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-   -   Million Dollar Skunksworks Kirkham (http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/kirkham-motorsports/85278-million-dollar-skunksworks-kirkham.html)

David Kirkham 07-08-2008 01:06 PM

Here is the link to the new video we just put up. I am really excited about this video. It shows how accurate the new CAD systems are. I am amazed we can bolt a hundred parts together and then bend a tube that actually fits! After all these years of bending everything by hand. :eek:

It is really cool to see a bent tube fit so well into the chassis. Technology marches on and leaves those behind who don't jump on the bus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9vvFDuNOxo

And here it the embedded video.


David Kirkham 07-08-2008 04:06 PM

Here is a calibration video. This is how you calibrate the CNC tube bender to compensate for different tube thicknesses, diameters, and materials. This is the video of the "push bending" or "roll bending" that I have been talking about. It is really quite cool to watch.


David Kirkham 07-08-2008 08:17 PM

These vids work pretty well. I will post some more of the roll bending tomorrow. Let me know if there is anything specific you want to see.

Anyone know of a good video editor? I have some footage but it is way too long and fragmented to post.

David
:):):)

Berg 07-08-2008 08:25 PM

for video editing, there are a few free apps out there. if you are on a mac, imovie does a nice job. If you are on a PC, windows movie maker can get the job done (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...r/default.mspx).

No bells and whistles in these but very very basic editing, they will both get the job done. If you need a hand, or want to do something a bit more involved, let me know, would be happy to help.

-Will

1ntCobra 07-08-2008 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Kirkham (Post 859385)

Anyone know of a good video editor? I have some footage but it is way too long and fragmented to post.

David
:):):)

I tried finding an open source video editor, and did not like anything that I tried.

As for commercial ones there seemed to be some people who like a product by Adobe and others that liked a product by another vendor. However, there seemed to be just as many people complaining about both vendors products and switching between them. That could just be like the big block versus small block or ford versus chevy religious discussions here.

I ended up getting a copy of Sony Vegas Movie Studio. It was similar in price to the other 2 companies for the consumer version of their software. I mostly decided to get it because I did not see anyone complaining much about it, unlike the other two companies.

Sony, Adobe and the other company also have more expensive professional versions of their software. I just got the consumer version.

David Kirkham 07-08-2008 09:55 PM

Cool! I will drop you guys a note tomorrow. I think just the very, very basic for now will do. I just need to cut out the long pauses (like where we can't get the machine to work :LOL: or we drop a wrench or something) and splice some footage together. I don't need to be Spielberg--at least not today. (You know how those things go...you get your foot wet and the next thing you know, you want a million dollar piece of equipment!)

Thanks!

David
:):):)

1ntCobra 07-09-2008 06:24 AM

Actually I started with Microsoft movie maker that comes free with windows. It seemed OK at first, but then I remember that it did a couple of things that I wanted to do really, really poorly. I don't remember exactly what it was at the time, but I wanted to find something better and figured there must be a good free program out there, so I started to look at the open source stuff and wasted a bunch of time. There might be something good out there for free, but I didn't find it.

I assume you have PCs, so it does make sense to try the free Microsoft program first. Also Sony and Adobe offered something like a one month free trial license for their programs. I tried the Sony program and liked it. I found a deal with a rebate at the time, and bought the Sony program for around $90 after the trial period was over.

Don 07-09-2008 07:26 AM

David.....Alcoa must be aware of your project

" BILLET ALUMINUM CHASSIS! "
and
" We go through about 1 ton/week! "

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Alcoa Inc. shares rose almost 6% in late trades on Tuesday , thanks to price hikes and " increased demand. "

RedBarchetta 07-09-2008 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Kirkham (Post 859385)
These vids work pretty well...Let me know if there is anything specific you want to see.

How about one of the finished product performing an 80+mph four wheel drift in an empty parking lot? :3DSMILE:

-Dean

David Kirkham 07-09-2008 11:19 AM

1ntCobra,

At less than 100 bucks, maybe I shouldn't mess with the cheap stuff. Thanks for the input!

