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Amp techs, what's on your bench?

#141
gurensan said:
Awesome. That needs its own thread for sure.

For ot, what stuff you have for the work?
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I can do that. What section should I put it in? Amps maybe?

Also, the school (like most) has dozens of "OK" scopes, DMMs, solder stations, etc. But they also keep a few really nice pieces around.... higher end scopes, really nice adjustable high-watt Weber solder stations...... As far as components we have access to a lot of vendors as well. All you have to do at my school is act like you care and they literally give you a key to the lab and all storage/supply rooms and closets. I figure the further along I get the more I will ask advice (both here and at school). All I have done so far is take a bunch of pics and remove a couple of components. I'll try to start the thread at some point next week. (Got two gigs this weekend and two kids....... oy.... I'm too old......)

But you guys tell me where to put it so you can find it. I'll link to it here as well. (I may sneak in a few updates on the PA100 and the V4 as well.) I'm going to have a bunch of nerd fun this Summer!

(Don't worry. I'll stop and take my kids to the beach too.)

Also, how do I go about posting multiple pics like so many guys do around here? I see a lot of posts with 6 or 8 huge pics. I have no idea how to do that. Tips please?
 
#145
I should add one thing on my bench, even though I don't have much of a bench at the moment: a CAD/CAM system.

It's generally useless for repairing amps unless you need to build a new box for them or locate new chassis holes, but it's quite nice as a 3D calculator when you are building new. If you've got access to CNC equipment the CAM bits make things a snap.
 
#148
two fingers said:
I'm really curious as to where those 3D printers are going. We have two at school. They are pretty freaking amazing. All they have to perfect is getting the process of using more and different kinds of material with which to print. These days it is only a few kinds of resins. But once they can't print steel and other materials, game on! I know that seems crazy, but it will only be a matter of time before they figure out how to use metals.
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The deal right now is that different materials and processes have widely varying costs. You tend to pay more for:

1. Interesting materials other than basic plastic

2. Strength, as opposed to brittle or fragile parts

3. Smaller, smoother, or more accurate features

Also, there's no single machine that does it all, so a smaller shop has to choose how to spend their money. It might make sense for a small design shop to have a basic 3D printer for getting the look and feel of shapes, but to use a service when they need something more specialized.

Some older processes still have their uses, and won't vanish right away. CNC machining is a form of 3D printing, albeit with some limitations as to what shapes can be made. Circuit boards are a sort of 3D printing. Some parts are effectively 2D, such as sheet metal, and 2D processes (punching, drilling, forming) will be cheaper than 3D processes for a long time.
 
#150
beans-on-toast said:
I think that it would be neat to print a chassis for an amp. Even better if it could get a chrome layer and lettering printed on the outer surface. Being able to custom build one without having to drill holes for the pots, jacks, and transformers and having mounts for the boards would be incredible.

Printing a wrench when I can't find the one that I'm looking for would be nice as well.
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Nothing complicated enough on an amp chassis to be worth 3d printing. Its water jet cut and fold up, cutters can engrave too.
 
#151
Mr. Foxen said:
Nothing complicated enough on an amp chassis to be worth 3d printing. Its water jet cut and fold up, cutters can engrave too.
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It would be far more feasible, if making chassis boxes at home or in small production, to:

  • Use a brake and shear with a selection of round, square, and rectangular punches for making holes in them. The punches are expensive (especially the rectangular ones, if you can find them at all at the sizes you need) and really only worth it if you're making several boxes, repeatedly. You'd have to have a separate engraving setup if you needed to do that.
  • Use a CNC X/Y table to cut the parts. You'd still need a brake to bend them nicely, but the table can cut, drill, and engrave. This method has the advantage of being much smaller, much lower maintenance, and much less expensive than a waterjet. It's also possible to get them in benchtop sizes or hand-build them, too - I don't think anyone makes a waterjet with less than 4 feet of travel. The disadvantage of it is that like all metal cutters, you need to deburr the finished edges or you'll eventually slice yourself open on them. This is par for the course when dealing with sheet metal though and should come as no surprise to anyone who's ever done chassis work.

A waterjet is out of the reach of 99% of garage builders and amp techs. They cut nicely and accurately, and leave a beautiful, clean edge, but I'd not recommend it for small shop use unless production were very high and the shop could afford a trained tech to keep up the maintenance on it. It's a sledgehammer where most people can only handle finishing nails.
 
#152
3D printing is a long way from being a viable manufacturing option for any any kind of parts that may require stresses. If you want a nice custom chess set piece it's great but if you need something to spin 10,000 RPM's don't count on it. I have looked at 3D printers at a cost of $850,000.00 and they are just not there yet. I recently looked at an aluminum prototype made on a 3D printer that took 4 days to make and the cost was a couple grand. Certainly not a viable option to just machining the thing.

3D printing is going to be the wave of the future but definitely not the present.

Waterjets are on the way out to be replaced by the new Laser machines which are faster, cheaper, cleaner, and yield a better product.

Here are some of my parts.


100_0350-2.jpg
 
#153
Those parts are pretty impressive. Despite the limitations of 3D printing, it has come a long way in a relatively short time. Eventually we'll get to affordable commercial systems that etch and print at the molecular level.
 
#156
At one time, a popular way of prototyping printed circuit boards was a Roland CAMM-2, which was effectively a 2-1/2 axis engraving machine. You'd put in a blank board and it would cut outlines around all of the traces. There were grommets that you could swage in, to simulate plated through holes.

What are you doing with teflon or ceramic boards?

For me, turn-around is so quick from the prototyping houses, that it doesn't make sense for me to make my own boards.
 
#157
I've used teflon and ceramic for modular sub assemblies in communication systems where cost wasn't an issue for harsh environments. PTFE boards are a nice way to go if you want to go high end. I've used it for turret boards when I want to get fancy. Normally I use G10.

I've used CNC machines to cut circuit boards at one place I worked at. They are apparently somewhat affordable if you build a small one for home use. This provides the ultimate in fast turnaround but the final product is nowhere as nice as the professional quality that the prototyping houses deliver.
 
#158
beans-on-toast said:
I've used CNC machines to cut circuit boards at one place I worked at. They are apparently somewhat affordable if you build a small one for home use. This provides the ultimate in fast turnaround but the final product is nowhere as nice as the professional quality that the prototyping houses deliver.
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That's why I suggested a CNC X/Y table. You can't get faster turnaround than watching it cut right in front of you. After a few dozen boards it'll have paid for itself in terms of prototype cost savings - by then you'll have solid designs and can get them made professionally to get the quality up.

The same machine can also cut and drill box parts and engrave faceplates, if you're into that.

I see it as a win/win, myself....
 

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