PEU E-Series Helix Body

PEU · Feb 19, 2009

Today I was toying with ideas using Solidworks and came up with this:

Weird looking, not waterproof at all, but nice eye candy, so off to the CNC mill I went:

I had the 4th axis improperly configured, it reached a virtual limit and refused to keep turning :( I finished all the turns anyway

I'm still asking myself why I put the orings in the body :nana:

Pablo

Scattergun · Feb 19, 2009

Wow!! Very nice!!
Would it be possible to machine a body like that one and then make an insert out of carbon fibre? Would be waterproof, and really good looking!

collector · Feb 19, 2009

Nice, very nice !!
This will start a whole new rage, mark my words !!

1wrx7 · Feb 19, 2009

Very nice Pablo,

I love to see someting different:thumbsup: Imagine all of the artistic ideas you could incorparate into the grooves:grin2: Any thoughts on threading the tail for a C/P/M style tailcap?

maxspeeds · Feb 19, 2009

:D That is neat looking! Good for around the house

ambientmind · Feb 19, 2009

make some more! those are sweet! an insert would be cool too, but that could be left up to the end user if you left a little bit of room around the batteries.

McGizmo · Feb 19, 2009

PEU said:
I'm still asking myself why I put the orings in the body :nana:

Pablo

:crackup:

Nice work Pablo! Very cool! :thumbsup: The O-rings help snug the components and keep them from loosening up. You need them! :D

greenLED · Feb 19, 2009

Macanudo, Pablo!

GID mod, anyone? :devil:

...it'd be a ***** to do, but fun in the end.

DaFABRICATA · Feb 19, 2009

Holy Moley!!

Thats SWEEEET lookin!

I think the GID or Carbon fiber insert would be bad-***!

Nice Job!

toby_pra · Feb 20, 2009

Very nice body...looks like a piece of art! :popcorn:

Pontiaker · Feb 20, 2009

I'll buy the one with the boo boo if you make another for yourself to replace it.

wquiles · Feb 20, 2009

Very nice looking Pablo!

You know another cool variation? Don't go all the way through the body, just make grooves, and fill then flush with glow in the dark/epoxy mix - I bet it would look outstanding at night (while preserving water resistance), and with the glow being flush, it would probably survive duty as an EDC light, impressing everyone who sees it ;)

Will

PEU · Feb 20, 2009

Thanks for the nice comments guys!

Miguel & Will: Thats a great idea, will do a new one just for testing it out, wish me luck :)

Pablo

Mirage_Man · Feb 20, 2009

wquiles said:
Very nice looking Pablo!

You know another cool variation? Don't go all the way through the body, just make grooves, and fill then flush with glow in the dark/epoxy mix - I bet it would look outstanding at night (while preserving water resistance), and with the glow being flush, it would probably survive duty as an EDC light, impressing everyone who sees it ;)

Will

How would you fill the grooves without the glow epoxy running out? It wants to level itself doesn't it?

PEU · Feb 20, 2009

Mirage_Man said:
How would you fill the grooves without the glow epoxy running out? It wants to level itself doesn't it?

what if I use 10min epoxy and let it dry while slowly turning? just a tought :thinking:

Pablo

Cuso · Feb 20, 2009

PEU said:
what if I use 10min epoxy and let it dry while slowly turning? just a tought :thinking:

Pablo

That's what I thought, mask the inside and let it run around the grooves, its worth a try...:thumbsup:

HarryN · Feb 20, 2009

That is neat Pablo - I like two tone idea.

It might be possible to tape it off like a mold and pour from the top ?

Gryloc · Feb 20, 2009

I thought of two things you can do to be able to add GITD epoxy to the grooves.

First, you could always machine the grooves deep, buy not all the way through. This way you can pour in the epoxy without worrying about anything from seeping into the battery compartment.

Second, you can try to shove a wax candle into the battery compartment to work as a filler so the epoxy does not run into the battery compartment. If any candles do not fit, maybe you could machine one up from a block of paraffin wax (I hope that wont create a mess on the lathe). With either GITD epoxy or clear epoxy added into the grooves, the results would be neat. The clear epoxy would be great if you are a proud user of AW cells :grin2:.

Can epoxy be machined easily? If so, once you finish adding the GITD epoxy to the grooves (using whatever method you prefer), you can machine the epoxy material so it is flush with the metal body, even if that means removing a few thousandths of an inch from the metal. How would your lathe cutting tools like hardened epoxy?

Oh, and I like the idea of the carbon fiber insert. For that, you can machine a more shallow groove (at least not all the way through) so there is a nice backing. Then just epoxy in your long carbon fiber strip. Actually, you can add in any material, from rope, steel cable, braids, copper wire, gold/silver chain, and why not something like insects? All of it will be covered with clear epoxy, making the material you insert last and visible. You can make these grooves of any width to accommodate your unique fillings.

This sounds like it would be lots of fun for whom ever has these machined bodies. Good job with the design, PEU!

Cheers,
-Tony

PEU · Feb 20, 2009

Back from the machines, still with oil in my fingers (my IBM M-type keyboard have removable keycaps :D )

Just for looks I made a tappered body, and as suggested I did a non thru helix, its only 1.5mm deep (0.06") constant deep along the taper.

Here are the machining process photos: