Latest creation. [Archive]

pyrocasto

February 24th, 2006, 11:52 PM

Well after some work and lots of thinking(it's hard for me. ;) ), I finally finished my sticky match machine.

The first one I had was barely different from one other poster's on the old forums, but never got all the kinks work out with that one.

This one is a little improved, using most of the parts from the old machine plus a few additions. :D

The main problem I ran into was friction. I had to turn the handle quite hard which made connecting a handle secure enough more difficult. Basically my handle kept slipping and I got no where.

I replace that(and 2 other points) with some old roller skate wheels that still had good racing bearings in them. That got rid of the problem easily, and now it turns very smoothly no matter how badly shaped the roll of tape is.

I also added a wheel distance counter, to show how many feet/inches I've got so far. Helps alot to determin how much powder you're using per/foot.

Also on the old one, I was limited to about 6-8 inches in diameter roll of SM. Now it's more than 12".

CAUTION:I added an easy pour funnel which helps increadibly, BUT the pipe is made of copper. The chamber is metal as well, I think brass. I do not suggest using metal for anything holding powder because of shrapnel. Stick to safer material. ;)

Here's a quick vid: http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/3933/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

Better video by SCpyro at our last shoot: http://www.mortsplace.com/pyro/stickymatch.wmv

The mid size rolls are a little over 50ft each. And the can of sour krout is for extra weight. :lol:

What ya think?

Dan

February 25th, 2006, 05:53 AM

Excellent job Pyrocasto. I really like how well thought out and nicely built your setup is.

Now, how much ya want for it?? :D

Dan

Chris

February 25th, 2006, 05:53 AM

Genuis! The other one you had before looked nice, but this new one looks even better. How fast does it make sticky match?

CSenior

February 25th, 2006, 06:22 AM

That is awesome! On the pic shown here the funnnel doesn't look like it contains brass. It also looks like it is galvanized (ZINC). It could be the powder residue that makes it look as such...

johnny_boomboom

February 25th, 2006, 07:06 AM

Casto... you could give Wallace and Grommit a run for their money... that is extremely nice... I may incoporate some of those elements into my machine if you don't mind... I have been scavaging parts and have almost everything I need. The funnel is just the cat's A$$ though I bet it really helps production time... One question what are you using for the chamber to hold the powder as it is being laid onto the tape

JoeRatman

February 25th, 2006, 08:29 AM

pyrocasto

February 25th, 2006, 08:32 AM

Dan: Haha. I might would think of building another, but I dont even know what that would cost. This one cost me $5 in extra parts, since I had most of them laying around from past projects failed/not completed. :lol:

Chris: Not sure, but I think I'm doing 50ft in 2-3 minutes. Doing alot wears our your arm pretty quick though. :lol:

CSenior: You're right, the funnel is made from a piece of sheet aluminum. The brass is what us under the copper pipe.

Johnny: the chamber, I'm not exactly sure what it is. I stumbled upon it at Lowes, and payed like $3 for it last time. If I had to do it again I'd use something like a gateraid bottle piece. Something clear so you can see how much powder you have from the side, and not have to look in from the top. Plastic would also make you worry less about a spark. I'll keep looking around and let you know if I find something really nice for a chamber. ;) The funnel is what maid this machine complete, as I can make stick ALOT faster now. The funnel is slow, dumps it in about as fast as I make it, so I just let the chamber fill, then fill the funnel and go. Can make twice as much without stoping now.

pyrocasto

February 25th, 2006, 08:37 AM

Excellent work.

As Dan says, "How much do you want for it?".

I am curious how long does it take to:
set up to make a roll of sticky match?
to make one roll of sticky match (50'-60')?
tear down and clean up?

What does it cost you (cost per foot) to make your own sticky match?

To make 1 roll would take about 10 min I'd say. Mostly because of cleanup, as I spill powder ever time. :lol: Though if you wanted to do 4 rolls, it would only take you maybe 15-20min.

For the only the tape and powder, it costs about $5-6 per 50'. So you pay off your machine cost pretty quick usually. If I can buy the Goex from a certain dealer online then I could drop the price almost half. I'm gonna test some this afternoon and I'll let you guys know the burn rate.

P.S. Anyone have any manufactured sticky to send or bring to the shoot? I'm curious in the differences, like how much powder they use and burn times.

DennyMo

February 25th, 2006, 02:18 PM

:lol: I love the fact that you're playing with BP right next to a laundry basket full of clean whites... Slick job on the machine, very nicely done.

pyrocasto

February 25th, 2006, 03:38 PM

:lol: I love the fact that you're playing with BP right next to a laundry basket full of clean whites...

Cant you tell I have my priorities in order. Folding/sorting laundry comes after pyro time. :lol:

CSenior

February 25th, 2006, 06:59 PM

Cant you tell I have my priorities in order. Folding/sorting laundry comes after pyro time. :lol:

That is why I got rid of the MRS!!! I am a 1.4G Pyro and I love it! Fellas I had a woman that always questioned how much I spent I fireworks... My say is if you question what I spend on fireworks then you do not need to be around me... (sorry for those that are married and putting up with the same **** I went thru...)

