Case Mod - In Progress Reactor Meltdown |20-07-2014|Illumitube crowdfunding only 1 week left!

Subbed, interesting concept.

 

Uma ótima ideia.

 

Nice work Skyrip

I like all of those designs, though maybe that last one might not work so well...

I think that the pins of the tightening tool may bend inwards and into the softer acrylic when you start to put pressure on it. I like the idea though; it does mean the holes would be far less visible.

I think that the ER32 nut type probably looks the cleanest of the rest aaaaand it reminds me of a tool holder so...

 

Yeah I think I like the ER32 nut one the most as well. It seems a little more industrial than the others, which I think suits the rest of the build nicely. Would be awesome to see a variant of this on the market one day!

 

thanks

thanks (after google translate )

i dont think the pins wil bend inward since they should only be 1-1,5mm long so bending should be limited, although we will probably never know since i will probably never make that version.

the er32 nut is also my favorite after the original.

i also like the industrial type we will see what happens in the coming months, i will start a indiegogo campaign when i have finished the final prototype versions, if i can make 15, i can also make 1500 that is the advantage of cnc

 

well it has been a while but i finally have another update for you guys! in my defence it were more than 40 parts that i had to make

I have been busy making the micro machine clamps to do the second stage milling on the fitting parts and i have also made the first stage parts for the nut of the fitting.

here are some shots of the first stage parts of the new nut design:
during the second stage milling i will make the hole 2mm larger and insert the threading, after that the nut part is finished and i can move on to the bottom part and the light rings.



old VS new:



next up are the machine clamps. i have designed these to work with round parts of 19-25mm so i can do the second stage milling on all my parts that can come from my 4th axis. the best part is ofcourse that i can now do 15 parts at a time so that should save me loads of time regarding tool changes

the bottom plate:



the clamps itself without the bolts:


the pushing mechanism:


The complete assembly:


with 1 nut secured:


with the 12 prototype nuts i have laying around:


that was it for now, next week i hope to finish the nuts. so you can expect another update next week i hope

 

That's just insane! Can't wait to see the finished product

 

Good grief, even your machining jig is a work of art!

 

neither can I

thanks, milled alu almost always looks good

 

This is a totally new level of hardware modding...really impressive what you are accomplishing where.

 

I have just read the entire build log and, even though I barely understood half of the things you were doing, you, sir, are a genius!!! (or at least very talented. take your pick)

 

thanks, i try to push the boundry as much as i can

i get that a lot, sometimes i kinda forget that not everybody knows as much about engineering stuf as i do
i would say im a decent mix of genius, creative and crazy

 

haha well there certainly isn't anything wrong with that! your work is really precise and professional. Love it!

 

subd. it after drooling my keyboard full. Your engeneering skill is nearly godlike.

 

thanks

last week i finished the nuts, the clamping system works but needs a little more calibration. i also assembled the parts that i had and now i only need to make the bottom part with the g1/4 thread from POM.

here are some pictures of the fittings with the alu bottom part that i stil had from my previous prototypes:



red:


green:


blue:


yellow:


orange:


white:


also I have decided to actually start a little company to produce them in larger quantities, I hope to start an indiegogo campaign at the end of this month as a way to preorder them.

for more information and updates on the fittings here is the official facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MMTDcooling

 

Hey, those look cool! You should start--

--oh, never mind...

 

Those really look sharp. Not sure what the patent landscape looks like for fittings, but you might consider patenting them. Of course if the only novelty is in things that you've posted here then you've already disclosed it and that's not going to work. And perhaps you're more of an open source sort of guy anyway...

Alternately it might be worth trademarking the design. That's easier and cheaper than a patent, and would at least keep the bigger players from directly copying your design (though they and everyone else would still be free to copy the concept).

 

haha yeah...

well patenting time is long gone but that was done on purpose, i personally dont like the idea of patents and i feel like they are a way for the big companies to lock down the market for the smaller players.

trademarking should not be nessesary, i already have copyright on the design meaning that nobody else can copy the design, i believe the rule of thumb is that if a non expert can not see a clear difference between 2 designs it is called copyright infringement.

also i dont think the risk of copycats is that high because there are lots of seperate parts and they are relatively complex and the profit margin is therefore quite low, especially compared to normal hard tube fittings which are basically only 2 parts that can be ealilly made on a cnc lathe.

 

So in the US a copyright only applies to text, media, or works of art. To protect a design you would need to trademark it. Maybe it works differently for you though. But you're correct, if a common consumer would be confused by which product is which, that constitutes infringement . . . and that's the part which is most important for you to protect against I think.

By the way, copyright and trademark registrations are usually on a by-country basis (since everyone has their own laws about these things). Most products aren't filed in every country, but you might want to have your design registered in the couple countries where you think you will make the most sales. Just a thought.

 

The problem is that all of that costs loads of money and I'm trying to keep my expences low since the profit margin on the fittings will be quite low(profit/hour wise). so If i were to register for a patent or even a trademark i would have to sell a minimum of 6000 fittings per year and I don't see that happen
it is a small market in a small market so this crowdfunding would be more for the experience and wanting to share my designs than for the profit

If some company wants to copy the design i hope they will ask me first for permission and give me credit for the design (and maybe a small donation for my hard work )

just for reference a complete fitting takes about 15-20 minutes to make (all components combined)
if i get a cnc lathe i hope i can reduce the time to about 10-15 minutes.

a normal solid tube fitting i can make in about 5 minutes or less

By the way the campaign is online as of yesterday
illumitube crowdfunding campaign