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- Written by Simon Arthur
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When Zac O'Donnell needed replacement parts for his 30 pound fighting robot Magneato, he turned to Big Blue Saw.
Originally designed in Alibre Design, Zac was able to export DXF files to use with our online ordering system to order parts made from 1/8 inch thick aluminum 7075. Magneato's name comes from its magnetic clutch which connects a flywheel to a powerful lifting arm. This lets Magneato toss its opponents around the arena with ease.
Have a look at Zac's Magneato build album for more details.
The 7075 aluminum Zac used has a tensile strength about 85% higher than the more common 6061 alloy. That makes it ideal for applications where the parts need to be able to take a beating. Zac has competed with Magneato at NERC events since 2014.
Here's a video of Magneato in action at this year's NERC Franklin Institute competition. Are your robot parts this tough? Let us know!
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- Written by Simon Arthur
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
Mechanical Elements is a web feature from Synthesis Engineering Services, an engineering and design services company. Recently, Synthesis founder and mechanical engineer Eldon Goates wrote to tell me about a project featured on Mechanical Elements which he was able to complete using waterjet cut steel parts from Big Blue Saw. Eldon set out to design a superior trailer which would allow small vehicles to haul many of the same things which you'd ordinarily use a truck for: sheets of plywood, landscaping materials, and the like.
His background working in the Advanced Powertrain area of Ford Motor Company helped him design the Twin Torsion Axle Walking Beam Trailer Suspension. This suspension allows superior ride control and damping when compared to existing mass produced trailers.
Eldon designed the suspension in Pro/E and exported to DXF format for waterjet cutting. Big Blue Saw was able to cut many of the parts for the prototype trailer from Hot Rolled Steel A36 in 0.25 and 0.188 inch thickness.
The individual waterjet cut parts were then welded together along with the tubular frame.
To see how it works, take a look at this video of the suspension in action:
If you're developing something new like Synthesis Engineering and need custom waterjet cut parts, get them using our online quoting system, the fastest and easiest way to order parts online.
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- Written by Simon Arthur
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
XYZ Robotics, a startup with offices in the USA and China, builds robots with astounding artificial intelligence.
For you or I, sorting a box of groceries or stocking shelves might seem a simple task, but most computers are no match the power of the human brain in this kind of task. That's where XYZ Robotics comes in. They are hard at work developing deep learning robots which can sort random boxes of goods in order to improve the shipping throughput of warehouses. And they're doing it with help from Big Blue Saw!
XYZ Robotics recently ordered a custom aluminum valve plate for their sorting robot from us.
XYZ's Chief Technology Officer Peter Yu had this to say about our services: "Thanks for offering expedited processing for us. Big Blue Saw does help us a lot with making parts." Have a look at this video showing XYZ Robotics's sorting robot in action. And if you need robot parts like XYZ, let us make them for you. Just upload your designs to our online quoting system, and we'll do the rest.
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- Written by Simon Arthur
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
Sandy Ganz has worked with us before on his Sunbeam Tiger project. Recently, Sandy found himself in need of some new motor mounts for a classic Mustang.
Unsatisfied with the quality of off the shelf motor mounts, Sandy took it upon himself to design and fabricate new ones with the help of Big Blue Saw. Here's what he told us about this endeavor:
The project was to replace some thinner motor mounts for my 1965 Mustang
Fastback track car. The car had bent up the commercial mounts over the
years, and given the current price and durability I decided to make them
myself with the help of QCad and BBS. My application also needed them to
be cut and ground up to fit the block I use, so in re-engineering them I
made them fit without modifications as well as making the base and riser
(part that holds the tubing) thicker 3/8" vs 1/4". You can see the
difference old and new.
The parts were waterjet cut by Big Blue Saw from 0.375 inch (3/8") thick Cold Finished Steel 1018. More photos of the finished parts being fit together prior to welding:
Ready to build your own custom steel motor mount? Start by uploading your design to our online quoting and ordering system.
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- Written by Simon Arthur
- Parent Category: Big Blue Saw Blog
From customer Alexander Clark comes this custom keyboard made with parts from Big Blue Saw. The top plate and base plate were both laser cut by Big Blue Saw from 0.118 inch (3 mm) thick white acrylic plastic.
Alexander was able to assemble this keyboard from a JD40 circuit board from 1UpKeyboards, as well as 67 gram Zilent switches, and Signature Plastics DSA keycaps.
You may notice that he used 3 mm thick material instead of the more commonly used 1.5 mm (0.06 inch) for his keyboard top plate. This material is too thick for the switch clips to engage. He notes "[My switches] sit weird since I did PCB mount and switches won't clip in but once soldered they will stay in just fine."
Have an custom electronic switch panel or keyboard plate that you'd like to build? Try uploading your design for an instant quote.