Submitted by threeaxis on Sun, 02/07/2010 - 21:08
Posted in
Hey shutterdrone, you once sent me this: http://www.mcmaster.com/#threaded-inserts/=4ymebo
It was to a 3/8"-16 treaded insert (I think) but alas, it's now a redirect to the section, not the product. Do you think that this would work in aluminum? http://tinyurl.com/ygrsg4d or should I be looking for brass inserts? ... will .75" aluminum plate with an insert be strong enough to hold a rig up? As you can tell I don't know much about working with aluminum ;)
many thanks,
threeaxis
.75" aluminum? Holy cow -
.75" aluminum? Holy cow - that's some tough stuff!
No inserts needed in aluminum at 3/4" ! Just drill and tap the holes, aluminum taps easily and nicely. Inserts are used for materials that cannot be effectively tapped, don't have material thickness enough to support the tapping, or to repair/reduce the size of an existing tapped hole.
I seriously think you can go below 3/4" aluminum. Quarter-inch would probably work, and to be honest, you'd save a lot of money (material-wise), work, and weight by switching to aluminum extrusion, such as 80/20's, that has higher strength-to-weight ratio than solid aluminum plate.
I just ordered enough material and fasteners to largely build (save for a couple of cnc'd plates for motor and engine mounting) a pan and tilt unit using 80/20 framing for about $60 from their garage sale ebay store.
!c
Hey C, Thanks for the
Hey C, Thanks for the reply!
Yea I just put in a garage sale order myself, also for pan tilt parts. ;)
I wasn't sure I needed the inserts or not due to aluminum's "softness" ...I thought it might strip? From what your saying it sounds like it's going to be pretty solid. As for the cost, it wasn't too bad. 8020 has a few $2 pieces of mill finish flat stock I ordered. Not sure how the non anodized aluminum will work out but they will at least be good practice pieces. ;)
This would be for an adapter plate that would go in-between my worm gear box and tripod. The insert was going to give me a little more clearance to put in an m6 screw (to the worm). This is of course coming from a non-engineer's standpoint. I'm already thinking of naming my pan-tilt the "Klunker 3000" due to it's design ;)
Here is a draft of the plate... would love feedback or suggestions. I'm sure there is a better way to pull off this tripod plate I just couldn't think of it. The tripod threads and the M6 bolt are aligned with the center of the worm, rotating plate.
Many thanks,
threeaxis
All you should need for that
All you should need for that project is a drill-press, a couple of bits, a couple of counter-sink bits, and appropriate taps for the threads. (And, of course, clamps and all that jazz for the press. =) This is an excellent one-tool project! Just change your clearance drills to tap drills.
Aluminum will hold threads just fine -- more specifically, it's a function of the thread size vs. the thickness of the aluminum, but .75" aluminum would be able to hold way larger thread sizes than anything you might be thinking of here. =)
It looks like you have just one tap point, that being the mount for the camera base (3/8-16 stud). Have you considered avoiding all of that, and capturing a thumb-screw or the like instead? Otherwise, you'll need to capture the 3/8" stud - either by adding a nut in a recess on the top side, or by using a stud w/ a half left-hand and half right-hand threading. Otherwise, if you've sufficiently tightened down your head, it may try to loosen up the stud/bolt when you try and take off - meaning you'll have to re-screw it in often.
!c