What Did You Do Today 2019

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Re Apple PSUs.

It's not only Apple who are bad at design details. I've had to cut short and re-terminate the lead on my Japanese-made vacuum-cleaner, because one of the twin conductors had been severed by the sharp edges, very tight fit and excessively tight bend radius of the cable-clamp.

And as for the German-made hacksawing machine I had to use in my days as a materials storekeeper for a company making precision screen-printing machines….. It was well made, but apart from one very good safety-feature, its design was abysmal. Though thinking about it I might be being unfair – the management might have not thought about it properly when studying the catalogue. I had to cut aluminium and BMS bars, down to fairly small cross-sections, but the machine had been designed for fairly heavy hot-rolled steel.

"re-imagined" (in Matthew's original post). A word normally I abjure but in this case it's just so appropriate to the twaddle from Apple! The sad thing is the Apple author presumably thinks he or she understands engineering terms.

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Is ensuring that the cheap bit (psu) breaks rather than the expensive bit (mother board) really bad design?

regards Martin

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Nigel Graham 2 on 12/08/2019 10:10:27:

Re Apple PSUs.

…

"re-imagined" (in Matthew's original post). A word normally I abjure but in this case it's just so appropriate to the twaddle from Apple! The sad thing is the Apple author presumably thinks he or she understands engineering terms.

.

May I assume that should read Michael's ?

If so … please rest assured that the word was chosen carefully.

MichaelG.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Martin Kyte on 12/08/2019 10:38:53:

Is ensuring that the cheap bit (psu) breaks rather than the expensive bit (mother board) really bad design?

.

Not sure that I understand the question, Martin

What I wrote was: "… MagSafe was a great idea, poorly executed."

and I stand by that opinion.

MichaelG.

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Merely that even if the connector breaks perhaps more than it should the primary design goal has still been achieved. So I aggree with you up to a point. It's still better to scrap the power adaptor than the computer.

regards Martin

I was responding to Nigels post primarily rather than you.

Edited By Martin Kyte on 12/08/2019 11:19:01

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Martin Kyte on 12/08/2019 11:16:30:

Merely that even if the connector breaks perhaps more than it should the primary design goal has still been achieved. So I aggree with you up to a point. It's still better to scrap the power adaptor than the computer.

regards Martin

I was responding to Nigels post primarily rather than you.

.

O.K. Martin, understood

I am a great fan of the magsafe concept, having written-off my first MacBook by breaking the power connector.

MichaelG.

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 12/08/2019 10:59:59:

Posted by Martin Kyte on 12/08/2019 10:38:53:

Is ensuring that the cheap bit (psu) breaks rather than the expensive bit (mother board) really bad design?

.

Not sure that I understand the question, Martin

What I wrote was: "… MagSafe was a great idea, poorly executed."

and I stand by that opinion.

MichaelG.

I understand the question, the simple answer is that it is bad design.

In principle having the part that that is likely to fail, be one that is easy and cheap to replace is good practice, the aim really should be for the whole product to have the same life expectancy. Like may other people here I hate the throw away and buy new that seems to be so prevalent nowadays.

The cost difference between the PSU and the motherboard is not very relevant, its the marketing department that determines the two prices to the consumer and the cost is probably only loosely related to the cost of the item to the manufacturer. What is wrong with the product is that its not designed to be repaired by just replacing a broken connector.

I am hoping that the throw away attitude in society has peaked and that there is an increasing acceptance that its beneficial to ourselves and the planet if we look after our purchases and appreciate them for longer than we do at present.

Ian P

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Possibly a bit of very expert engineering? lasts just long enough to be out of warranty, and non repairable, so that you have to buy another so that you can throw away an item that is fully functioning, apart from from one cheap component. I delight in fixing such things, if they are mechanical, and it possible so to do.

If only to spite the "built in obsolesence" merchants!

Some years ago, I read of a £30M print line, only a few years old, which was kept going by an electronics whizz. He mounted a breadboard on each stand as the original circuit board failed one IC. His breadboard carried the components to replace the failed IC which had gone out of production after about three years.

"For want of a nail" and all that!

Sometimes our repairs are superior to the original parts, because we are aiming for durability, rather than minimising cost to keep the bean counters happy.

Howard

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Posted by Ian P on 12/08/2019 16:46:49:

The cost difference between the PSU and the motherboard is not very relevant, its the marketing department that determines the two prices to the consumer and the cost is probably only loosely related to the cost of the item to the manufacturer.

Ian P

Cannot agree with that.

For a start the consumer can buy a replacement power supply and just carry on using that. Apple only sell parts to registered apple repair centres which means that to repair/replace a mother board you are going to have to pay the cost of the new board plus the cost of the repair/replacement so even if the psu and the motherboard were the same price (which the are not) it would cost significantly more to replace the mother board.

Manufacture cost is but a small part of the price, a mother board contains significantly more electronics than a PSU and so is pricier in part alone. The bulk of the overhead is the R and D on both the hardware and software/firmware costs.

Personally I have never broken a Mac power connector and have been using Macs for ever.

regards Martin

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Martin Kyte on 14/08/2019 09:23:38:

[ … ]

Personally I have never broken a Mac power connector and have been using Macs for ever.

regards Martin

.

Just for clarity: I admitted earlier that that I had written-off my first MacBook by damaging the [pin style] connector

That was entirely my doing, and can be blamed on Arthritis: … I picked-up the machine one handed, and my grip failed: It dropped only a foot or so, but landed on the plug [wrecking both plug and socket].

Hence my enthusiasm for the MagSafe idea !

MichaelG.

