Latest update
28-03-2010
I. The Agro gelatine project
In 1990 I moved in an horticulture
project. A Dutch chemical group triggered a project, that aimed at the
injection of a hydro gel with a growing accelerator in soil. Reason of
the application was to let grow chrysanthemum
faster in the first stage of
their life as slip.
Starting point was the desire of the customers, to get an independent
application on their own machinery. Therefore, the gel could
not be mixed with soil, but must have been injected.
A metering pump that was capable to dissipate charges of
3 ml ± 5 % at 80 bar with a rated output of 4000 times an hour was not
available that time.
So the development and production of the metering pumps and the supply
system for the gel was our job. Main problem was the pump and its accuracy. Secondary I had to meet the problem, that inclusions of
air bubbles in gel were
acting with the hydraulics of the whole system. The gel had a
viscosity of 40.000cps and looked like marmalade. Third problem:
lubricants were prohibited
Technical principle of the pump was a
pneumatic driven piston, that expelled gel from a chamber closed by valves. Main problem was to chose the right seals and
compounds that could perform under dry conditions. It took months of day and night
experiments and meters of datasheets, but finally there was a protopump!
The question of the bubbles was solved, by decompressing them physically in a pressurized
tank.
The prototype was implemented in a
customers process and achieved remarkably well. We decided to produce a
small series.
The pumps were build in clusters
of four Three of these modules together formed an injection device,
that was logically integrated in the production system of the customer.
The gel was packed in 200 liter casks. That made it necessary to transport gel by pipeline in the customers plant. We didn't know how much pressure had to be applied to get the treacly gel from the trucks harbour to the place of the injection device 25 meters away. We underestimated this issue and we switched several times from caskpumps. Once we even replaced the whole pipesystem to a larger profile.
Since the application produced
over 200 million injections of 3 ml without worth mentioning maintenance
in two years.
After a shakeout of business in the green houses the end of
this happening was a fact and the producers of flowers were boarding out to cheaper
areas as Italy and Brazil.
II.The tug "Brugge"
My friend Henk's tug "Brugge" was built for Towing Services Letscher in Zeebrugge (Belgium) in 1930. In 1985 the aged ship of 75 ton deadweight, an overall length of 22 meter and motorized with 2 MAN 210 hp 6 cylinder diesels, was purchased. The ship was hardly suitable to sail, e.g. the bulwarks were full of holes, and that was not the only lack....
After a heavy storm it was clear that something had to be done. The shipper took that literal. The deck and all there above was pulled down, except the chimney. It was sad to see, that there was so little left of a proud historical ship.
As a ship welder Henk knew how to change the vessel and that took about 4 months. My job was the renewal of the electricity, welding and milling of small parts and the carpenters work. Third man was the painter Geralt, who did a wonderful job.
Pictures are telling more than words. Next 6 pictures are the Old "Brugge"
And the New "Brugge"
2008: The ship is gone, sold.... an unknown destination. I brush a tear away...
For a short period I was serviceman for the maintenance of carpet cutting machinery. My boss asked me to make a 1:10 model of a new type to show on a fair overseas. Fine job. I scaled down the DXF-files from builder Genius in Wormerveer. It was so easy!
Special Tools
VIII. Take the tailstock for sure
Use the tailstock whenever you can. When things are going wrong, the tailstock moves first and warns you. In my shop are several home made specialties, that are made from old live centers. Their are 2 chuck centers and a bull nose center.
IX. Angle plate 90 degrees
The cast is iron and taken from an old optical instrument. The vertical plate is steel. It is still more stable than the Vertex plate.
X. Tailstock die holder
One of those things that can easily be made is the die holder. The morse taper shank is the only thing that can bettter be procured
Copperwire cutter
Who did ever think, that market price
of salvaged 2.5 q2 copperwire could reach the sky? Now is the time. So a
rational process to strip the insulation and cutting peaces of wire
that can't be untied from knots is the goal. The cutter is the first
thing that works.
A pair of shears opens and closes in intervals of approximately 1 second
using a 1400 rpm 380v 0.37 kw motor and reduction gearbox 1:3. Between the
gearbox and the cranckshaft there is a belt reduction of 1:5 The
belt is tensioned to make slip when a monkey tries to cut steel. The
coppercutting capability is about 16 mm2.
The machine can operate continuously and is very silent.
The sciccors are made of toolbits and they can be sharpened and replaced.
