The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Technical Matters => Handy hints and tips => Topic started by: FirePower on August 05, 2010, 01:43:54 PM
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Has anybody got a rotary tumbler and would they be able to guess or hopefully measure the speed, in revs per minute, the drum spins at?
Maybe someboy could point me in the direction of a video of one in action so I cold get an idea.
I ask because I've been thinking of putting one together out of bits lying around. Thanks for any tips.
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I saw Beakys (Andrews) Tumbler in action the other day. It spins about three quarters of the speed as a clothes dryer. Hope it helps. ^^^
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I saw Beakys (Andrews) Tumbler in action the other day. It spins about three quarters of the speed as a clothes dryer. Hope it helps. ^^^
the motor in my tumbler spins very fast, the media rotates at a good speed (cant tell u what the rpm is).
What I think brett was commenting on the speed the parts moved through the media.
I am not sure if mine is a rotary tumbler, mine uses vibration to tumble the media which also tumbles the parts.
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The faster it spins, the more work gets done in whatever time span. You just need it to spin slow enough that the parts & media only roll over rather than "jump" on the lifting side.
I'd say 20 to 50 RPM (one rev every three seconds to maybe a little under once per second) would be about right if I was making one.
$.02
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I'm curious, do your tumblers run in the opposite direction that mine does up here in the states? :)
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Its pretty easy to find bits to make a tumbler, see this thread http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=1373.0 for what i made a while ago. It was a pretty fun little project - the only thing is over time, the small fan motor burnt out - was probably waaay to small for the job.
As others have said, the idea is the media and parts 'tumble' (surprisingly enough) over each other, so there is probably a range of speeds this can be acheived
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This is a great thread.
I have only seen one tumbler.
Is there anyone who has had a tumbler for a long time who can take a photo, add the brand name, size and $ cost etc, wheres the best place to buy one, and perhaps the best mnedium to use.
Also, the average time the parts are best to be put into the tumbler for. ? and how much medium should be thrown in, as opposed to parts etc.
Lots of questions, but it would be great to have the "Tumbler" subject cracked well for all ! ^^^
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Thanks for those who have offered advice.
There is a fair bit of info on tumblers on this site already - just search on the word tumbler.
My motivation is to build one myself and in my research, mainly internet based, I'm beginning to form the following ideas.
They come in either a vibratory or rotational form. Vibrating ones have a sort of bowl on top with a flat lid and the rotary ones are a sealed tube that rolls around. The general feeling, mainly formed from gun owners (and I'm not prepared to argue with them) is that the vibratory one works faster, but are more noisy and sometimes wanders around on the bench. Tumbling times seem to vary from about a few hours to over 24 hours.
Gun shops seem to be the most likely place to buy one, some of the other threads on this site mention specific models and Aust mail order places and about $200 seems to be the going rate.
Mediums used are crushed walnut shells, corn cob husks and there has been the odd mention of using brown rice. Pet shops sell walnut shell and corn husk as bird or reptile cage liner. The feeling I've got is that you fill the chamber about 2/3 to 3/4 with medium, maybe more with a vibratory device. There has been some suggestions of throwing something called a dryer sheet into the mix which acts to collect the dirt and keep the medium cleaner and longer lasting. I haven' seen these dryer sheets but have not looked for them either.
Additives are suggested, normally about a teaspoon or so, and suggestions have been Flitz a specific additive for tumblers although others have suggested using liquid car polish.
I am continuing to muck around with gears, belts bits of duct tape etc and will post if I can come up with something serviceable - I seek not only some fun in building it on the cheap but also something that works and lasts.