I spent a while wondering how to machine a piece of steel that big and have it balanced. Waterjet makes the most sense because it cuts the center and the OD from the same reference. Anyway, we've got some really nice, clean data now from the regenerative braking circuit. (Imagine spinning those disks up to 3,000rpm and then pushing all that energy into a capacitor.) [...]

I and the group of high school students I work with appreciate the Big Blue Saw service. We've used it now for two summer projects (last year was a DIY segway scooter, which I think has been replicated a few times actually). We have six OMAX machines on campus, and I've used three of them, but it's still easier and cheaper (and often faster) from your site for many things, especially when you factor in material cost. More importantly, in terms of showing students that you can make pretty much anything without necessarily having to be an MIT engineer, it's a great tool.

Thanks for the kind words, Shane.

Shane further notes:

Flywheels this size are pretty dangerous. I wasn't that worried at 3,000rpm. But I wouldn't want somebody to go making a 10,000rpm version and have it fail. A containment is probably a good idea.

In other words, don't try this unless you know what you're doing.

We have a new mailing address:

Big Blue Saw
2566 Shallowford Rd. Suite 104 #146
Atlanta, GA 30345
USA

Note that this is for correspondence, payments, and the like. If you need to send us other things, like materials for machining, please contact us for the correct address.

Special on Aluminum Parts through October 20

Big Blue Saw is offering great discounts on aluminum parts, now through October 20. All orders of 0.63" (1/16"), 0.125" (1/8") and 0.75" (3/4") aluminum 6061 will automatically receive a quantity discount, even on orders as small as one part.

For a typical order of a single part for $85, this means that your price will now be as low as $9.

Also, our home page now has a form where you can sign up for our mailing list to find out about special discounts.

Free Part Day Extended to August 7, 2008.

To recap the details:

• We will have two stock materials/thicknesses available for making your part on Free Part Day: waterjet cut aluminum 6061 1/8 (0.125) inches thick and laser cut clear acrylic plastic, 0.118 inches thick.
• There is a limit of one design (DXF/PNG/GIF or Big Blue Saw Designer file) per customer.
• Designs are limited in size to 9" x 9". Designs must be LESS THAN 9 inches in both dimensions.
• We reserve the right to reject designs that are too complex or can't be made on the waterjet or the laser. (See Ordering Your Free Part, below.)
• You must pay the packaging and shipping costs.
• All orders must be completed through the online ordering process.
• Orders must be completed, including payment, on August 6, 2008.
• We reserve the right to refuse any free part day order.
• Keep in mind that the purpose of Free Part Day is to provide people with an introduction to Big Blue Saw's service. Please don't abuse this by attempting to go against the spirit in which this offer is made.
• You should review the original Free Part Day posting and comments for more information.

1. You can use the Big Blue Saw Designer to design your part or upload an existing DXF, PNG or GIF file.
2. Choose 0.118 inch thick clear acrylic or 0.125 inch thick aluminum 6061 as your material.
3. If you've done everything correctly, the price will show up as $0 for quantity 1. If you see another price, your design is too large, or is too complex.
4. Order exactly quantity 1 of your part. If you want more than one copy of an item, you need to put it in your original design file and comply with the complexity and size requirements for Free Part Day. Or pay for it. If you order more than one free part, we will ship one. If you attempt to add more than one line item with free parts, we will ship you the first line item.