paul

 this is the program we will use to optimize the gear set in the new redrive.

Tony

You mean your going to make a custom gear set for over $1000
dollars when you can buy a mass produced set for $100 from Ford
that works and has been used in rotary powered experimental air craft
since 1973?

Paul Lamar

Glomp on to that. I used a stereo lithography machine at the local college
 to make core boxes and casting patterns for intake manifolds out of hot glue.
 Took 24 to 48 hours for a core box. Back in the old days when we still thought
 side ports were the way to go :) Saved me big bucks as I got a quote for
 an intake manifold core boxes and pattern for $5000.

 Paul Lamar

No offense here Paul but that intake manifold weighed a ton,
and it didn't look much better than anything Tracy could've come up with with some RTV and
and some J.B. weld on a stock manifold cut up with a chainsaw (Here comes Frankenstein)  :)
The point for sending you that link was so that we can start making things look better and produce parts
lighter than before. I do applaude your attempts to make the intake manifolds, at the time, they're what we needed.  I think
we should encourage everybody here to start designing parts that look good and perform
well.

I'm not sure from your last post to me where the $1000 dollar gear set came in? I'm sure you are well aware that if we want to start saving weght (and I do) we cant just keep bolting metal on to this engine that was designed for cars. Eventually your aitrplane will weigh as much as one. I think we can engineer the same gears from the the stock ford planetary gear set
to be lighter using secondary machining. Eric will use the program to optimize the gears for the stress, we can buy them in bulk from ford and machine out what we don't need so the cost may go up a little but we are able to start optimizing things to make them lighter.

Tony

You got to be kidding. That manifold was beautiful :)

The Ford gear set weighs only 8 pounds. So you plan on taking
how much off? If you get 2 pounds out of it that will be $500
per pound with no track record :)

The real weight is in the prop shaft, huge ball bearing and housing.

Paul Lamar