Hardware Questions

[MrForbes]

I'm sorry to say that you probably won't find such custom parts available off the shelf. This is a good time to look into buying that lathe, and that broach set and press.

[Dad1279]

Is there a reason you cannot use a hex bearing on the end instead of round?

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by Dad1279

Is there a reason you cannot use a hex bearing on the end instead of round?

Would like to use flanged bearings and a construction in which the shaft holds the bearing in place. Construction would be more complicated, otherwise; it'd require shaft collars, and shaft space is at a premium.

[audietron]

We did that with our Vex Pro Ball-Shifter by taking out the short shaft and buying the stock from vex to lathe down the end to fit in a bearing. We could not find any prefabricated shafts to use. Hope this helps.
http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro/sh...aft-stock.html

[Dad1279]

If they are short, McMaster has threaded hex standoffs, in aluminum & steel. Then you could use a bearing on a bolt threaded into the standoff. Not cheap or easy, but no machining.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/ne...te=1&p=1271391

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

Would like to use flanged bearings and a construction in which the shaft holds the bearing in place. Construction would be more complicated, otherwise; it'd require shaft collars, and shaft space is at a premium.

You can also tap the end of the hex shaft and sandwich a thrust washer between bolt head and the flanged side of a hex bearing. It's not pretty, but could work in a pinch.

[MrForbes]

There are many ways to get out of buying a lathe, but there is so much more you can do when you finally get one, why keep putting it off?

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by MrForbes

There are many ways to get out of buying a lathe, but there is so much more you can do when you finally get one, why keep putting it off?

We have access to a lathe; I was simply wondering if anyone sold the things so we wouldn't have to make them ourselves. Off-the-shelf parts are a huge benefit. It's not that we can't do it otherwise, it's just that one of the things we're going to be shooting for with this design is simplicity and ease of construction, which custom-lathed parts don't really fit into.

Ultimately, though, we'll likely end up lathing the things ourselves. That's what machine shops are for. I just wanted to make sure that we don't go with that if there's a way to avoid it.

[CalTran]

Why avoid using the machine shop you have in house?

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by CalTran

Why avoid using the machine shop you have in house?

It's not in-house.

[DonRotolo]

Sorry for the off-topic post:

A lathe is a machine, it is used to Turn parts, not lathe them.

Very unlike most other machining terms. Can anyone think of another machine where the work it does is not the name of the machine?

[ToddF]

That second item is a prime candidate to be a 3D printed part. Once you start looking, it is surprising how many parts you find could be made this way. We had at least half a dozen unique parts in our robot this year which were 3D printed.