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jseiler@bluemarble.net
10-07-2004, 06:26 PM
In the local home depot, I saw dense rubber mats that looked like they had been die cut to resemble wrought iron. I was wondering how well one could route dense rubber to make custom ones. I did some research and it doesn't look good, but one person seemed to have luck with cutting rubber with a router once the rubber was frozen with liquid nitrogen. Anyone try anything like this before? I would think binding would be an issue, but lubricants could make it work.

Brady Watson
10-07-2004, 10:45 PM
I would not try to route rubber...it is a mess & the bit will get clogged up with melted rubber in a heartbeat.

If you are hard pressed to duplicate what you saw at the store, a 'more better' way to do it would be to create the pattern on the bot, and make a silicone mold that liquid rubber can be poured into.

Check out smoothon.com and polytek.com

-Brady

jseiler (Unregistered Guest)
10-08-2004, 11:10 PM
Wow. Pricey stuff. To get my idea to work, its gotta be cheap. I wonder if playsafe (ground tires for playgrounds) could be used as cheap filler while pourable poly binds it together. Bubble removal could be a pain, it might force vacuum use. This would reduce the cost to the point where one could make money in the under $100 customized impulse purchase world.

Perhaps an explanation would help:

I think I can cover my downside risk of buying and selling a shopbot with projects I complete for myself/wife/kids (shelving, fun furniture like that castle bed I saw in another post, etc) making purchase of a shopbot a no-brainer. However, I'm thinking about finding a part time business niche because I've always wanted to run a small business. I don't want to compete in signs or cabinetry. Too much like work. I'm not an artist, I'm an engineer, so I'm looking for a unique use for a wonderful machine rather than being a more talented artist than the next guy (a market in which I would get my butt kicked).

I did some websearching, and turned up a company that produces custom reproduction running boards for antique cars. I thought that was pretty neat (and its good to be the big fish in a small pond).

-john

Brady Watson
10-09-2004, 07:43 PM
If you are looking to make running board rubbers, then you can either cast them as explained before, or make your own vulcanizer built for the purpose of making the running board rubbers.

The price of the rubber is really not that expensive when you calculate how little you would use for each cover. You would actually have more of a need for a pressure chamber to force air bubbles into suspension (like soda bottle) that you would a vac chamber meant mainly for SILICONE rubber degassing. You are NOT going to want to use silicone-based rubber for the running boards. You would probably do best with a urethane rubber like SmoothOn's C-1515 or C-1520, which is already black to begin with.

As far as the ShopBot goes, I bought mine a year before getting laid off. I do everything and anything to keep the ball rolling. I cut out signs for local shops, cabinet parts and also do welding and custom fab. I refuse to do production runs in MDF. You'll have to see what works best for you & yours. I bought my SB because I wanted to have it...not because I had a business and needed it...Now I have a viable business as a result of my purchase & it sets me apart from every other guy in the area who does fabrication.

-Brady

jseiler (Unregistered Guest)
10-10-2004, 05:13 PM
(I just thought the custom running board thing was neat. I'm not looking to steal someone elses clever idea.)

I was looking at custom welcome mats for home and office. What I think might work for me is one or two very light production lines (maybe custom welcome mats and something else) and once I get that going, taking as much custom work as I get. I'd love to be able to work for myself but I'm not ready to take the plunge unless I have to.

If I generated a mold out of something cheap and relatively disposable, painted/sprayed on a thin layer of 1515 or 1520, filled the rest with a mixture of filler and 1515, I might have a product that I can make affordably. However, I was hoping to use safety mat ($2/sq foot retail), freeze it, and route it directly. I was thinking if I froze it then used a vortex cooler to keep everything cool everything while cutting, I might be able to get the direct routing to work. I might just have to break out my cheap router and harbor freight bits and try a few things. If I did something like this, I'd have a router, bits and vac that I only used for rubber. If I can't get it to work, well, I'll find something else or another way.

(I appreciate the time you've taken letting me bounce idea around)

-john