Don,

We do use a lot of aluminum around here. Today alone we will burn up over 1000 pounds.

Dean,

I will certainly put that on my list!

David
:):):)

Three Peaks 07-09-2008 12:16 PM

Since I'm scratch building and bent all the hoops-hinges, hood, trunk, doors, birdcage by hand, I'd really like to see you do these hoops on your machine- especially the door hoops. Do these pieces create a fairly complex programming challenge or is the machine programming intuitive enough that you can describe shapes easily? Or, do you just do it like we do, a corner at a time and weld the pieces together....:) (actually, I just did that on the trunk hoop) ;)

Bob

David Kirkham 07-09-2008 01:26 PM

I'll post a vid. We are actually bending the doors right now.

You certainly can bend all the single arcs separately and then weld them together into a 3D structure. The original car, however, was not done that way. Even though in Poland we bend the tubes by hand, we don't do it that way either. We have enough experience to know where to bend the tubes all in one piece. Of course, with machines like this hand-bending days are numbered across the planet. It just costs too much to train a worker who is skilled enough to do these sorts of things. Also, a CNC machine will ALWAYS make a nicer piece than even the most skilled worker.

David
:):):)

kris-kincaid 07-09-2008 01:30 PM

I anxiously await this video. I'd love to see how close to the right size you can get on door frames. Are you going to do seat frames too?

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Kirkham (Post 859596)
I'll post a vid. We are actually bending the doors right now.


David Kirkham 07-09-2008 01:33 PM

Here is a vid of a dry run we are doing right now for the doors. It is kinda cool to watch the machine run. I will post one with tube actually bending shortly.

We tried all morning to get the Microsoft version of the video editor to work and threw our hands up. We down loaded the trial version of the Sony Vegas and I am IMPRESSED! Good stuff. Worked right out of the box...errrrr computer.

We will have some more nice vids soon.


David Kirkham 07-09-2008 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris-kincaid (Post 859597)
I anxiously await this video. I'd love to see how close to the right size you can get on door frames. Are you going to do seat frames too?

If everything else is an indication...they will be perfect. I have been really happy with the engineering, design, and execution all the way from concept, CAD, CAM, through final part.

The other tubes we have made are extremely good.

Yes, we will be making seats as well, but not for at least 2 months (until we can deliver this car).

David
:):):)

David Kirkham 07-09-2008 01:40 PM

I am really liking these videos! If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then a video is worth 1000 books!

David
:):):)

David Kirkham 07-09-2008 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Three Peaks (Post 859580)
Since I'm scratch building and bent all the hoops-hinges, hood, trunk, doors, birdcage by hand, I'd really like to see you do these hoops on your machine- especially the door hoops. Do these pieces create a fairly complex programming challenge or is the machine programming intuitive enough that you can describe shapes easily? Or, do you just do it like we do, a corner at a time and weld the pieces together....:) (actually, I just did that on the trunk hoop) ;)

Bob

Congrats on making your own car! That is a ton of work...(I know).

The programming is pretty easy. What is difficult is getting the proper CAD model so you have accurate measurements. We bend all tubes in one piece that we can.

David
:):):)

David Kirkham 07-09-2008 06:43 PM

When the aluminum body is made, the areas where the aluminum wraps around the body are left long. Here we are trimming them to fit. We use an air saw to cut the aluminum with a 24 or 32 tooth/inch blade. We don't use sheet metal snips if we can help it as the snips tend to distort the aluminum. In this video we are trimming the aluminum that fits right at the base of the trunk.


David Kirkham 07-09-2008 07:37 PM

Here is the first walk around of the car with the body being fit. It is pretty cool.


HI Cobra 07-09-2008 08:06 PM

Really cool David - thanks for sharing these moments. Looking at the
air filter - you weren't kidding when you said the engine is set back!


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