New rotary machines I'm working on

Well I've been applying my 10 years experience of building coil machines to rotaries and I'm quite close to being very happy. I have a few minor tweeks in frame dimension for the tube vice and positioning of the spring seat so I can add an RCA hole for plugs along with the clipcord binders but other than that I am digging these so far. I designed the frames so I can carve the heck out of everything and also change designs easily so that each machine can be very one off like my coil machines. I am doing all of the work myself from cutting to milling to carving, etc...each frame starts out as 5 pieces. I made a jig to weld them together and alter the dimensions easily if I want to try something new or even try different motors. These are weighing in between 4.2 ounces for the smaller motor to 5.2 ounces for the bigger motor. The smaller motor cycles similar to a coil liner which was my intention to try to make a dedicated liner cause I haven't liked lining with a rotary much so far. Runs hard at 3 volts. The bigger motor is smooth and super quiet and packs in color at 7.5 volts. Here's a few pics...More pictures can be seen on my Facebook profile by clicking the link under the pictures below. I'm having a lot of fun with these!
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http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150382483441610.347707.684256609&type=1

those are sweet mate
when will they be available to buy and how much are they.

Really looks nice and unique. Great job on these! What motors are you using for the small and the larger ones?

I'm using Mabuchi on both of those...I tested a number of motors from Maxon on down and for what I wanted these to do the Mabuchi performed the best believe it or not. I actually snapped the shaft on the Maxon motor during running it and the metal inside of it looked weak and brittle. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

I will have some available here in the next few weeks and they'll probably be like $375 ish. A little harder to make than my coil machines but not by much. Making machines for so long makes part making easy for me, just had to figure out how to make the new parts and then it's all clockwork from there.

Absolutely gorgeous work of art man...

verry nice looking.awesome.

nice!

Now you can sell machines in threes, a Relay Liner, relay Shader, and Rotary Combo that all will look similar. :)

They are almost as cool as I expected. How big are they? The look bigger than I expected. Don't get me wrong the are beautiful. Love the organic feel of them. They look like tattoo machines not a NASA designed dental drill. Can you post a size comparison?

those look fuckin dope..real bad ass look to them

it's cool that they have your "look" to them! I had been pretty anxious to see what they would look like..

Man thank you guys! Yeah they look big in the pictures but they are pretty small...I'll try to get some size shots tonight when I get home.

Awesome! You do great work I wasn't trying to knock the size just curious

Very good work, they look realy cool!

These are really cool lookin' . Nice work.

Here's the size shot of these. Top left is a Swissmade, top right one of my rotaries, bottom left one of my coil machines and next to it another of my rotaries. Tired...I go to bed now hahaha.
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AWESOME MACHINES MAN, ABSOLUTELY, BUT NOT COMPARE MAXON WITH MABUCHI...

how many WATT is your MABUCHI and how about the size ? compare same WATT to MAXON, is half size, or compare the same SIZE, is double powerfull, 3 USD vs. 50 USD or more, must have something better, u not think ?

I think mabuchi are great motors and have proven them shelves to hold up and perform a long time.Also its nice to be able to pick up on for 10 bucks retail compared to 100.I could have 10 on hand for the same price of one, which would last much longer then one maxon. I think maxons(have used them) are good but way overrated or the price.

wow! i like that art...

Thank you so much guys! I'm not opposed to using Maxons...I actually built my first rotary with a Maxon but while running it with a normal load I snapped the shaft. I inspected it and the metal they used for the shaft was not stainless steel...it was grainy and coarse and just coated with a shiny surface. Even the big guys will cut corners to save a buck. I tried to snap a shaft with a Mubachi motor and it would not break with needle nose pliers...just bent a little. For how I wanted these to perform I've tried several different motors from Maxon to Canon to Mubachi and so far the Mubachi ran the way I wanted it to run. I have several more motors on the way for me to try out. Got a few different Graupners,a Faulhaber,another Maxon and an Escap coming in the mail. I'm a tinkerer at heart and I'll always try something different to see if I can improve what I'm working on but for now I gotta say I'm really digging the motor I found. Nice and quiet, very little vibration and tough as nails. Sure it would be nice to drive a Mercedes but a Honda will get you where you need to be at a fraction of the price and perform just as well. For the work I've got going into these with the carving, etc sitting a Maxon in it would jack the price way up and I don't know about you but the economy isn't like it used to be.

