With an O/A torch setup, cover the bend area with a flame of acetylene only to cover it in soot. Light the torch as normal and burn the black back off the metal. Thats the temp needed to relax aluminum for bending.

@@LegendLength Some softly whispered sweet nothings helps too.

Similar idea but trick I learned in another forum is to mark it with a sharpie and heat until the sharpie (mostly) disappears. This works great. Taught it to teenagers who have used it a lot and they learned it really quick. Only one melted part in the process. LOL. Sharpie is more common than having acetylene torch and easier to read color change than soap.

Thanks! I only make videos for what I feel isn't already out there. I try and make the video I wish I had seen before trying something out.

It's a great trick to have in your back pocket. This was actually the easier part to make and was more appropriate for the situation.

Haha, I work in sheet metal and there is a surprising number of engineers who think 6061 is formable. It actually is, but you'd have to use radius so large that it becomes impractical.

Spent 7 hours leveling the bed on my Da Vinci a while back. Prints look amazing but god that was a hell to go through

Make a solid part. 100% infill And take Salt(small particles recommended) TAKE A SMALL VESSEL which can Cover you part with salt around it. Bottom layer salt Mid layer PLA PART (covered with salt) Tom layer Salt Hit it up to 200 degree in oven It will rock hard. You can bend metals with it then Note: Never use colourful, or Matte finish PLA for engineering applications.

Thank you! I'm a bit bummed with the slow growth. I am really trying to hit the magic 100K subscriber mark. But at this rate, it will be another 12 years :-/

@@RobertCowanDIY Hang in there. My guess is that you are building a really loyal group of followers. I'm afraid a lot of it will be about find that "catchy" title or creating a surprising viral video.

de nada, obrigado por assistir

You can make the dies out of HDF or wood just as well. Prolly wood is your best option here, cheap and easy to make.

Time to redo the whole video.

Ha, thanks! I had been binge watching a lot of ToT lately, probably right before I made this video. The guy is a legend, I just can't put that much effort and consideration into each video.

5052-H32 is ideal for sheet metal work with sharp bends. Even 180-degree bends to hem an edge are possible without cracking the aluminum. No further annealing is required. The "H32" temper is what would be called "1/4 hard", so it can be bent rather easily. McMaster-Carr www.mcmaster.com/aluminum-sheets/easy-to-weld-5052-aluminum-sheets-and-bars/ is a good source to get such material quickly. They don't have the cheapest prices for larger quantities, but they have a wide variety in stock and delivery is quick. One warehouse is in southern California. I can order parts by 5:00-6:00 PM and have them delivered 40 miles north of Seattle, WA by about 10:00-11:00 AM the next morning with standard delivery. Being a mechanical engineer, I use them a lot because they help to keep urgent projects on schedule. Ed Schultheis www.schultek.com/

5052 is pretty common for bending, as you can heat treat it. 6061 works, but it can't be in the common T6 temper when bent. Alloy and temper both play a role, but the temper is usually what "catches" people.

Ha, no. I didn't redo ALL the brackets, some of the original ones had some cracking. I only redid a portion of them. So you're seeing things right! Some of the first batch had some cracking, but are still structurally OK (for this puprose).

@@RobertCowanDIY So 8 months on how did those cracked brackets hold up? I'd have thought the vibrations from the compressor would cause them to propagate and snap, although the fan would probably still be secure enough with two good brackets.

@@shuflie I hadn't give it any thought. Went out and checked and it's fine. So it should hold up just fine in the long run. I think the others hold it in place firmly enough so there's no added stress.

I just have everything plugged into a power strip, and that's controlled by a solid state relay in the Avid controller. So when I turn on the fogbuster, it opens a solenoid for that as well as turns on the fans.

The correct spelling.

Yes, but it was an aluminium alloy.

@@michaels3003 so what

I follow his channel. I follow EVERY combat robot channel out there and usually watch all the videos. I would totally take on the challenge, but I have many other projects right now and I'm taking a bit of a break from combat robots. If I ever find myself wanting a challenge and to try something different, I think a budget bot would be at the top of the list.

It's nothing too special. The key is 100% in-fill. Here's the filament shown in the video: shop.prusa3d.com/en/filament/115-pla-extrafill-melon-yellow-750g.html

That's actually what I had. It's 1/8", and the fillet on the dies was 1/8" radius.

With the fans, they're barely warm. I had an air leak and it ran overnight without the fans, and that got really hot.

Probably not. Anxiety Attack was technically the next iteration.

Generally hardening aluminium means heating it to almost melting temperature, and quenching it. A lot like steel, but with a much smaller window of critical temperature. Obviously each alloy will has slightly differing specs, and behavior.

Not for this application.

Its probably just an obsecene amount of work.

I have a final video where I talk about why I abandoned the project. Every little detail about the machine is a huge road block. The heater cartridge was 90V, the nozzles are proprietary, there are thermal switches everywhere, etc. It was really fun to mess with, but getting a machine that can print on the level of a Prusa was going to cost me several months of time.

How so? The top of the cylinders is where the air is blowing, and the little ridges on the top are the hottest part of the compressor. After running for 30 minutes, it's just a few degrees above ambient. Without the fans, it would be too hot to touch and the seals started breaking down. I did a lot of testing for the fan locations, and this was the optimal placement to cool everything down. I tried them on the sides, in front/back, etc.

Just plain old PLA.

For a belt sander, I don't see how that could be dangerous. Someone can surely correct me, but there's nothing to 'catch' when using a belt sander. For the bandsaw, same kinda thing, if it caught my finger, it would cut the finger, the ring would be less of a concern. Typically, you don't want rings if something is going to suck your finger in, like a lathe or milling machine.

@@RobertCowanDIY from what I was told, the ring can catch in the abrasive and because you aren't expecting it it can pull your finger into the base on the sander, same with the band saw. Just what i was taught, apologies if that's wrong.

Hey! Long time no talk. How have you been?

@@RobertCowanDIY Awesome. Just bought a house with a significant upgrade in shop space! Working on getting it set up for projects again. Great videos, man.

@@SignalDitch Yeah, I've been seeing the pictures on facebook. Looks like a nice shop space, good luck with it!

It's true!

Haha, right? Normally I would, but this is a REALLY simple little part and it doesn't matter much.

Correct, that's the cheap stuff from Home Depot. I was just trying to demonstrate that a 3d printed die could be used to form aluminum, which is still true. But you're right, it will need to be hardened afterwards, if the application warrants it.

But yet it can be used as one and most machinists use it this way, interesting.