bobkoure - -
Yeah, lost wax might be cool. Don't have easy access to any of that equip though. Mainly
a "forging shop". And cast isn't as dense as forged (cold rolled stock). Shot peening would
take care of the surface, but the internal will still be the same.
Matter of fact, I attended an MJSA jeweler's expo in NYC earlier this week. One of the exibitors
there had some nice CNC machines set up just for doing precious metals. They were drilling
out 2 inch round 18k Gold stock to make rings.
What I am getting at is their display case where they had two rings displayed.
One cast, the other machined from round stock. The cast had significantly
lower density. And as a result, the tensile strength & hardness was lower as well.
Likely thermal efficiency follows.
All this I knew years ago. Still, the display really drove the point home.
Ls7corvete - -
Forge welding is indeed an option. Have done it with Gold & Silver many times. The problem
with Copper is that it's so reactive though. Hard to keep it from forming an oxide layer. Which would
inhibit the merging.
And forge welding takes a fair amount of work compared to what was involved
with the 'Alpha2' above^. If I use pre-made flat bar instead of making the sheet from
scratch, that would eliminate over 75% of the work. Maybe more.
I think my next step is to do another prototype with more center fins. The 'Alpha2'
was mostly an exercise to see how the techniques & ideas applied. Now
it's time to step it up a notch ...... "Alpha3" here we come!