Oh...The above post should read "Mabuchi" everywhere I typed it and not "Mubachi"...I'm fighting off a cold and I'm all jacked up on Nyquil so my head isn't right hahaha.

again....nice machines. i will own one!!!!!!!! lol.

Those are on my radar... cool stuff!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slicksteel

I think mabuchi are great motors and have proven them shelves to hold up and perform a long time.Also its nice to be able to pick up on for 10 bucks retail compared to 100.I could have 10 on hand for the same price of one, which would last much longer then one maxon. I think maxons(have used them) are good but way overrated or the price.

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U SAY :

I could have 10 on hand for the same price of one, which would last much longer then one maxon.

so buy 10 chinese machines, gonna survive more than 1 good, buy 10 chinese powewr supply, gonna survive more than 1 original

IS EXACTLY WHAT U WANNA SAY MAN...

I JUST WANNA PUT ON THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE THAT THEY STY SPEND MAYBE 400 USD OR MORE FOR A 5 USD CHEAP MOTOR, IS OK THIS ???

U WANNA USE MABUCHI, USE, IS MOTOR AND WORK GOOD FOR SURE, BUT STILL 5 USD MOTOR BUILD IN CHINA, THAT'S ALL...

Trust me I totally understand your argument but it came down to what functioned the best and the maxon I ordered just didn't cut it. If I find a motor from someone else that works better then I will go with it for the future. My new selection of motors to try out should be at my door soon and one of them is another style of Maxon and if it out performs the others then it will get the job haha. The Graupners I ordered are looking nice to me too...I love trying new things :)

the motors you guys use are brushed or brushless?
your machines look beatiful

Brushed....and thank you!

Ray Webb from Neotat started off with Maxxons, and found that the bushings wore out fast, and that the Mabuchi motors outperformed all the other motors he experimented with too.

The Graupner motors are inexpensive as well..makes me think they are also made in China??
the way of the beast, I suppose?

I'm not sure, they haven't arrived yet. I'm gonna peel the stickers on them and look for the "made in" seal hahaha. They do have a nice range of motors though.

I would pay more then 5-10 for a mabuchi motor if I had to as I feel they are good motors for rotary machines and one can last just as long as a maxon.The only reason why mabuchi motor are cheap as compared to others is that the companys work their people like slaves and pay them nothing and profit of them. I feel china can make good tattoo products as long as their is good quailty control by reputable people that care about their workers and the industry they work in.
know i don't think a machine should be price jacked up to 500 -600 and have a motor that does not cost alot in it.I could care less about names what maters to me is that the machines performance and price ratio are in balance.I dont have a problem dropping money if i feel its worth it. But just cause you throw a maxon in something does not make it star attraction!
It would be interesting to actually learn what type of profit off each machine, makers of autocad produced tattoo machiness make.

Beautiful machined man, good stuff.

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Originally Posted by slicksteel

It would be interesting to actually learn what type of profit off each machine, makers of autocad produced tattoo machiness make.

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What a lot of people do not understand is that the "Autocad" produced machine builders either have tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in machinery, tooling, software and R&D. If not then they are paying somebody else that does $100+/hour to design and or produce these machines for them. These costs all have to trickle down to some effect into the final product. Production builders get better pricing on items because they buy in bulk but that to is money invested that sits on a shelf doing nothing until the product sells. In many ways the custom builder has much lower overhead and invested but spends more time per machine which is where those costs rise. In reality these pros and cons of each style essentially wash out and that is why the pricing of custom machines is similar to those that are mass produced. Each having its own advantages. The big downside is that if a production machine builder does not make a profit he is out all his investment where as the home builder loses much less. Machine performance vs. value should be how everyone buys in my eyes. If you buy a $200 machine and are happy with it then great but that $400 machine really should out perform the lower cost machine or it is just not worth it to me regardless of whether it is custom or production.

Just my $0.02

Exactly Mark, well said. I've seen it from both sides. I've had machinists work on a project for me about 4 years ago and it cost lots of money and for me was no fun and it got scraped. I prefer to do all of my own measuring, cutting, milling, drilling, shaping, grinding, sanding, cursing, throwing something across the warehouse cause you got it wrong myself. My cost in materials is low depending on what I'm working with but each machine gets 8 to 12+ hours of my time making everything and putting it together. I love the satisfaction I get from doing it this way and don't think I'll ever have anyone else do my work for me. I'm also not looking to have a production line, if I were I'd have a machinist make my parts. I prefer one of a kind, one at a time.