Ball Hopper Monitor - Casting Project

Some progress on the Petter Apple top. Core box with register for correct alignment with the spark plug aperture. The core will sit vertically in the Drag ( bottom box )

Alyn Foundry said:

Some progress on the Petter Apple top. Core box with register for correct alignment with the spark plug aperture. The core will sit vertically in the Drag ( bottom box )

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That is some really clean looking pattern work, especially that LETTERING !
You are definitely on a roll with that engine.
Impressive !
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I can take the credit for the lettering CAD . For an idea of size the letters are 5mm high x 1mm extrusion. Printed nicely on the P1S. Doing the letters separately and setting them into a groove in the main casting means the letters can be done with a fine layer height and won't get damaged when sanding the main pattern

The black parts are carbon reinforced filament. Interesting to see if it's strength allows a thinner wall and less percentage of fill. If it does that will offset the highter cost of the carbon over PLA with the bonus of shorter print times as there is less material being printed.

Here’s a selection of photos…. In fact the printer wasn’t able to do one job because of the nozzle limitations.

The Carbon fibre PLA is exceedingly tough but only a trip to the foundry will prove one way or the other.

Are you planning on filling around the lettering a bit, or are you going to try and pull it as-is ?
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Jasonb said:

This is a 6HP (plated 5 1/2HP) Manatoba built engine not a 7HP

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I found that engine, it was in KansasCity, now in Arkansas.
He said they are the same enough that he bought a Monitor engine and took the parts off of it, to finish the Manitoba. Monitor is now missing valve chest , carb, muffler and rod
He said the main difference is that the Manitoba has no part numbers. And has square gas tank

GreenTwin said:

I envision the thinned fastpatch as having the consistency of slightly thick latex paint.

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Not sure what airbrush you ordered but that sounds problematically thick from my experience. Guess you will find out soon enough. I would have gone for a mini HVLP 'touch up' gun. Even a cheapo knock off. Those have viscosity limits too, but that style of gun typically has a wider range needle/cap orifice combinations to try. You can typically dial that size of gun down to say 1.5" spray fan but its also a function of viscosity. Good luck. Cant wait to see some of these 3DP parts turn into metal, ultimately.

I have high hopes that the sprayed on Fastpatch is going to work.
The buffing with the slow speed sanding sponge takes off a lot of the high spots, and so greatly reduces how thick the filler will need to be.

My sprayer is still in-transit, but will perhaps arrive today.

I received some of my ventilation items yesterday, but don't have my inline fan yet.
I have to build an enclosure around my 3D printer, and ventilate it outside, since the PLA fumes are burning my eyes.
I can't smell the PLA fumes, but I can tell they are present since my eyes are watering.
I have some spare 1/2" square tubing that will work well for an enclosure frame.

Building the green twin engine build was brutal because I was trying to learn 3D modeling, 3D printing, was using a poor quality 3D printer, and my foundry work was learn-as-you-go.
At one point, I had given up onr figuring out how to consistently melt and cast gray iron, and a very talented friend of mine who worked at a medium voltage motor rewind company said "Don't give up; you will figure it out".
This fellow had a long history of figuring out some very complex problems with medium voltage motors, and was the best motor person I have ever met, not to mention just an incredibly nice person, so that inspired me to hang in there and figure out how to do gray iron.

This build is very focused, and based on 12 years of accumulated knowledge, so I am light years ahead of where I was on my last build, and that allows me to move much more quickly on this engine.
I have the confidence on this build of knowing exactly what to do and how to do it, without the discouraging failures and blunders I experienced in the past.

The Prusa XL so far has been a very consistent machine, with no bed lifting, so that solves a lot of 3D printing problems, and allows steady progress.

I have not built an IC engine before, so there is a learning curve to that, but there are some really heavyweights in IC engine building on this forum, and with the knowledge that our members have here, I don't think there is any way for me to fail.
The support from members here really is what allows me to attempt builds like this.
I am basically standing on the shoulders of the experienced builders here; that is what makes this possible.