[Alan VosParticipant @alanvos39612]

I thought I would try some of ARC's diamond/rhombic insert tools. Also the Sumitomo CCMT and CGTT inserts. I suspect the £££ Sumitomo tool holders would be wasted on a mini-lathe.

ARC CCMT, works nicely on EN1A. Sumitomo CCMT, works even better. Personally, I would pay the modest extra price when I need replacements. Sorry, no numbers or photos.

Sumitomo CGTT, we have a winner! Slices through aluminium and brass with very little force on the handwheel.

What size tool holder for a 000 wedge type toolpost? 10mm looks more at home than 8mm. But that is very much personal opinion. I don't expect agreement on a 'right size'.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Finally obtained the Round Tuit and Spare Minute (or 60) to repair my camera tripod, after frustrating attempts to hold the camera by hand to photograph progress on the crankshaft I am making.

The camera mount itself was long-lost: a simple rectangular plate holding the 1/4"BSW screw, and once fitted to the camera, held by a cam in a dovetail arrangement.

I found a piece of PVC plate about 8mm thick in a come-in-handy box; sawed the blank, drilled through, and counter-bored a generous recess so I can turn the sunken head of a shortened machine-screw by fingers. The tripod-head part is flat so the screw-head must be sunken slightly.

Machining the two dovetails was easy on the Drummond hand-shaper. I wanted a reasonable fit without needing machine-tool accuracy, so it was cut-and-try until the cam locked properly. It was also a test of a mounting method I have in mind for more "serious" work. Simply, I mounted the plate (50 X 43mm) in a V-block on its side in the shaper-vice, with a round tool shank acting as intermediate clamp, and cut along the length of the bevels.

Thus happy now, I managed to take a couple of half-decent shots of the embryo shaft on the milling-machine, but unfortunately, due to the cramped nature of the workshop, not from the side looking onto the rotary-table face.

Then proceeded to rough out the crankshaft's centre main-bearing, by milling. It will have to be finished by turning. If you want to see how un-square a milling-cutter end is, try using it radially to the work, to mill a cylindrical surface: the result looks more like a first exercise in Ornamental Turning!

+++

Drew a leaf out of the cricketers' book, and Stopped For Tea.

Evening: printed two auxiliary drawings of the shaft, from the original; one concentrating on the dimensions of the webs, the other giving the various diametral details. (This in TurboCAD, orthographic only – 3D CAD's lost on me. And not very useful in the workshop.)

[Tim ChambersParticipant @timchambers76147]

Had a go at hot oil blacking.

I'm quite pleased with the result. 

Edited By Tim Chambers on 16/08/2019 17:09:15

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Tim Chambers on 16/08/2019 17:05:18:

Had a go at hot oil blacking.

I'm quite pleased with the result.

Edited By Tim Chambers on 16/08/2019 17:09:15

Very satisfying when it turns out nice.

Neil

[MeunierParticipant @meunier]

Posted by Tim Chambers on 16/08/2019 17:05:18:

Had a go at hot oil blacking.///

I'm quite pleased with the result.

Edited By Tim Chambers on 16/08/2019 17:09:15

That looks good Tim, will be going that route shortly – what oil / temp did you use ?
Thanks,
DaveD

[Tim ChambersParticipant @timchambers76147]

I found an old can of Duckhams 20/50 in the garage. All I did was heat it up until it went dark and dunk it in the oil.

[EmgeeParticipant @emgee]

Hi Tim

Good even coating to all areas.

What spec are the toolholders made from ?

Emgee

Edited By Emgee on 16/08/2019 22:59:27

[Tim ChambersParticipant @timchambers76147]

Just ordinary mild steel (EN1 ?) I doubt that I'll ever wear them out .

[Les Jones 1Participant @lesjones1]

Cut a helix on the mill using the rotary table and a right angle drill attachment. The right angle drill attachment was a lazy way to get a right angle drive.

Les.

[MeunierParticipant @meunier]

Posted by Tim Chambers on 16/08/2019 22:19:29:

I found an old can of Duckhams 20/50 in the garage. All I did was heat it up until it went dark and dunk it in the oil.

Thanks Tim, duly noted.
DaveD

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Les Jones 1 on 17/08/2019 17:31:20:

Cut a helix on the mill using the rotary table and a right angle drill attachment. The right angle drill attachment was a lazy way to get a right angle drive.

…

Les.

Ingenious – I'm impressed, and not just by the right-angle drive!

Dave

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Levelled my rather worn and uneven concrete garage floor with Mapei Ultraplan renovation screed.

Since it's described as "not a wearing surface", I'd be interested to hear what people recommend in these circumstances for producing a good wearing surface for moving machinery (mostly on wheels) around on and for general use. I've looked at other threads on workshop flooring but I still can't decide.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

That would have made a good article for MEW!

Neil

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

After the rain I went up to the track but only three other foolish souls up there. Then we got trapped in the clubhouse wishing we had parked closer. We were all sure the forecast had been good. Hope the bank holiday outing with the portable track to the park is better.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

More what have I done this weekend, my friend and I are displaying one of my Stationary Engines at the Great Dorset Steam Fair from Thursday through to Bank Holiday Monday, we travel down on the Tuesday set our flat pack caravan up and then Wednesday we set my engine up and have a wander around ready for the Thursday morning start.

Yesterday we loaded my trailer up with all the necessary tat we think we need including the engine, put the roof box on my car and loaded my mobility scooter into the car along with all the stuff necessary for spending a week in the caravan, we then checked over the caravan and pumped up twelve tyres to towing pressure. Today I've filled the roof box with more stuff, sleeping bag and pillows ,clothes ,waterproofs and footware and tomorrow will load all of the perishable food into the fridge, it amazes me how much we take to show one engine,

Martin P

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