crazy nozzle idea

okay, so i was writing some stuff this weekend and just mulling some thoughts around in my head. as i was doing this i was idly playing with the mechanical pencil i was using... i looked at the clip on the side, where lo and behold: it listed that it uses 0.5mm lead!! this was a cheap, plastic pencil... but i distinctly remember seeing more expensive ones where the tiny 0.5mm hole is made out of metal. not only that, but the tips screw on and off.

considering how much of a pain in the ass it is to located a decent carb nozzle supplier, i'm going to stop by the local office supply store and see if i can locate a suitable mechanical pencil to harvest for parts.

yay!

also, if that doesnt work, i've been thinking about vik's improvised way of making tips where he makes a larger hole, then puts some 0.5mm nichrome (or basically anything that doesnt wet/burn up in solder) into the hole. then he solders the hole up, waits for the solder to cool, and pulls out the nichrome. well, what if instead we used 0.5mm lead (graphite) from a mechanical pencil... its just crazy enough to work! now, i wonder if it can withstand that treatment?

Vik's approach is great for CAPA, Zach, and will probably work for PVC and maybe ABS but solder melts at the upper range of temperatures that I use to pump HPP and HDPE.

Would a ceramic work instead of the solder? I'm picturing taking a larger hole, putting a very small blob of clay on a heat-proof rod of the desired inner diameter, then setting it in the hole and firing the clay with a blowtorch or somesuch. You'd probably have to experiment with different clays and firing methods, but a handful of clay can give you several thousand attempts to get it right.

interesting! i might have to try that. i suppose you could fire clay with a blowtorch, especially if it was a small quantity.

forrest. thanks for pointing that out. i was looking at high melting point solders, and it seems that we could find one that is suitable >200C melting points. however, its going to be somewhat pricey and also harder to find.

heres an idea i will probably try: what about jbweld? we're already using it, so essentially it would be free! just put a dab of it over your ~1mm hole, carefully insert and remove the pencil lead. boom, 0.5mm hole. its also machinable so you could trim it up, or optionally you could just make that dab and then drill out a hole in the jbweld. it would probably be easier to drill than metal.

lots of potential here... i'll def be trying various heater barrels and techniques =)

A few thoughts on nozzles:

0.4-1.0mm dia: Torch tips; these cost just a few dollars each and are usually made from brass or similar.

0.2-0.5mm dia: Airbrush nozzles at $10-20/ea and mostly made from stainless steel

If the mechanical pencils work, that'll bring us as far as 0.3mm (drafting pencil) for only $5.


and on solder:

If you want to experiment with higher temp solders, ask a local jeweler for a few grams of "easy solder," which is mostly silver (Ag) and wont melt near 200C. You may need to experiment with flux/wetting agents and you'll probably need to use a torch to get the job done.

thanks for the suggestions. i came up with a new idea... one that will get us nozzles for pennies... literally. basically, the problem i was having with drilling them was that i was trying to drill steel... bad idea with the tiny drill bits.

anyway, i realized that pennies are made of copper or zinc (>1983) so i tried to drill a 0.5mm hole in one... it worked great! it was super easy and i was able to get 5-10 pennies out of a single bit (probably more once i get better at it.

then, the pennies are just jbwelded onto a nut, and screwed onto the heater barrel and are ready to rock. i didnt have time to test it this weekend, but i'll definitely have a chance tonight or tomorrow.

Hmm, I think that is illegal in the UK, it's called defacing coins of the realm. Not sure what the sentence is.

interesting. i was worried about the same thing in the US. however, having looked into the US law a bit, it seems that what matters is the INTENT. if the intent is fraudulent (ie to make a $1 look like a $10, then its illegal) however, if the intent isnt fraudulent (make a penny into art, or a nozzle) then its fine. for example... there are machines in the US that you put a penny and a quarter in and it smashes the penny and imprints an artistic design onto it. the company is doing just fine.

i dont think this is anything we have to worry about. also, you could always get a foreign penny. i highly doubt the UK laws apply to defacing foreign money :^)

I've seen those machines in the uk too.

they're neat machines.

i've abandoned the penny idea for now... my current love is aluminum acorn nuts. perfect for nozzle heads!