The game plan as far as turning these PLA patterns into permanent aluminum patterns, and then gray iron castings is going to be a bit weather-dependent.
I think I am going to set up my furnace and burner out in the yard, and leave it in place.
I will have to cover it.
If I leave everything set up, then that will save a lot of time not having to drag everything out every time and do a set up/take down repeatedly.
I may use a remote combustion air blower mounted permanently in my shop, so that I just have a duct out in the driveway, not the entire blower.

For mold making, I think a one or two day intense session, where all the molds are made all at the same time, followed by a one day casting session, will get all of the permanent aluminum patterns completed.
It does not work well for me trying to jump on and off foundry work, because I lose track and lose momentum too.

If I can get the aluminum patterns made, then I would have a second multi-day molding and casting session, and cast all the parts in gray iron.

But again, the weather will have to cooperate for me to do this.

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Building the green twin engine build was brutal because I was trying to learn 3D modeling, 3D printing, was using a poor quality 3D printer, and my foundry work was learn-as-you-go.

This build is very focused, and based on 12 years of accumulated knowledge, so I am light years ahead of where I was on my last build, and that allows me to move much more quickly on this engine. I have the confidence on this build of knowing exactly what to do and how to do it, without the discouraging failures and blunders I experienced in the past.

The Prusa XL so far has been a very consistent machine, with no bed lifting, so that solves a lot of 3D printing problems, and allows steady progress.

I have not built an IC engine before, so there is a learning curve to that, but there are some really heavyweights in IC engine building on this forum, and with the knowledge that our members have here, I don't think there is any way for me to fail.

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But you don't seem to know the various settings of the printer or ways to finish the prints . Moving so fast you are getting ahead of yourself and printing incomplete CAD designed parts etc

You are getting advice but tend to be ignoring quite a lot of it so there are likely to be failures along the way.

It is becoming a bit of a Brian thread. You may find that if you get to the building stage people will not feel like helping.

The contradictions don't help, one line you say you will set up outside to save REPEATED setting up. The next you are only talking of two casting sessions which is hardly a lot of repeats.

Jasonb said:

But you don't seem to know the various settings of the printer or ways to finish the prints . Moving so fast you are getting ahead of yourself and printing incomplete CAD designed parts etc

You are getting advice but tend to be ignoring quite a lot of it so there are likely to be failures along the way.

It is becoming a bit of a Brian thread. You may find that if you get to the building stage people will not feel like helping.

The contradictions don't help, one line you say you will set up outside to save REPEATED setting up. The next you are only talking of two casting sessions which is hardly a lot of repeats.

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So much hand-wringing in this post.

But you don't seem to know the various settings of the printer or ways to finish the prints . Moving so fast you are getting ahead of yourself and printing incomplete CAD designed parts etc.
The default finest layer setting is working well enough to make usable patterns.
I tried the variable layer, and that did not work, so I will stick with the default finest layer setting, and add supports where necessary.
I am not getting ahead of myself, I just wanted to watch the printer run while I was working on work projects that day; it was never intended as a final print.

You are getting advice but tend to be ignoring quite a lot of it so there are likely to be failures along the way.
I do it my way in the end, but I do appreciate all the advice.
I know where the parting lines are; I don't need wrong information on that.

It is becoming a bit of a Brian thread.
Brian does his own thing, for his own reasons, and while that may not be how other engine builders do things, Brian does not do this hobby to please others; he only has to please himself.
To give Brian credit, he did inspire me to purchase and learn Solidworks, and that has been a big thing for me.
Many thanks to Brian for paving the way on that with all his 3D models that he posted.
As I was learning 3D modeling, others were saying things like "Its just a pretty picture, but will never be of any use for anything".
So who has changed their tune these days? Lets be honest.

The contradictions don't help, one line you say you will set up outside to save REPEATED setting up. The next you are only talking of two casting sessions which is hardly a lot of repeats.
It is two casting sessions, but with multiple melts/pours.
For the green twin, I did five back-to-back pours in aluminum in about two hours, and so that was very efficient.
Otherwise that means five setups/takedowns, and over two days, 10 or more.
The only contradictions are the things you don't seem to quite understand completely.
I do everything for a reason and a purpose; there is nothing random.
You may not understand the reason and purpose, but that is ok.