DennyMo

February 25th, 2006, 07:21 PM

My say is if you question what I spend on fireworks then you do not need to be around me... (sorry for those that are married and putting up with the same **** I went thru...)
My approach was a little different. If she wasn't willing to try sushi, I wasn't interested in marrying her. :eek: Fortunately, she tried it. And she likes my fireworks shows, and we watch football, baseball, and NASCAR together, and... :D But back to casto's machine...

How does the bottom "chamber" where the BP comes in contact with the tape not overflow? It seems to me that it would.

pyrocasto

February 25th, 2006, 07:26 PM

How does the bottom "chamber" where the BP comes in contact with the tape not overflow? It seems to me that it would.

It only gets filled up a little more than half way as any more and it would creep up too high and spill some out.

CSenior

February 25th, 2006, 07:30 PM

My approach was a little different. If she wasn't willing to try sushi, I wasn't interested in marrying her. :eek: Fortunately, she tried it. And she likes my fireworks shows, and we watch football, baseball, and NASCAR together, and... :D But back to casto's machine...

How does the bottom "chamber" where the BP comes in contact with the tape not overflow? It seems to me that it would.

Congrats!!! Does she have a sister??? (Casto your machine is the CAT's MEOW!!!)

DennyMo

February 25th, 2006, 07:40 PM

Congrats!!! Does she have a sister??? (Casto your machine is the CAT's MEOW!!!)
Yes: she's single, and she helped me build my mortar racks and set pieces for last year's show. You'd have to like cats, and be able to cheer for da' Bears and against the Redskins... ;)

casto, did you use an Altoids tin for your BP chamber? That was one of the endearing features from the old version of the machine. :)

CSenior

February 25th, 2006, 07:55 PM

Yes: she's single, and she helped me build my mortar racks and set pieces for last year's show. You'd have to like cats, and be able to cheer for da' Bears and against the Redskins... ;)

casto, did you use an Altoids tin for your BP chamber? That was one of the endearing features from the old version of the machine. :)

No need for an invite!!! Hook it up!!!!!!!!!!! (I am NE Patriots, NY Giants, and NY Jets fan...) Bears against Reds is a piece of cake...

pyrocasto

February 25th, 2006, 09:29 PM

casto, did you use an Altoids tin for your BP chamber? That was one of the endearing features from the old version of the machine. :)
I was going to, but found something just a little more appealing to me. I see now I should have gone altoids because I missed out on all the freash breath. :lol:

DennyMo

February 25th, 2006, 10:32 PM

No need for an invite!!! Hook it up!!!!!!!!!!! (I am NE Patriots, NY Giants, and NY Jets fan...) Bears against Reds is a piece of cake...
Hmm, Patsies fan, that might be a showstopper... ;)

casto, do you have any close-up pics of the BP Chamber? I'm curious to see how you've put it together. I think I have a general idea, but could easily be wrong.

Also, if I didn't want to have the counter in there, I could just shorten the distance between the BP chamber and the take up reel, right?

Thanks.

Bmiller

February 26th, 2006, 02:28 PM

Pyrocasto- been gone a long time, You DA MAN !!!
Haiku: The men will create
Gadjets that make us happy
PYROTECHNICS LIVES!
I will buy one from you, but as leading candidate for PyroPresident I think think this should be a campaign CONTRIBUTION!
LOL, missed you guys the last few months but started my own business and been really busy.

johnny_boomboom

February 26th, 2006, 02:49 PM

B... It good to see you back dude... Good Luck with the new Business...

pyrocasto

February 26th, 2006, 09:47 PM

DennyMo, here's an old thread by Chett, the guy responsible for giving me ideas for my first machine. He's got a good picture of his chamber near the bottom: http://www.pyrouniverse.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1266

Here's a test light of the first roll of match off the machine. This one is 46ft long and goes up in about 2 seconds. About 25ft/second with no kinks I'd say. That's closed of course making it act like quickmatch.
http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/3972/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

I'll post a better video of it layed out flat tomorrow, as tonights was too windy and messed up the burn rate.

If anyone has any extra F, FF, or FFFF to donate, or maybe shoot a video of and send it my way it would be greatly appreciated. I'm curious of the burn rate difference and dont want to have to buy a pound of each before I know. ;)

RESET

March 14th, 2006, 12:32 AM

This thing is AWESOME! I made some tape match last year but could only make it in 6 inch sections so I never used any of it. This looks like one he!! of a nice machine. I just might have to try making one of these. Or I could go the easy route if you sold a kit.

phil

March 15th, 2006, 05:06 PM

Hey very nice work,you should make an automatic turning machine using a motor so you ca go about your business while you know quick match is being made. Also you can install an automatic fire extinguisher that is heat sensitve that goes off automatically incase of fire to ensure you can feel safe.

dfluke

March 15th, 2006, 08:20 PM

Very cool. I've never used stickymatch. When you roll it off the tape roll do you simply put the fuses in it and then otherwise continue to fold it in half as you go through spaces without any inserted fuses?

