The Aussie Ingenuity.. Australian Made

[netwolf]

I just came across this in my search for EQ Platforms and GEM construction plans.

Hats off to you Dave.
http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/daveg/

I know there a lot of you Inventors out there that have done similar things.
If you know of someone or are someone or have come accross any links, especialy fellow Aussies please post a link. I would like to use this thread to showcase Local Australian Talent in our Hobby. There are many people out there that you see at starpartys that have done some amazing ATM. We want to know about you and your work.

Regards
Netwolf.

PS: is there a link between the name Dave and inventors...

[cventer]

Its a very cool EQ mount. I saw it up close at SPSP.

That Pier is just brilliant.

Best Regards
Chris

[iceman]

That's a very nice looking bit of gear. I might email him and see if he would like to pop in and say g'day.

[netwolf]

iceman, i already emailed him indicating we could sure use people with his talents.

[iceman]

Well he's now got 2 emails waiting for him :)

[rmcpb]

Saw a demo on mirror making by Dave a few months ago at the WSAAG meeting. Brilliant!! That guy really knows his potatoes :) and his scopes are wonderful too.

[gaa_ian]

That is a work of art !

[seeker372011]

Its not just the mount ,the OTA is an absolute beauty

Dave was a worthy winner in the ATM category at the SPSP last year (2004) when he first showed off his scope

[ving]

nice looking mount... dont know much bout mounts but it looks great :)

[acropolite]

gaa_ian said it all, that truly is a work of art.

[netwolf]

I was very pleased to see Dave's article in the AS&T mag. He is doing some excellent work in the occulation field. Some very nice pics of his rig in there too. Dont miss it.

Does anyone know any CNC shops that might build a gem like Dave's from plans in Sydney? Could you estimate what it may cost to do so? I know of only one company Ansen who makes mounts in australia is anyone aware of any others.

[davidpretorius]

which plans?

i am an agent for saint gobain abrasives who sell product to all the engineering shops (CNC included) i can ask the question of who in sydney has cnc and if i can get the plans, i can get them to give a rough quote.

I have some cnc engineering shops here is tassie, i could get to quote as well if i can get the plans?

[netwolf]

Well there is on set of complete plans i have seen on the Internet for building a GEM, and another set that Dave has shared with me. I have written to him to gain permission to share these here for purposes of DIY or having them built by pros.

Regards

[davidpretorius]

cool

[Jonathan]

I program CNC's full time and have quoted jobs in the past. From what I can see in the pictures it would be very expensive to get one made professionaly. The cheapest places in Adelaide charge about $65/hour up to $120, plus materials. It would be far more economical to do a small production run to keep costs down, because making one is far more expensive per unit than doing half a dozen or more at the same time. Most places would be happy to give you a free quote so shop around and you might get a good deal somewhere. Good Luck :)

[netwolf]

Thanks Jonathan, sounds expensive to do one but wonder how it would compare to buying say a GM11 and importing it.

Ok Dave kindly given permission to distribute this to forums members for those who wish to diy it themselves or have one made.

These are distributed with Dave Gault's permission. You can see a picture of the finished product plust construction notes at his website. http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/daveg/

Regards

[Jonathan]

I'll try to have a look at the .dwg files over the weekend or Monday at work. I deleted the only program I had to open them with when I left my last job, and I no longer had the license & dongle to run it. I should be able to get my hands on something over the weekend. If you get really serious about it I can put you on to a couple of mates of mine who can quote (mates rates) and manufacture it in Adelaide. Unfortunately my current boss wouldn't be interested in it and I don't have enough spare time to do it out of hours at work, otherwise I'd be able to take it on.

[davidpretorius]

thank you very much

by the way what extension is .dwg???

[netwolf]

Yah its dwg, I tried irfanview with plugin but the plugin viewer is shareware so its has an add right in the middle of thr drawing asking you to buy it... Arghh..

I used to work at Autodesk, but i dont think i know anyone there now.. I wish i had gotten an NFR (not for resale).. Argh..

But i found one called the "Free DWG viewer" from Tucows and its pretty good.

The drawings are not all that much in 2d perhaps there is more detail that only the CAD program can show. I will ask Dave if he can provide any more details..

BTW i started a new thread on EQ Construction Links, have a look at in there for lots of good links.

This one looks like its simple enought to keep the cost and time down. http://www.charm.net/~jriley/sky/mount1.html

Regards

[MiG]

I hate Autocad. Proper solid modelling is so much nicer. Learning Autocad was a waste of time. At least now uni is teaching Solidworks to the newer students.
I like both Unigraphics NX and CATIA V5 but I'd say know UG NX a fair bit better.

[Jonathan]

I've had a bit of a look at the drawings and they're all 2D wireframe which makes things a bit more difficult compared to 3D surfaces or solids. They aren't the most detailed drawings I've ever seen either, but combined with the website info they are a very good start. It would take a fair bit of explaining to someone before they could quote on it because most people wouldn't have a clue as to what they're actually looking at and how it operates. The lack of detail and notes on the drawings could leave many questions in the mind of a non-astronomical person making it which would lead to the components not being made to the right tolerances and causing the whole mount to function inaccurately.
Unfortunately the more I look at it the more expensive I think it would be. Most of the bits are simple enough to make on a small lathe (as Dave has done), but it is time consuming and thats what would hurt the overall cost.
If it were me I'd buy an EQ6, but if I wanted anything bigger and stronger (and had the time) I'd make it myself. If I had a lathe in the shed it would be a different story...
If you would like another opinion or a quote I have 2 or 3 people in mind that are capable of doing a very good job.

Mig - I understand your hate for AutoCAD! I started learning it 4 or 5 years ago and hated it, my boss told me not to waste my time. I've used it since then but It's just not right. Apparently the latest version is much better. Have you used any Delcam software? I've used Powershape for the last couple of years and it's pretty good, I've been using Powermill (CAM) for much longer and that's by far the best CAM software I've seen. Delcam seem to know how to make good software from what I've seen.

[MiG]

I must say I haven't heard of Delcam, possibly because I haven't seen much of the CAM side of things. I've only seen UG being used for tool paths. But I'm not too ashamed of this because I once spoke to a guy who was modelling with Rhino3D and telling me how top s**t it is but he couldn't remember what CATIA was.