You may find that if you get to the building stage people will not feel like helping.
I appreciate any help from anyone, with the understanding that it is my build, my way.
There is no quid pro quo here.
If you want to offer suggestions, I appreciate any and all suggestions.
I reserve the right to reject all suggestions for any reason, rational or irrational.
If need be, I will drive to Barney's house, and we will sit down next to his engine and figure out whatever needs to be figured out, to make this engine work.

I would suggest you stop the hand wringing over every minute detail of this build, and remember that this is a hobby for me, and not a life and death situation as you seem to suggest.

I have this build under control.
Mistakes will be made.
They will be minor mistakes that can easily be corrected.
Feel free to comment as much as you want; all is appreciated, but if your can't handle the anxiety over how I do it, then comment on someone else's thread and save yourself from stroking out over how I am doing this one.

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GreenTwin said:

So much hand-wringing in this post.

But you don't seem to know the various settings of the printer or ways to finish the prints . Moving so fast you are getting ahead of yourself and printing incomplete CAD designed parts etc.
The default finest layer setting is working well enough to make usable patterns.
I tried the variable layer, and that did not work, so I will stick with the default finest layer setting, and add supports where necessary.
I am not getting ahead of myself, I just wanted to watch the printer run while I was working on work projects that day; it was never intended as a final print.

You are getting advice but tend to be ignoring quite a lot of it so there are likely to be failures along the way.
I do it my way in the end, but I do appreciate all the advice.
I know where the parting lines are; I don't need wrong information on that.

It is becoming a bit of a Brian thread.
Brian does his own thing, for his own reasons, and while that may not be how other engine builders do things, Brian does not do this hobby to please others; he only has to please himself.
To give Brian credit, he did inspire me to purchase and learn Solidworks, and that has been a big thing for me.
Many thanks to Brian for paving the way on that with all his 3D models that he posted.
As I was learning 3D modeling, others were saying things like "Its just a pretty picture, but will never be of any use for anything".
So who has changed their tune these days? Lets be honest.

The contradictions don't help, one line you say you will set up outside to save REPEATED setting up. The next you are only talking of two casting sessions which is hardly a lot of repeats.
It is two casting sessions, but with multiple melts/pours.
For the green twin, I did five back-to-back pours in aluminum in about two hours, and so that was very efficient.
Otherwise that means five setups/takedowns, and over two days, 10 or more.
The only contradictions are the things you don't seem to quite understand completely.
I do everything for a reason and a purpose; there is nothing random.
You may not understand the reason and purpose, but that is ok.

You may find that if you get to the building stage people will not feel like helping.
I appreciate any help from anyone, with the understanding that it is my build, my way.
There is no quid pro quo here.
If you want to offer suggestions, I appreciate any and all suggestions.
I reserve the right to reject all suggestions for any reason, rational or irrational.
If need be, I will drive to Barney's house, and we will sit down next to his engine and figure out whatever we need to figure out, to make this engine work.

I would suggest you stop the hand wringing over every minute detail of this build, and remember that this is a hobby for me, and not a life and death situation as you seem to suggest.

I have this build under control.
Mistakes will be made.
They will be minor mistakes that can easily be corrected.
Feel free to comment as much as you want; all is appreciated, but if your can't handle the anxiety over how I do it, then comment on someone else's thread and save yourself from stroking out over how I am doing this one.

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I have to inject here. When I start out on a new system that I do not know at all, I find MY work, indeed, IS random. but the randomness eventually bumps into something usefull then I start learning. Randomness takes longer and often interferes with smooth, linear learning, even so, it's the way I do things if I don't have a mentor/teacher/instruction book/etc.

My daughter & I were working on a Jeep Cherokee we had bought at auction (dad's cash, of course) for her. We were prepping it for a cheap Earl Schieb paint job. I showed her how to do a few things and we were UNsuccessfully trying to work together. We are both hard headed & know it. We switched to her prepping one side and me doing the other. We had a lot of fun talking and laughing across the car. When the paint job was finally finished we both agreed that it came out great & couldn't tell who worked on which side. 25 years later we still laugh about that project.