I'm thinking that this may very well be a lot easiser than making tubes for quickmatch. Any comments on what works better? I could do a quick search I suppose :oops:

pyrocasto

March 15th, 2006, 11:03 PM

RESET: 6" sections? I made mine last year by dipping a piece of scotch tape in BP, then sticking that in the middle of the packing tape. Kinda slow but easy to make 10-20' if that's all you need. ;)

Phil: Already tried it believe it or not. Little too unsafe I think it was but I also used too small of a motor. I can crank this stuff out pretty quick but my arm does tire so a motorized option may just be in the future of this machine. I'd be careful and think I can make it pretty safe, just gotta find the right motor. :lol: As for a fire extinguisher, if only I knew a simple way to do it I'd be all about it. Hell I've though of dry ice solutions to keep oxygen away from the BP, but that was just brainstorming "what ifs" again. :lol:

dfluke: That's right. Just fold the tape over onto itself, stick a fuse in when I get there, keep folding. If I'm chaining something(like 200g cakes) I just stick it to the paper on the cake over the fuse(instead of putting the fuse in the tube shape). As for QM compared to SM, I couldnt tell ya. I've never used QM but by the looks of this stuff I'd say there isnt much of a difference. I can make this go faster or slower with different powders, so it's more easily controlable IMHO.

pyrocasto

March 15th, 2006, 11:13 PM

Since so many people are wanting one, I may have to make a simplized variation for purchase. I think I could make them pretty cheap once I figured out what I was doing, and could make them 5 at a time. The first time around's mistakes are always what takes the most time. :)

Next is to make a machine to fold the SM into QM for long runs. Say if my finale has 2 cake boards 100ft apart. I could use efire, but 100ft of SM looks SO much cooler. :lol: :D

After that, I dont know what machine I'll build. Maybe a e-match machine. :twisted:

DennyMo

March 16th, 2006, 04:55 AM

Regarding the fire extinguisher, I recently found a web site about a heat-triggered fire extinguisher that's designed to be installed in the vent hood over your stove. I have no idea how much it costs, but I doubt it's cheap...
http://www.argusinc.com/prodsandsvcs/suppression/Guardian/guardian.htm

pyrocasto

March 21st, 2006, 01:19 PM

Well at the shoot we tried some different powders, found a good powder for slow burning sticky so I'm gonna grab some and test it more. :)

johnny_boomboom

March 21st, 2006, 02:20 PM

Well at the shoot we tried some different powders, found a good powder for slow burning sticky so I'm gonna grab some and test it more. :)

Was that the green Dot? or red Dot? or Not?

pyrocasto

March 21st, 2006, 03:36 PM

Was that the green Dot? or red Dot? or Not?

That was the green dot, I wish I would have had time to test the red dot too, but I spent all my time fusing or making fuse(mainly for others or demonstration. :) ).

I'm gonna bore out the funnel this week so I can use all the different powders better, just like the FFFg. Starting the search for a motor too. :lol:

Mike

March 21st, 2006, 07:45 PM

pyrocasto, after seeing your machine in action in the latest video on the other thread, I humbly bow to you sir for creating such an invention. If/when you ever start making and selling these, PLEASE put me on the list. ;)

pyroholic

March 22nd, 2006, 01:40 PM

Pyrocasto; Well done! Would a motor from a barbeque rotissiore be OK for your needs to power your sticky machine. "PH"

pyrocasto

March 22nd, 2006, 05:44 PM

pyroholic: Maybe. I'm looking for a DC PM motor in the 60-100 RMP range. That way I can control it to any speed I want with a dial. Somwhere around 100-200 watts hopefully.

pyrocasto

April 21st, 2006, 05:02 AM

Update:
Purchased and installed a motor for the machine. Now I'm putting out almost 1'/second. :D
(need Divx codec to watch)
http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/4639/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

Still need to put Pot on to control speed, but how is that done with a capacitor and motor? 2 wires is easy but 5 makes it a little more confusing...

bonehead99

April 21st, 2006, 08:03 AM

The pot should be easy to install. I believe it is two leads in and out. You hook this up inline with the DC power thinking on the negative side(someone correct me if wrong) The pot is a variable resistor, when you change restiance you are changing the voltage sent to the motor. Less voltage means motor slows down. I'm not sure of the ohm range for the pot, I'd check radioshack.

pyrocasto

April 21st, 2006, 08:40 AM

bonehead, it's an AC motor and Cap so that's kinda what's confused me. 115 volt motor with a 370 volt cap. I followed their directions on hooking it up and it works fine, but I dont know anything about it past that.:confused:

bonehead99

April 21st, 2006, 09:24 AM

DC motor would be alot easier. try this thread for some info http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/index.php?showtopic=920

pyrocasto

April 21st, 2006, 11:07 AM

Thanks for the link.

I agree DC maybe easier(because I've worked with it more) but I dont have a dc power supply with enough wattage, and I couldnt find a cheap DC motor. I wasnt about to fork up $50 plus for something I'm trying to build out of mainly junk. :)

AC works nice so far, just plug it in and I'm good to go. Plus I have inverters and keep one in my truck so on travel again I'd just plug it in. :cool: