response, it was always, they are going to be done next week. The shop was up in Michigan, so it would have been over 8 hours in the car to physically get up there, which further complicated things.
I finally got a call about 10 days or so ago from the owner of the shop. He apologized, but said they just can’t cut them. They are supposed to send me a refund check… so let’s all hope that happens.
Now the good news: I scrambled as soon as I go that phone call, and blanket RFQ’ed the greater Indianapolis area, and all the previous remote shops I had used in the past. I finally found two new shops I can work with, but one really stands out. They have some really nice equipment, including a 5-axis mill, EDM, full QC department with great CMM’s, and they even have injection molding in-house. Best part is, their quote was only $15/part more than the old bid (obviously I am absorbing this, but it demonstrates the pricing at the new shop). I took a shop tour last Monday, and sat down with their Solidworks/Mastercam operator, the shop owner, and had a chance to watch their machine operators work and look at some of the output. We are in really good hands.
We looked at the o-ring groove, and they are able to cut it with no issues, so we have that back!
They also quoted me the matching velocity stacks and fuel rails.
Does anyone have any interest in either the matching velocity stacks or fuel rails? I already approved the quote for the lower manifolds, but don’t want to send in for the other pieces if there is not any interest. Also, if anyone is interested in ordering a set of lowers, I asked, and I can add pieces to the order up until they start the machining process.
Price on the velocity stacks is dependent on the quantity ordered. On the high-end, they are $35/each, but in a larger quantity, they ramp down to under $25/each. The stacks are designed with fabrication aids to make assembly faster. The stacks will fit into a 2.125” standard hole (holesaw) in plenum material upto .25” thick. The inside is designed to locate a 2” tube.
I am still working on the cost for the fuel rails. There is a component in the assembly that requires more machining operations than I like. I am trying to see if there is a way to redesign it and reduce that cost.
So, my personal apologies that this is overdue. I appreciate your patience and support. I think we are on the final track with this one, and hopefully have found a manufacturing partner to make future items promptly and correctly.
If you have interest in another set of lower, velocity stacks, or matching fuel rails, please let me know.
Here is a cross-section of the assembly with the velocity stack installed. It provides a clean transition of the 2" tubing and keeps all the welding on the underside of the plenum.
Here is the updated (hopefully) lower cost fuel rail. We should see some economies of scale on the fuel injector retaining clips, and the stanchions. Fuel damper has been removed. Radium Engineering now has nice in-line units available if necessary. I hope to have pricing Monday. Anyone interested in a set to match their new lowers?
01-26-2015, 11:43 PM
