Mar 1, 2009, 1:49 AM
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Trango 2009 Homemade Cam World Cup Beauty Pageant Thread
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The deadline has passed and the entries are in, so it's time for the Trango 2009 Homemade Cam World Cup Beauty Pageant!
As you probably know, the competition is broken into 2 events, with the grand prize going to the entry that has the highest combined score for tests of strength and usability and a second prize going to the entry that gets the most votes here in the Beauty Pageant. The complete rules are available here, but for this part of the competition it really is a simple matter of most votes = winner and winner gets the set of Trango Ballnutz.
As for how to pick the one to vote for, well, just select the one that's best. Of course best is a rather subjective term, so best may mean "most suitable for climbing use" to one person and "most suitable for scaring away sport climbers" to another. But it doesn't really matter why you think the one you pick is best; only that you picked it. Feel free to share the rationale for your decision if you like, especially if its amusing.
To give you a sense of scale, here is a picture of all of the entries together with a standard oval carabiner. Quite a range of sizes, huh? If you click on any of the photos you'll get a supersized version in a new window/tab for closer examination. And just FYI, the ordering of the pictures was randomly determined to keep things fair.
So with no further delay, here we go....
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 3:24 PM)
Here's my piece of mank. If it holds at all, it may be ridiculously strong (~66kN). Isn't it pretty? And it held at J-Tree!
Something about the action of this cam makes me think about mousetraps. While that may be strange, even stranger is the fact that I have sketches in my notebook from around a year ago of something almost identical to this cam. Guess I don't have to get around to building it!
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 12:07 AM)
Jeremy11 not only included a 2 page explanation of the Design Process, Constraints and Vision for this cam (Warning- PDF!), but also attached a handy laminated leaflet directly to the cam itself. In the interest of brevity I'll only quote the leaflet:
In reply to:
"Top Secret Cam Prototype Version 2.1" By Cleaveland Mountaineering in collaberation with Big Nut Pro
1.88:1 Range with only a 14 degree spiral
Eight 5/16" wide lobes means greater soft rock holding power
Highly walk resistant
Gunks Tie-off-only minimizes leverage
Captive trigger wires for smooth, tangle-less operation
Ergonomically machined trigger bar
Like automatically, perfectly and instantly equalizing two cams!
If you think this is interesting, you may want to take a look at Greg Lowe's patent 4645149. Similar idea but with all eight lobes on a single axle.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 6:54 PM)
My Entry: All parts were made by myself with some obvious exceptions (webbing, screws, pin). I made most on a CNC machine. This is an early version and I've since fixed the stem buckling problem but didn't want to give up one of the "good" ones."
If you happened to have been following the Competition thread, this is the cam that looks to me like it could pass for a piece of medical equipment. Very nicely done.
EDIT- Erick just joined RC, so edited the post to use his RC username instead.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 4, 2009, 6:00 PM)
Ye Olde Cam was hand crafted in the spirit of days of yore. The cam features protective copper accents on the cam lobes and stem contact surfaces. Some of the details include: wooden stem, axle, cam lobe cores and washers, as well as natural fiber hand-woven sling and copper trigger wires.
If you put a climbing wall at a Renaissance festival I think you'd sell about a million of these.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 4:48 PM)
Bhickey and his friends Sean and Scott submitted two versions of their Lilbro, with this one being the "lightweight" aluminum version. They write:
In reply to:
Hai!!1 Hear R my climbing machines. <heart> the interwebs.
{I'm concerned about the stability of this design. Please don't hit yourself while pulling it!}
While this one is indeed lighter than the other one, he's got a good point about not wanting to be in the way if/when this thing decides its done pretending to be climbing protection.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 2, 2009, 11:50 PM)
So, here is my entry. I just wanted to let you know that the stem is flexible although it may not feel like it. There is a wire going through it to add rigidity, but the load bearing part is dyneema so bending the wire won't reduce the strength. If the wire is bent in a fall you can just bent it back.
Its kind of hard to tell from the pic, but the stem is simply a doubled-over dyneema runner run through a piece of vinyl hose and the big black blob on the loop looks to be some sort of epoxy. The action on this cam is really smooth.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 5:05 PM)
Would you believe I did all of this with a hand saw and a file? No really.... This has been fun and I look forward to next years competition; I've already come up with some ideas and will be more original next time.
"The Webcam"
Cam lobes: 1/4" black anodized 6061 aluminum
Shaft: 5/16" diameter 4130 chromoly round bar
Eyes: 1/8" SS cable eyes
Cable: 1/8" diameter galvanized cable outside, 0.040" SS welding rod spun together inside
Bolts: 10-24 SS machine screws
Trigger: 6061 aluminum
Springs: 0.032" diameter music wire
The double cable system is to spread the load on the shaft. The camming angle o the lobes is 14 degrees. I've also made a flat surface on the tips of the lobe to avoid tipouts from overcamming, not really a problem when they're this size but on smaller cams I think it will pay off.
If you've been wondering what it is about the photos that doesn't seem quite right (no shadows, very subtle reflection under the cams), this pic gives away the secret. If you put something on a glass or lexan plate you can do away with most of the issues with shadows where you don't want them and have a lot more flexibility in positioning the piece. Unfortunately my plate was far from big enough for this cam....
EDIT- Sorry, got the names confused and had this posted as Cosmicharlie's instead of Rschap's. Fixed now. Also it seems my edit to the letter hid the joking about making it by hand... he cut the lobes on a waterjet machine, as discussed in the competition thread. Added a smiley to the text to help make it more obvious. Also can't seem to spell today... Oy.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 4, 2009, 3:16 AM)
Bhickey and his friends Sean and Scott submitted two versions of their Lilbro, with this one being the "regular" steel version. They write:
In reply to:
Hai!!1 Hear R my climbing machines. <heart> the interwebs.
