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Custom Flywheels

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J

JorgensenSteam

Guest
I am going to try my hand at custom castings for flywheels and cylinders, for sale.

If anyone would like to see a particular style, please send me an email.
I should be able to make any type or style.
I can work from a simple sketch.

So far, I am making the flywheel patterns for Woodguy's green twin oscillator, and for a reduced scale Cretors. Both flywheels are 6" diameter, but I should be able to make any size from about 4" dia. up to perhaps 24" dia.

Below are the first two proposed flywheels to be cast.
I would also like to make custom cylinders, a few samples shown below.

I will post photos of my first pour, which should be soon.
Please email me if you have an interest.

Pat J



8in-Grn-Twin-Flywheel-11.jpg


Green-Cylinder-02.jpg


Final-Cylinder-09.jpg


Cretors-Flywheel-02.jpg
 
Hi Pat, has there been any considerations given toward producing these castings in the smaller sizes? such as a flywheel of 3-4" range and cylinders of 1/2" to 3/4" bore? I think that would be a terrific market to exploit as well. Good luck in your endeavors.

BC1
Jim
 
Jim-

I guess I could go into the smaller sizes, such as a 3"-4" flywheel, and 1/2" to 3/4" bore.

Smaller would not necessarily be cheaper from the standpoint of making the patterns, but if I go with a 3D printer, I could possibly print a small pattern and still maintain the detail.

I will look into a 3D printer again, and see if the prices are better these days.

Pat J
 
Would there be much in it financially to make it worthwhile doing small flywheels when they are already available from the likes of Martin Model an Pattern?

I can see the market for specific custom designs for those scratch building an engine.

There is also the learning curve as you have not cast anything yet, getting from a nice looking CAD image to a flaw free casting takes a bit of practice.

J
 
Ok, I purchased a 3D printer today, so I can do any shape, any size.

All I need is a sketch, and I can draw the part up in Solidworks to see how it looks.

If the 3D model looks good, I will print a pattern, and cast the part.

I will do another post here when I get the 3D printer set up and operational.

Pat J

Edit: Yep, Jason, I hear what you are saying.
As far as there being any money in it, no, probably not, but if I can break even and pay for equipment, that would be fine with me.

There are some high quality flywheels out there, but most are not exactly what I want/need, and the spokes tend to be out of scale or too thin, etc. on the flywheels I have seen available.

Yes, I will have a learning curve on the casting part, but I had a learning part on the 3D modeling also. This time last year, I could not make even a single simple model in 3D, but I have been studying 3D, as you can see, and I will study casting in the same way. It may take a little while, but I will get there.
 
I have seen the need for a long time for custom cast model parts, but have never seen it offered anywhere.

I can reverse engineer the old engine designs and create a 3D model of about any engine part, so now it is just a matter of getting the casting part down.

As long as I am getting set up to do castings for myself, I may as well offer them to others.

Pat J
 
We certainly have small companies that will do one off pattern making and casting I would have though it would be the same with you.

I know of one that will do one off or small run lost wax casting and another that uses traditional sand casting and can do brass, bronze, aluminium, steel and iron from either wood or lost foam patterns hand made of CNC machined from an old casting, photo, sketch or CAD file.

J
 
There may be some one-off guys in the US who do that sort of thing, but I am not aware of any, but have not really looked either.

I have priced out some 3D printing, and it is a bit pricey to farm that out.

I like the flexibliity of in-house 3D printing, especially when combined with casting and 3D modeling.

I have seen Rob W do some pretty sophisticated work with Solidworks and castings, but he is other there, not over here where we need him.

Pat J
 
OT from Brian's thread:

I took the Cretor's flywheel STL file, loaded it into CamBam, and generated a program to mill the spokes and hub. Using a milling speed of 30ipm with a 1/4" ball mill, mach3 estimates 2.5 hours for each side. Afterwards the rim would need to be machined out from the square stock. Finishing would require some sanding to remove tool marks. I might try reducing the diameter to 3" to see how it works a bit faster.

I think painted aluminum spokes would look good with a steel/brass/iron rim and would have enough mass to work well. Castings would be better.
 
There are some great looking engines out there built from stock materials, and I always wonder at the ingenuity of what guys build on these posts.

Everything I have ever bulilt has been from standard stock metal shapes, but the lure of casting is too great, and I just have to try it.

I admire Brian's build greatly, but that engine is just begging for a curved spoke flywheel. I have drooled over the Cretors casting kits for many years, and hopefully I can make my own, that is such a cool looking engine.

A CNC version of the Cretors flywheel would be cool too.
Seems like you could make the rim from round stock.

Pat J
 
I've had my eye on flywheels for some time. I would have paid good money for a couple to go on my Upshur Hit and Miss but there wasn't much that would fit the bill in that size range and no curved spoke versions. I wound up making them myself but would still buy some for future engines if they were out there.

I've looked at all the online websites that sell them and there really is not that big of a selection out there, especially ones with the curved spokes (my favorites). I vote for the 3.5" and up sizes as well. I like the curved spoke design in your drawings a lot.

I'll be keeping an eye on your progress and might become a future customer if all goes well.

Good luck.

-Trout
 
Thanks Trout-

I have to agree.
Sometimes you just can't find a flywheel online that really fits a design.
The look of the flywheel has such a big impact on the overall look of an engine, in my opinion.

I worked on my furnace tonight, and hopefully I can pour the refractory for it this weekend.

The 3D printer is in transit.

Pat J
 
KVOM just wonder how long it would take to CNC the flywheel from say MDF that could then be used as a pattern after a quick sand and paint? I would have thought that the softer material could be cut a lot faster.

Would be interesting to compare the time/cost to doing the same thing with a 3D printer and also see which had the smoothest surface.

J
 
Jasonb said:
KVOM just wonder how long it would take to CNC the flywheel from say MDF that could then be used as a pattern after a quick sand and paint? I would have thought that the softer material could be cut a lot faster.

Would be interesting to compare the time/cost to doing the same thing with a 3D printer and also see which had the smoothest surface.

J

CNC machining of curved shaped requires a ball endmill, which cuts a curved "furrow". Successive stepover passes result in a scalloped surface. The height of the scallops is a function of the diameter of the endmill, the depth of cut, and the stepover. The smoother the surface desired, the more passes and the longer to machine. The sample I quoted above leaves the scallop tops .005" above the surface.

The 2.5 hour runtime per side used a cutting speed of 30ipm. MDF could be cut at 75ipm, so the machining time would he halved.
 
I have manually milled a flywheel from an 8" disk of gray cast iron, and was astounded at the amount of material that ended up on the floor, not to mention wear and tear on bits and the mill.

I guess my pursuit of casting has been in part to save a lot of material and machining time, as well as to get a better shape/design.

Pat J
 
I can support that observation. The castings for my loco cylinders weighed 12 lbs each raw; finished they each weigh 5 lbs.
 

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