Heated Press Questions
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Heated Press Questions
So i am building a heat curing press right now and was wondering how everyone designed their bottom molds for final camber and such. I have not seen any relaxation in the camber of my 5 pair of skis I have built so far cold curing, but I have been searching around and it seems like things are all over the board with everyone else out there. Does the contraction from cooling make the camber increase, or does it relax out? Also, has anyone seen any change in their tip/tail curves after heat pressing? Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. --Geoff
sam wrote:
I'm thinking that I'll be making a second bottom mold soon and reducing it's camber to more like 8mm (from the current 16mm). The last ski that I made about 3 weeks ago was quite light (3lbs. 10oz. at 128/94/118) but was just a bit soft. The 16mm of camber worked really well with the soft flex on this back-country climber, but I think that for the really stiff ski that I hope to build soon, less camber would give a better ride. I'm going for a longer, straighter, narrower, and stiffer ski with lots of binding riser... a high speed carver for firmer groomed conditions... fast and smooth edge to edge. Now, if we can just get some snow.
G-man
Just an update of sorts. A few days ago, I took four different skis (that I had built over the last 8 months) back down to the shop and placed each one of them back into the press. Everyone of them still fit perfectly, from tip to tail, to the bottom mold surface. Again, I don't have an explanation for why we all get such different camber results.I know that G-man said somewhere that his skis come out perfectly aligned to his mold.
I'm thinking that I'll be making a second bottom mold soon and reducing it's camber to more like 8mm (from the current 16mm). The last ski that I made about 3 weeks ago was quite light (3lbs. 10oz. at 128/94/118) but was just a bit soft. The 16mm of camber worked really well with the soft flex on this back-country climber, but I think that for the really stiff ski that I hope to build soon, less camber would give a better ride. I'm going for a longer, straighter, narrower, and stiffer ski with lots of binding riser... a high speed carver for firmer groomed conditions... fast and smooth edge to edge. Now, if we can just get some snow.
G-man
Can someone explain the DP Contactor setup in the heated press diagram from the articles section for me? I understand what it is and how the contactor works, but I am foggy on how the power is being routed in the system based on the position and labeling of the SSR and DP contactor in the diagram. Am I looking at it wrong in terms of how it is labeled, or is everything right and I just can't follow it? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I have a fairly good background with electronic controls from three summers spent troubleshooting burner/boiler control systems for big hot water drills ( http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/icds ) ( http://icecube.wisc.edu/ ), but I always had an electrical engineer around to make sure I wasn't making mistakes. This stuff all on my lonesome is a good learning experience, but my limited knowledge of the components is frustrating.
On another note, I have my new load frame designed and fabrication will begin within the next week. It is a space frame that has a swing gate for side loading similar to what Kingswood Skis is using (excellent video).
http://www.kingswoodskis.com/website/ki ... making.wmv
It will be pneumatic, cat track, adjustable bottom mold, aluminum cassette, heat on top and bottom, 2 ski's per pressing. The university is letting me do this for my ME capstone, so the goal is to make something that could be sold to small ski manufacturers at a reasonable price-which is good as I have to finance it.
So with that said, what kind of features would all of you custom ski manufacturers like to see in a press? Any thoughts as to features that would aid in efficiency, like being able to use the swing gate like a truck tailgate for a layup table, would be fantastic. Thanks and keep on keepin' on. --Geoff
I have a fairly good background with electronic controls from three summers spent troubleshooting burner/boiler control systems for big hot water drills ( http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/icds ) ( http://icecube.wisc.edu/ ), but I always had an electrical engineer around to make sure I wasn't making mistakes. This stuff all on my lonesome is a good learning experience, but my limited knowledge of the components is frustrating.
On another note, I have my new load frame designed and fabrication will begin within the next week. It is a space frame that has a swing gate for side loading similar to what Kingswood Skis is using (excellent video).
http://www.kingswoodskis.com/website/ki ... making.wmv
It will be pneumatic, cat track, adjustable bottom mold, aluminum cassette, heat on top and bottom, 2 ski's per pressing. The university is letting me do this for my ME capstone, so the goal is to make something that could be sold to small ski manufacturers at a reasonable price-which is good as I have to finance it.
So with that said, what kind of features would all of you custom ski manufacturers like to see in a press? Any thoughts as to features that would aid in efficiency, like being able to use the swing gate like a truck tailgate for a layup table, would be fantastic. Thanks and keep on keepin' on. --Geoff
The press I used at PM Gear opend like a clam shell, hinged at one end and locked with a pin at the other, it had a huge pneumatic ram to push/hold it open.
This feature made loading and unloading the press very easy. Also gave you the opertunity to look down on the ski and make sure it was correctly aligned before applying pressure.
This feature made loading and unloading the press very easy. Also gave you the opertunity to look down on the ski and make sure it was correctly aligned before applying pressure.