{I'm concerned about the stability of this design. Please don't hit yourself while pulling it!}
This one is giving me flashbacks to a little incident I had a number of years ago pressing a bearing of a transmission input shaft, in which the shaft decided it would rather break than let go of the bearing and resulted in a finger sized hunk of steel blowing a hole through a cinder block wall 30 feet away. I'm definitely hiding behind something when this one gets tested.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 2, 2009, 11:55 PM)
14.25 degree constant camming angle. Made on manual machinery. The cutter tool locations were plotted with a graphing calculator and an excel spreadsheet (no CAD).
Nothing really new to see here; I keep my more bizarre creations locked in my basement. The concept with the Flexy Lady was to build a cam that meets the following criteria:
Looks and functions like something you might actually want to use
Smooth, one-handed operation
Flexible stem
Wide, stable head
Stem is connected to head with a mechanical connection (no brazing!)
Does not require a rotary swage press to make ($$$)
Yet another nicely built entry. One detail I'll get into a bit is the head/stem connection mentioned above. You can't tell from the pic, but the connection looks to be done by way of feeding both of the stem cables through the head, installing an crimp fitting, pulling the stem back down to the bottom and then installing the axle to hold it all in place. So kind of similar to what you see on pre-C4 Camalots with the large ball on the top.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 5:35 PM)
I give you the "Zibenator". Named after my neighbor who gladly lent me the stack of tools & most of the materials. The springs are from another cam, I will admit.
If you couldn't guess, this is the cam I was talking about in the Competition thread that looks like it works by way of malice and spite rather than camming action. Grover says he's planning on using its remains as a hood ornament after the competition, which strikes me as oddly appropriate. Just FYI, it appears that the only tools used in its manufacture were a hacksaw, drill, welder and possibly a file.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 5:44 PM)
Cosmicharlie didn't include a note with his entry, so I don't know much about it. That is, unless he did and I misplaced it.... (If that's the case let me know what it said and I'll edit it in here.)
What I can say is that he apparently decided Old-School was the way to go for this competition. If you look at this pic at Stéphane Pennequin's Nuts Museum you'll clearly see all sorts of similar units that were commercially available in the late 1970's / early 1980's. Pretty cool.
(This post was edited by adatesman on Mar 3, 2009, 6:13 PM)
Mar 3, 2009, 9:20 PM
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Re: [adatesman] Trango 2009 Homemade Cam World Cup Beauty Pageant Thread
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adatesman wrote:
Um, did you not see the big article on the FP?
There is a front page?
Seriously though, I never go to it. I go straight to the forums, and I sometimes go to the route or photo sections from there. It will be weeks or months between looking at the front page, mainly when I am at a new computer that doesn't autocomplete to the forum address based on prior traffic...
Mar 3, 2009, 11:56 PM
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Re: [adatesman] Trango 2009 Homemade Cam World Cup Beauty Pageant Thread
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I haven't decided who to vote for yet, but I want to thank all the contestants! I've never felt this combination of awe and hilarity before. Wow, what a cool feeling! All of you totally rock!
If you put a climbing wall at a Renaissance festival I think you'd sell about a million of these.
Bahahahahahha..........!!!!!!!!! Nice one Aric.
Lovin the Ye Olde Cam......!
Very stylish.
I'm amazed that Ye Olde is the only true entry in the bling contest.
Nice work Coolcat!
Thanks, I thought I'd try to come up with something both aesthetically pleasing and hand made, everything on my cam was made with simple hand tools, a dill press and a sander (although the final sanding was by hand too), only things bought pre-made were the springs, which you actually can't see in that picture but they are not like typical cam springs at all (think more like a slinky), and a few old nails I cut. (the wood I had from other projects, so it was a pretty green project as well)
it's really cool to see everyone's entries, very impressive. good luck to you all
(This post was edited by coolcat83 on Mar 4, 2009, 12:09 AM)
Mar 4, 2009, 12:41 AM
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Re: [cracklover] Trango 2009 Homemade Cam World Cup Beauty Pageant Thread
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cracklover wrote:
I haven't decided who to vote for yet, but I want to thank all the contestants! I've never felt this combination of awe and hilarity before. Wow, what a cool feeling! All of you totally rock!
Cheers!
GO
Vote for Malice and Spite.... I was torn between that and the mank.
Instead of calling it the "zibenator" I think it should be called "cigarettes and pantyhose"
Mar 4, 2009, 2:01 AM
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Re: [irregularpanda] Trango 2009 Homemade Cam World Cup Beauty Pageant Thread
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Wow, i am surprized at how many awesome entries there are. If you combined the web cam with the double cam and had a tiny cam on the top. could you potentially have a range of 0.1" - 12"? .... or is that cheating...
Mar 4, 2009, 2:24 AM
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Re: [cosmicharlie] Trango 2009 Homemade Cam World Cup Beauty Pageant Thread
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cosmicharlie wrote:
Wow, i am surprized at how many awesome entries there are. If you combined the web cam with the double cam and had a tiny cam on the top. could you potentially have a range of 0.1" - 12"? .... or is that cheating...
There would be a rather large gap in the range, but you could put more than 2 axles on the cam, so you'd end up with a whole set of cams on one unit. I thought about that before, but that would be getting a little cumbersome!
Or put a small hex on the sling to go one size below the smaller set of lobes....
12 /
3%
entries2.JPG
This has been fun and I look forward to next years competition; I've already come up with some ideas and will be more original next time. 
(If that's the case let me know what it said and I'll edit it in here.) 
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