Prototype: Brush Hood Alignment Tool, Thoughts?
 

Here is a picture of our redesigned Brush Hood Alignment tool. What makes this different than our old one is that you will now be able to go through both brush hoods at the same time. Plus there is a hole to go through the bushings/bearings to make sure everything is aligned. Keep in mind you have to align each hood individually to get the maximum performance out of a motor.

We are thinking of making the handle bigger so it fits better in the hand.

So tell my your opinion, what do you think?


http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/brushproto.jpg

I think you need to supply R/C Tech with one for "review" and such! haha

Are you also including the piece that goes through the bushings/bearings for initial alignment?

dalem, yes we will be.

Shane, it will cost you 1 years of advertising. ;) I am sure that can be accomplished.

Kraig,
The picture you posted doesn't include the entire tool. So.. I have a couple of questions.

1. Is the center of the piece you have pictured serrated so you can get enough grip to remove the tool after tightening the brush hoods?

2. Does the bushing/bearing alignment portion have a serrated end to help pull it out?

Keep in mind that this is a prototype.

The part where you grab onto will have a different dimension than the part going through the brush hood so it will be easy to hold onto. This one currently has a 3 1/2 inch long handle.

I have not thought about that with the other piece. Usually when you put it through the motor if it isn't aligned then you have other problems. This part will not be for aligning the bushings or bearings. It will be for checking to make sure that everything is in the proper position. I don't have this part yet, thus the reason for no picture.

Here is a picture of the entire tool. It isn't the greatest picture but it will give you an idea.

http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/brushproto2.jpg

I'm confused with the use of the long handle. With the second tool through the bushings/bearing, the main way of holding the motor is with the second tool so that it doesn't fall out while you tighten down the hoods. If you hold the motor with the long handle, the second tool may fall through. If I'm wrong, please post a demonstration photo.

I can't tell. Are there Chamfers on it? Need those so you don't accidentally cut yourself. A easy grip on the piece that goes through the bearings would be nice, but not necessary. Meaning it would be nice, but if it cost a lot more then no thanks. Keep in mind cost. People won't pay that much more for extra features.

I will post a demonstration picture tomorrow.

There are chamfers on it so you do not cut yourself. It is a little hard to drive a car with band aids on. :)

The long handle is so when you grip the tool and use it to help position the brush hoods. Once you have it in place you tighten everything down. Then you remove the tool from the brush hood by holding onto the handle.

The only time you would use the other piece is if you have to start completely over aligning the hoods. You put the tool all the way in until you see the hole through either the bushing or bearing. Then you would drop the straight piece of rod (same size as your arm) through the motor so that it is all lined up. Basically, what you have is a + type of configuration.

I am terrible at explaining things without pictures but I hope this helps.

Kraig,

I realize the picture is of a prototype, but from the looks there's only one hole which would only work when aligning laydown hoods. Will the production version have a second hole 90 degrees from the existing one for use with standup brush hoods?

T

Trips, I had one with both and what happens is that when you do the one for upright brushes you have very little material left on the sides. When the hole was put in there the material mushroomed out thus causing more work because you have to bring it back into specifications. So we have eliminated it, however that can be changed if there is enough demand.

Another reason why we did that was that the new Reedy Modified motors due out sometime this spring will have laydown brushes. The com will also be bigger than what we are used to seeing on today's motors. With the bigger com you will not have to worry about the brush wrap like you do with the Trinity motors. That is one of the reasons why you see people triming the sides of the brushes when they run an Epic can.

Basic,s
 

the idea is great,but......and it,s a big but for "true" brush alignment the hood will be out of lign.this is because there is a small but appreciateble amount of play between the bush and hood.
to align the brushs correctly you need to do them 1 at a time.the only way to check for correct alignment is then to run the motor up and see where the new brush is marking the com,then move the hood accordingly until the mark is dead center then repeat for the other brush
takes time but it,s the best way

there is a better and fuller explanation on Big Jim,s forum


http://rccars.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=19ms

also alot of other motor tuning related stuff

It also looks strangely similar to the bar he (Big Jim) has coming out in a couple weeks. Actually almost totally identical.

The idea is you use it to get 180 apart as a starting point then you can pull it halfway out and have good leverage to move a single hood around when it's half screwed down to get the proper alignment to account for the brush cocking.

Kraig mentions this:
Implying that he indeed knows that 180 apart is not the ideal situation.

Merciless, you are absolutely correct! The only reason why you need the other component is to establish a baseline in a worse case situation.

Here are some more pictures that should give you an idea on how it is to be used.

http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/bottomthru.jpg

http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/bottom1hood.jpg

http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/top1.jpg

http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/topthru.jpg

Surprising
 

I,ve been using a very similar piece of kit i had a friend make for me only difference was i omitted the hole for the shaft !

Looks good.!
 

What's the final price looking to be.??:D :nod:
-Dave:sneaky:

i don't mean to suppress anyones business but wouldn't a piece of rectangle section bar do teh same thing?

sanj

Schumacher, If it's the same as Big Jim's design then the dimension of the bar are accurately meassured by Big Jim to perfectly fit inside the brush hood so that the hood shape will not deform. That little hole might help too.

