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SAM 10
Semi Automated Machine

How Many Skate Wheels does it take to de bur & buff an Antenna Element ?
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
(Center of Photo)

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.
End View of SAM 10
SAM 10 Before the Automated Part was Added.
Buffer Wheel Drive Motor

Turns at 3450 RPM
Buffer Drive Motor

SAM 10 has been working in a manual mode for about 6 months, Automated 11/20/04

After Automated Feed was Added
Auto Feed
 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.
Dual Processors.
Control Box
 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.
Auto Pick-Off and Stacking of 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.

Auto Stacker
Finished Elements

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.
Filter Unit
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.

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