I have tried very hard to address everyone's comments, so that others can perhaps understand my rational, or thought process for this build.
Trying to be all things to all people is not working, and so I am not going to try and do that anymore.
I am going to forge ahead, and put the blinders on, so to speak.
I appreciate the feedback, but at this point it is time move forward without further ado.
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GreenTwin said:

I have high hopes that the sprayed on Fastpatch is going to work.

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You can do a check of your spray medium by getting an inexpensive viscosity cup at a (typically automotive) paint store & compare to what generic charts like link. They are handy to have in any event for any other spraying applications. But airbrush needle/nozzle don't really scale the same way. All I can tell you from experience is that typical paints that flow nicely through a touchup sized mini HVLP typically require further viscosity reduction in an airbrush. If you just shake some hobby shop plastic model paint it will give you a general idea. I think models like Paache or Badger or their clones might have some higher flow options on specific nozzles. Anyways good luck & tell us how it works out.

https://spraygunplaza.com/pages/how-to-use-a-viscosity-cup

petertha said:

You can do an check of your spray medium by getting an inexpensive viscosity cup at a (typically automotive) paint store & compare to what generic charts like link. They are handy to have in any event for any other spraying applications. But airbrush needle/nozzle don't really scale the same way. All I can tell you from experience is that typical finishes that flow nicely through an HVLP typically require further viscosity reduction in an airbrush. If you just shake some hobby shop plastic model paint it will give you a general idea. I think models like Paache or Badger or their clones might have some higher flow options on specific nozzles. Anyways good luck & tell us how it works out.

https://spraygunplaza.com/pages/how-to-use-a-viscosity-cup

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That is an interesting instrument.
I was thinking yesterday about how they check concrete with the slump test.

It is like I tell people who are trying to measure the temperature of their molten aluminum accurately.
It can be tricky to calibrate a pyrometer, especially a home-built one.
What is more important is consistency, and when you find a melt temperature that give good fuidity and a good surface finish, then use that temperature reading, regardless of what it may be.

Somewhere I have very small measuring cups; I will have to look for those.
If I can find a viscosity that works, then I will stick with that ratio of water to filler.

I tracked my airbrush today, and it seems to have been put on the slow boat.
They keep pushing back the delivery.

If my inline fan arrives today, then I could at least get my printer enclosure set up, and start printing again.
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I received the airbrush today.
The compressor is a bit weak, with perhaps a 50 psi max.

I mixed up some fastpatch, about 3:1, and it was too thin and runny.

I added more fastpatch, and it began to spray, but as the fastpatch began to thicken, it would clog the pickup tube.

I did get a bit of fastpatch sprayed on, but it is not exactly the results I had hoped for.

I may have to break out the Paasche slurry sprayer, since I can use the large air compressor with that, to sort of power through the spraying.

I think the problem with Fastpatch is that the set time is too fast, and so the viscoscity is changing dynamically as you are spraying.

I was in a Caterpillar rebuild plant, and they had a plasma sprayer that was really cool.
They could build up surfaces with that, and the plasma was hot enough to melt into or otherwise bond with gray cast iron.

I will have to ponder the next step.
Perhaps find a material with a slow set time.

With some of the superglues I have seen lately, you can apply it, and then spray on a catalyst afterward to start the reaction.
That is more what I need to happen.

Another option may be to apply the filler with a fine roller, but that will be more difficult to apply in the tight spots.

Or apply it dry, and then set it somehow, perhaps with a light water mist.
Sort of like powder coated paint, but without the heat.

Perhaps spray on liquid wax.

Edit:
I think I will try a mini-paint roller next.
Like rolling on a textured coat on a ceiling.
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Here is a spray-on texture.
Not really what I am looking for, but in general, the right idea.
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Here is some sheetrock joint compound.
20 minute working time.
This would give a lot more time.
I may try this.

This would allow me to use the Paasche sprayer, and still have time to wash it out after spraying.
Inexpensive in bulk.

I really need to pump the material up to the spray head, much like they pump concrete to pour the floors of multi-story buildings.
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I dried this piece with a hair dryer, and the sprayed on material is actually doing what I want it to do, ie: cover the surface with a very thin even coat of filler.
I just need to sort out the set time on the filler.
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