Ah, a press brake. I first time I saw one of those was when I was in a industrial sign making shop a long time ago. I have a meeting set up with a man that owns a machine shop. Hopefully, he will be able to work with me. I heard that he has a lot of machinery, so he must have one of those.
I'm not sure if the aluminum is 6061 extruded aluminum, I had a friend who makes sissy bars for muscle bikes make the first prototypes. He can no longer work because of health problems, so this is where I'm at on this idea that I had and hope to make come to fruition. I will of course have to make sure I get the same thing when I buy more material. I'm not a big time machinist, I am learning about metals and such, and am glad I found this site in order to have someone to talk to about it.
I was thinking that I may not have to heat up the aluminum bar, but as you can tell, I've been doing a lot of guessing.
I want to achieve about a seventy degree bend, maybe less, as I bend the first one. I'll need to check if I have enough bend by testing it on the bike. If I need more bend then I'll bend it a few more degrees and make sure there is enough bar clearance away from the ground when the bike is in a wheelie position.
Too bad I don't have you for an employee, Denny. Ha!
I paid for the materials to make the first two prototypes, the one you've seen and the other that is narrower is for bikes without shocks. I also paid the builder for making them. He failed on the bending of the bar at the end, but it's nice having two prototypes to go by. I will be looking for the same deal from a new builder. I tried bending the bar more at the end, but I realized it was a no go with what I had to work with. All I need is the bottom bar and the struts to be made, I can do the rest, like drilling the holes, etc. Although getting the holes drilled as well would be nice. All I have are bike tools for working on bikes. Ha! An inventor or developer without a machine shop, like myself, is like a bicycle with no wheels.
Thanks for showing interest in helping me, Denny. If you are any representation of the people here on this site, then I'm in very good shape.
Ziggy
I'm not sure if the aluminum is 6061 extruded aluminum, I had a friend who makes sissy bars for muscle bikes make the first prototypes. He can no longer work because of health problems, so this is where I'm at on this idea that I had and hope to make come to fruition. I will of course have to make sure I get the same thing when I buy more material. I'm not a big time machinist, I am learning about metals and such, and am glad I found this site in order to have someone to talk to about it.
I was thinking that I may not have to heat up the aluminum bar, but as you can tell, I've been doing a lot of guessing.
I want to achieve about a seventy degree bend, maybe less, as I bend the first one. I'll need to check if I have enough bend by testing it on the bike. If I need more bend then I'll bend it a few more degrees and make sure there is enough bar clearance away from the ground when the bike is in a wheelie position.
Too bad I don't have you for an employee, Denny. Ha!
I paid for the materials to make the first two prototypes, the one you've seen and the other that is narrower is for bikes without shocks. I also paid the builder for making them. He failed on the bending of the bar at the end, but it's nice having two prototypes to go by. I will be looking for the same deal from a new builder. I tried bending the bar more at the end, but I realized it was a no go with what I had to work with. All I need is the bottom bar and the struts to be made, I can do the rest, like drilling the holes, etc. Although getting the holes drilled as well would be nice. All I have are bike tools for working on bikes. Ha! An inventor or developer without a machine shop, like myself, is like a bicycle with no wheels.
Thanks for showing interest in helping me, Denny. If you are any representation of the people here on this site, then I'm in very good shape.
Ziggy