Dean411 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I still need to do some finishing touches but its gonna be nice to get 100 stars per press!! Inserting the pins. Pins in place and located. Glides together like a dream all that left is milling the pin faces and to test it out. It was originally going to be 11 rows of 11 pins for 121 but for the sake of simplicity went with 10 rows of 10 pins. I also make Custom Star pumps and extraction Sleeves Aluminum or Brass. Dean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivars21 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Nice job. Can you post pictures of your star pump as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean411 Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 I will post pictures of more stuff in my gallery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkInLight Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Really nice looking plate. Great job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrojig Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 There is something sexy about a nicely made set of tools !!! Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiapyro Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 did you finish the star plate? How does it work? It seems like stars would get stuck because the pins don't go all the way through... am I missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean411 Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Yes the plate is done and works great.You weren't missing anything the plates face and pins weren't finish milled. I buy aluminum that is 3 inches thick and slice it into pieces 1 inch thick then mill it to my finish dimensions I told you guys I work in a shop and have access to mills, machining centers and lathes. The pins are .374 in diameter and the holes were reamed out to. 391. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiapyro Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 looks great! what do you use to press that monster? Also, do you have any problems with comp getting smooshed out with a 25 thou slip fit? I do about half that on my plates, 12 thou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean411 Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 (edited) I have a 12 ton press and a 20 the fit is only .016 to .017 over not .025 .Its actually .3901 not .391 but that still isn't .025.I've only had issues once and it was because the comp was to wet. Edited October 25, 2012 by Dean411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiapyro Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 whoops, did my math wrong! 91 minus 74 isn't 25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Didn't feel like opening another thread for a question about star plate, so here goes. What should be the thickness of the female plate for 15mm diameter stars? The goal is to press them to a thickness of 15mm (plus a milimeter or two) in a single press cycle. The pressure would be around 690 N/cm2 (1000 Psi). I was thinking around a 30mm plate but i'm not sure. Calculating this seems kind of futile as different comps have way different densities, so way to many variables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexPyro66 Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Yes 30mm is ok you will have to experiment with the pressure.If this is is your first star plate make a smale plate to test if it works good and then go to a larger one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Yes 30mm is ok you will have to experiment with the pressure.If this is is your first star plate make a smale plate to test if it works good and then go to a larger one Not my first one, I have those cheap plastic ones from China, currently i'm looking into something more sophisticated for use in a hydraulic press. The 10 mm chinese plate has the female plate 19mm thick (roughly twice the thickness) and the stars come out a little on the long side, about 12mm, mind you, I can not put as much pressure on the stars with a plastic hammer compared to a hydraulic press pressing on each star with 1000 psi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiapyro Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 If you want to be safe, go with 45mm thick, as some charcoal based comps have a compression ratio of 3:1 at a couple thousand PSI. If your plate is 30mm, these comps will come out as wafers. When you do color comps on this plate, you will need spacer bars so you can cut off the excess comp. Hope this helps, -Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexPyro66 Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Not my first one, I have those cheap plastic ones from China, currently i'm looking into something more sophisticated for use in a hydraulic press. The 10 mm chinese plate has the female plate 19mm thick (roughly twice the thickness) and the stars come out a little on the long side, about 12mm, mind you, I can not put as much pressure on the stars with a plastic hammer compared to a hydraulic press pressing on each star with 1000 psi.I mean If this is your first homemade star plate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 If you want to be safe, go with 45mm thick, as some charcoal based comps have a compression ratio of 3:1 at a couple thousand PSI. If your plate is 30mm, these comps will come out as wafers. When you do color comps on this plate, you will need spacer bars so you can cut off the excess comp. Hope this helps, -Hunter Thanks, great info there. I was affraid that the high charcoal compositions may have a significantly different compression ratio. So for pretty much anything else, a 30mm female plate is going to work OK? Alex, yup, this will be my first homemade plate, well, not exactly home made, more custom made by an expert. I'll just do the 3D modelling as I lack the proper tools to actually make this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Probably the best way to figure this out is to pick a typical composition that you use, and test it out on a single test tube at the compression you're intending to use. I suspect somewhere between 30 and 35mm thick will be about right for you. For something like charcoal streamers, 2 pressings would probably get you close as well. I