burning question - HSI?

[Padraig]

OK, Looking close to the finishing line now. Andy, I'll send some details via PM later today about the circuitry required and the board dimensions.

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Wow, those 3D renderings look fab, are these going to be prebuilt ? becasue looking at those renderings it looks very complex for the average simmer to build?

[cscotthendry]

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Wow, those 3D renderings look fab, are these going to be prebuilt ? becasue looking at those renderings it looks very complex for the average simmer to build?

Padraig:
Yes it is rather complicated looking. That's why the design has taken a while to get right.

I've simplified most things and if you were able to look closely at the components, you'd see that the only complicated parts are the ring gears and the front bezel. The gauge is designed as 5 main sub assemblies: The compass heading bug set, the CDI set, the forward stepper motor set, the rear stepper motor set and the circuit board. All these mount into a frame that holds the alignment and spacing of the assemblies. For the kit builders, they will build each sub-assembly separately and then assemble the sub-assemblies to the frame.

My intention was to sell these as built or as a kit. I realised fairly early in the design that this would not be a candidate for home-building due to the complexity and precision required. Most of the parts have been designed to be made on a manual lathe and milling machine. But some parts are odd shapes and sizes that would make them a bit fiddly to cut out, hopefully that's where you come in.

[AndyT]

Scott, Got the PM. I'll start putting pencil to papyrus.

[cscotthendry]

Scott, Got the PM. I'll start putting pencil to papyrus.

LOL, But shouldn't that be Quill to papyrus?

[AndyT]

The cat ate my quill. I'd use a sharp burnt stick, but I'm not allowed to have a BBQ much less a fire where I live. And besides, do you have any idea how much ink costs these days? Of course with the price of gas, I could likely trade a few drops for a gallon or so of ink...

[cscotthendry]

Was the quill still attached to the bird when the cat ate it?

[AndyT]

Nah. This cat has lived inside all her life and freaks out when taken outside. Any birds she attack are toys.

[cscotthendry]

It's been a while so I thought I'd better let you all know what the status is. I'm still here, and still working on the HSI. I had a bit of a setback with my software and had to re-install it and re-draw the HSI. *sigh* Anyway, after a nice holiday in New Zealand, I now have the model re-drawn and can start to think about moving to the next phase which is designing machining jigs. When I start to make the jigs and some test parts I'll have some pics to share.

[AndyT]

Now we know what you were REALLY doing in Kiwiland looking at the picture...

[cscotthendry]

Hey all:

I'll bet you thought I was gone. Well, I'm still here and I'm still working on the HSI. I won't bore you with the history of all the edits and re-designing I've done since I last posted but there has been a lot of work in this. I have the design to where I now believe I will be able to build it with my basic machine tools.

I hit a milestone today of sorts. I made the first real bezel. I started out with a piece of aluminium 90mm by 85mm by 10mm thick and whittled it down to what you see here.

Originally I intended to try to make these to sell. I realize now that, that was unrealistic. The amount of work required to make one would make the price prohibitive. The bezel alone takes a good 6 hours to make.

Anyway, I'm reasonably happy with the results. The finish is a bit rough, but since the crown ring and front opening are cut with a router by hand and not with the mill, the depth of cut varies just a bit here and there.