Still wonder why they look exactly the same :confused: :confused:

well i'm sure if big jim measured it accurately then any mug on the street could do the same. just grab hold of a pair of verniers or micrometer and the tolerances would be ok.

what about the play between the brush and the hoood? surely no one can account for that.

sanj

That right! Anyone with a caliber can do that but there was no manufacture ever produce the aligment tools with the right dimension until Big Jim talk about it in other forums (and I don't have a milling machine at home). That's what I had been told. Anybody please correct me if I'm wrong.

The play between the brush and the hood can be correct by align each hood individually after the initial alignment like Merciless said.

Actually, the lack of a hole in the narrow dimension is what makes your alignment bar more desirable to me. I think the hole through the narrow dimension weakens the bar too much for my liking.

Thanks for the reply, and if you want my opinion, the bar looks perfect as is.

T

Dave, we are still trying to finalize everything. I should know more next week.

Schumacher, you are correct. The hard part is finding the correct size.

In regards to brush slop in the hood that is one of the reasons for alignment. You could always pinch the hoods where the brush comes out to help minimize the shift. Just be careful on Epic hoods so that you don't screw up the brush dampner.

Trips, I agree with you about the hole. Thanks for the input.

Thanks to everyone with their input.

Thanks
 

Look forward to hearing more when there finished... I only have access to a KOSE one right now :rolleyes: ..your product looks more to my liking :D :nod:

Thanks Kraig:D


-Dave:sneaky:

Are any of you familiar with the tool that Racer?s Edge has been making for years? It?s really a gage for checking rather than an alignment tool. You do not want to bend the brush hoods. Alignment needs to be done by loosening up the screws and moving the hoods. The big handle sticking out of your tool could move the far hood before you get it tightened down. Make a gage like the Racers Edge for the trinity big brush and you will have something nobody else has.

Thanks
 

Look forward to hearing more when there finished... I only have access to a KOSE one right now :rolleyes: ..your product looks more to my liking :D :nod:

Thanks Kraig:D


-Dave:sneaky:

It works just like the trinity tool. I have one of those, and it works quite nicely, plus you get an 1/8" diameter shaft so you can put the motor together without the armature, then slide the 1/8" shaft through both bushings/bearings to make sure they are on center line.

See without that bar, you could have the brushes straight, but have them both off to one side or the other.

any more news??
 

?? :weird:

-Dave:sneaky:

Nothing yet, should know more by Monday. I might, key word is might have a picture to post.

Thanks
 

-Dave:D

I saw the prototype in person on sunday. I must say, it is seeeexxxxyy!

-Troy

Darn it
 

Quit teasing !!!:flaming: :D :lol: I want one of these things Bad.!!:blush:

-Dave:sneaky:

Re: Darn it
 

Ditto.

Kraig - Do you have an updated teaser picture for everyone? I think it might increase the drool factor. :D

ok, here is the latest version. This is probably as close to production as we are going to get. Still working out the cost.

http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/tool.jpg

If you look cloesly you can see the beveled edge.

http://www.kthobbies.com/store/image/edge.jpg

Thoughts and comments are appreciated.

Wow looks Great
 

Please quit showing me these pic's:ha: :smile: ;) :p

I got's ta' know how much longer....:nod: :nod: :rolleyes: :D

Thanks Kraig :sweat:


-Dave:sneaky:

Make a hole on the two sides so we can use it for modified and stock motors. Maybe you could make it longer with a step so we can also use it for trinity P94 brush hoods.

Well, take a look at these one's and try to make it even better.

http://www.kose-rc.com/option/IMGUP/..._img_k0501.htm

http://www.kose-rc.com/option/IMGUP/..._img_k0510.htm

http://www.kose-rc.com/option/IMGUP/IMG_0510.jpg


Pretty nice Kose tool...but a bit pricey...

Kraig .. will your include the centering rod..?:rolleyes: :weird:

-Dave:sneaky:

Yeah those Kose tools are nice.

Dave, yes it will include the centering rod.

The handle is made out of aluminum. We could anodize it but I don't think we will, at least not at this time.

I don't think we will be doing the other hole for modified motors and these are the main reasons. With the maching of the hole the material of the bar tends to mushroom out. Then the bar will have to be flattened again to ensure the dimensions. Plus, with that hole the bar itself will become weak at that point thus allowing it to bend and maybe break because of the lack of material. If you look at the Kose tool you can see hardly any material for the standup brush hoods. Plus the new Reedy Modified Motors will have laydown brushes.

Proper brush hood alignment is when the brush is wearing like a U and not a J shape. What happens is that the brush shifts during the rotation of the arm. Thus you have to compensate for this by adjusting the brush hoods one at a time. So don't go into it thinking just because the brush hoods are aligned directly across from each other that everything is fine.

The idea for the P94 motors did come up and we are still discussing it.

Sold
 

I'll buy one just as soon as you realese it Kraig :nod: :nod: :D

THanks

-Dave:sneaky:

bump
 

any word ..?:D