finalized on 2.5x the ID of my tubes the last time I made a gang press. It was intending to make mostly streamers and glitters though, and prefer them a little longer. You can also get some mild control over fill height by adjusting the screen you use to pre-granulate the product. I wish I could remember where I saw this neat idea. I once saw a picture of a star plate that had several 1/16" or 1/8" shims that just sit on top of the female plate to adjust the fill level. After it was totally filled, the male plate was pressed down by hand to compress the comp a little, and the shims were removed and it was pressed as normal. This way you could adjust the fill height to whatever you wanted based on comp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty green flame Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Probably the best way to figure this out is to pick a typical composition that you use, and test it out on a single test tube at the compression you're intending to use. I suspect somewhere between 30 and 35mm thick will be about right for you. For something like charcoal streamers, 2 pressings would probably get you close as well. Ofcourse, that would be the easiest way to determine the proper height. I feel kind of dumb right now for not thinking of this earlier. I will definately be giving this a try when i get my hands on some 15mm tubing. I wish I could remember where I saw this neat idea. I once saw a picture of a star plate that had several 1/16" or 1/8" shims that just sit on top of the female plate to adjust the fill level. After it was totally filled, the male plate was pressed down my hand to compress the comp a litte, and the shims were removed and it was pressed as normal. This way you could adjust the fill height to whatever you wanted based on comp. That is indeed a pretty cool idea. Way cheaper than another dedicated plate for charcoal stars. I intend to use this plate also for glitters and streamers mostly. And this is a very practical solution for charcoal comps. Thanks for the input Mumbles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuppnus Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Hi! Do any of you know about a good place to buy a cheap star plate? The wolterpyro tooling looks amazing, but its way out of my budget. I'm not looking for one that's very big, I'd just like to cut down a little on my pumping time. Wether it's made of plastic or metal is not important, it doesn't need to last forever. 1/2" or 3/8" would be my preferred size, I'm going to make 3" shells. I live in Norway Please move this post if I have put it under the wrong topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrokid Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 http://pyroworks.us/fireworks-building-tools.html This is a great source for low priced tools used commonly in China. Shipping from the United States might be expensive, but the tools are priced well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enanthate Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Good job on your starplate Dean, looks good! If you're still around.. How do you fit your pins to the plate, 100% straight? I mean, 0.5mm off and it wont penetrate the holes of the female plate. I'm not talking about positioning the pins, but having them absolutely straight and parallel to eachother.I recently made a test-plate in plastic(POM), and I had this problem. I don't have access to any mills or lathe, so my best tool is a drill-stand. I drill holes through both plates, but this didn't make them precise enough. The thing was a PITA to separate without comp, and once I pressed some comp in there with only a ton for a start, the plates were absolutely stuck. Straight in the bin, what a fail.. I also only have a 10mm drillbit, and 10.5mm is my next option. Anything more precise than that isn't sold in my country, and has to be bought from China. Hopefully, the aluminium I just bought will be precisely 10mm diameter, not 10.1. I will probably need to measure the rods, and order precise drill bits from China. Takes a few weeks, but will be worth it.. Couple of aluminum plates and rods cost me 150 bucks, plus the waiting time. I prefer to get this right on my first try, as there will be no second. Any advice from someone with experience and skills are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakenbake Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 It's called a CNC mill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean411 Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) You need to open up the holes in the hole plate the usual way is to make the hole plate lets say 3/8 or .375 and then make the pins .360.with the tools you have I would say drill both plates at the same time the same size and then step up in sizeof drill and drill through the hole plate again with the larger drill and it should be fine.this way your finished stars are 3/8 and the plate wont lock up.this is a plate I have up for sale on fireworking.com its 3/4 x 42 pins CNC machines really make this alot simpler. Dean Edited January 29, 2015 by Dean411 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 You need to open up the holes in the hole plate the usual way is to make the hole plate lets say 3/8 or .375 and then make the pins .360.with the tools you have I would say drill both plates at the same time the same size and then step up in sizeof drill and drill through the hole plate again with the larger drill and it should be fine.this way your finished stars are 3/8 and the plate wont lock up.this is a plate I have up for sale on fireworking.com its 3/4 x 42 pins20150128_181035.jpg20150128_181051.jpg CNC machines really make this alot simpler. Dean VERY nice Dean! I like the way you have them stacked in the shell you showed as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enanthate Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks Dean, thats what I was planning on so far. My concern is that the holes wont be 100% parallel, which will quickly make things much more difficult. My drillmachine isnt the best...Maybe I should pay the 200 bucks to get it done in a shop, and save me the trouble. Takes the fun out of it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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