MadModder
Gallery, Projects and General => Gallery => Topic started by: DavidBraley on March 12, 2012, 06:47:40 PM
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Thanks everyone for the warm welcome in the introduction thread! There ARE a lot of "David's" here.....
I wasn't sure if it was OK to reply in my introductions thread with something I recently worked on. So I decided to put it here instead.
Here are some pictures of a Caster/Camber plate project of my own design I made here at home. I even do all the Anodizing myself here in my workshop.
Black:
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/anoblack.jpg)
Blue:
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/anoblue.jpg)
Red:
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/anored.jpg)
And Clear (no color dye):
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/anoclear.jpg)
I've got an engine stand I'm building I'll share when it's done. I'll post that up as a full build thread.
Thanks again. Take care,
David
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Very nice!
A few questions...
1. What car are they for?
2. is that manual work or CNC?
3. Got pictures of your anodizing setup?
Eric
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Some smart looking work there David! :clap: :clap:
What do Caster/Camber plates actually do? :scratch:
David D
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Eric,
I'll try and answer your questions:
1. The Caster/Camber plates fit the 84-87 Honda CRX/CIVIC
2. The first 20 sets I made where done on a manual milling machine with the help of a rotary table. The second set I made on a small two axis machine based on a Bridgeport clone known as a "Sharp." The machine has a two axis Anilam controller on it. Here is a picture of it the day I brought it home:
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/ccday21_3.jpg)
3. My anodizing setup is very modest. Most of my tanks are simple 5 gallon poly paint buckets. I insulated the buckets to help their efficiency:
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/ccday25_2.jpg)
I experimented with different types of heaters. The heater on the right is a simple domestic hot water heating element, and the one on the left is a stainless cartridge type I found on Ebay. It turned out the cartridge heaters are what I ended up using.
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/ccday24_10.jpg)
The anodizing tank is a simple 10 gallon tote bin I reinforced with a custom made wooden box. I use a small pvc tube in the perimeter of the bottom for air bubbles, and my Cathodes are 6063 extrusion. The part of course is the Anode, hence the reason for the name of the process:
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/ccday23_1.jpg)
David D
Caster and Camber adjustments are important for a track car due to the handling gains possible. Types of tires, tire air pressure, track conditions, and even the type of car and driver style can benefit from these adjustments. I'll try and explain. Caster and Camber can be adjusted by changing the inclination of the steering axis. Caster changes are when you change the steering axis relative to the fore and aft line of the car. Camber changes are when you change the steering axis relative to the left and right line of the car. Here is an image I stole from the Web that might help explain it better (sorry, the image is a little big):
(http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp161/davbraley/Off%20Topic/caster-camber.jpg)
I hoped that helped.
Take care,
David B
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Caster and camber adjusters have came a long way since the days of shim packs and eccentric bushings. I can see how the caster is adjusted but not sure about the camber. Is the sliding block by any chance wedge shaped? If so I may have it figured out.
I am a graduate of Bear Alignment School, Rock Island, IL circa 1958. Front end geometry has changed drastically since then.
Joe
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Joe,
This plate set is for a McPhearson Strut type front suspension. So the spherical bearing at the top receives the top of the strut. The block in the middle slides tilting the strut up to 3 degrees. The top can rotate, but can also have the perimeter bolts removed to be rotated even more. This plate set can tip the top of the strut up to 3 degrees from center (original OEM location) in any direction in a full 360 degrees of freedom.
I hope that made sense.
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So it's like the old roller top mounts on top of the group 4 Bilstine's I had on my old Mk2 Escort they could be ajusted but not as easy as yours. but it was 30 od years ago.
peter
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Thanks David! :thumbup:
For the top of a McPhearson Strut, makes it much clearer for me. Though, as Peter says...... It was all some 30 years ago! (http://serve.mysmiley.net/rolleye/rolleye0014.gif) (http://www.mysmiley.net)
David D
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:Doh: :Doh: I was thinking in the vertical instead of the horizontal plane. Once I got my thinking "leveled" it became much clearer.
Joe
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Curious as to the material used?
Eric
:ddb:
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Hi
David
Very nice looking bits of kit
Sadly i am also from the MK2 escort era
A post on anodising would be very welcome
John
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Eric,
The plates are machined from 6061-T6 and the hardware is stainless. The washers under the stainless bolts you see on top I machine from 303 Stainless bar stock.
John,
I have a project coming up in a few months that will need some Anodizing. It's for a personal project I'm working on. I'll take some pictures then and post up a thread of my steps.
I even have an interest in doing some Zinc plating here for hardware. If I ever get that going I'll share that too.
Take care,
David