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SAM 10,
Uses 68 Skate Wheels. 8 to support the 1 1/2" Aluminum pipe that supports and drives the other 60 Skate Wheels. The Wheels are set at a slight angle, to drive the element past the Buffer Wheel The Buffer Wheel is driven by the back side of the V Belt. That way as the wheel wears and gets smaller the surface still moves at the same speed. Keeping the buffing quality constant. |
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SAM 10 Before the Automated Part was Added.
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| Buffer Wheel Drive Motor
Turns at 3450 RPM |
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SAM 10 has been working in a manual mode for about 6 months, Automated 11/20/04
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After Automated Feed was Added
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 Auto Feed uses 3/8 pitch 10 tooth sprockets, a small DC gear motor turns the sprockets 1/10 turn to feed the elements one at a time to the skate wheels. |
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Dual Processors.
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Note the Plexiglas & Aluminum box that contains all the Electronics
for the machine. One For the Auto Feed & One for the Auto pick off and Stacking of the Finished Elements.  2 PC Boards, each contain a PIC16F84 Micro Controller. Six Relays Control the 3 AC Motors and 2 DC Motors. |
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Small Spring Steel wires picks up the Element from the skate wheels and lifts it up to roll on to the stack with the rest of the finished elements.
The Elements are feed through the buffer at about 1 inch a second.
The Auto Feed & Auto Stack will hold 30 1/4" Elements & 20 3/8" Elements at a time.
So 30 four foot elements takes almost 1/2 hour to run. Time we could be doing other things,
once we get over the fascination of watching it run.
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Under the Buffer Unit is a Large Vacuum Unit to collect the dust from the buffing process. The exhaust is sent down a 4 inch PVC pipe to the Filter Unit.
The Filter Unit is approximately 12 cubic feet and was made from a hand cart. 3 large air filters filter the air back in to the shop. About once a month the cart is wheeled outside and cleaned and the filters replaced. This really helps to keep the shop clean, not to mention the air we breath. |
