# PEU E-Series Helix Body



## PEU (Feb 19, 2009)

Today I was toying with ideas using Solidworks and came up with this:







Weird looking, not waterproof at all, but nice eye candy, so off to the CNC mill I went:










I had the 4th axis improperly configured, it reached a virtual limit and refused to keep turning  I finished all the turns anyway





I'm still asking myself why I put the orings in the body :nana: 


Pablo


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## Scattergun (Feb 19, 2009)

Wow!! Very nice!! 
Would it be possible to machine a body like that one and then make an insert out of carbon fibre? Would be waterproof, and really good looking!


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## collector (Feb 19, 2009)

Nice, very nice !!
This will start a whole new rage, mark my words !!


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## 1wrx7 (Feb 19, 2009)

Very nice Pablo,

I love to see someting different:thumbsup: Imagine all of the artistic ideas you could incorparate into the grooves Any thoughts on threading the tail for a C/P/M style tailcap?


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## maxspeeds (Feb 19, 2009)

That is neat looking! Good for around the house


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## ambientmind (Feb 19, 2009)

make some more! those are sweet! an insert would be cool too, but that could be left up to the end user if you left a little bit of room around the batteries.


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## McGizmo (Feb 19, 2009)

PEU said:


> I'm still asking myself why I put the orings in the body :nana:
> 
> 
> Pablo






Nice work Pablo! Very cool! :thumbsup: The O-rings help snug the components and keep them from loosening up. You need them!


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## greenLED (Feb 19, 2009)

Macanudo, Pablo!

GID mod, anyone? :devil:


...it'd be a ***** to do, but fun in the end.


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## DaFABRICATA (Feb 19, 2009)

Holy Moley!!

Thats SWEEEET lookin!

I think the GID or Carbon fiber insert would be bad-***!

Nice Job!


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## toby_pra (Feb 20, 2009)

Very nice body...looks like a piece of art!


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## Pontiaker (Feb 20, 2009)

I'll buy the one with the boo boo if you make another for yourself to replace it.


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## wquiles (Feb 20, 2009)

Very nice looking Pablo!

You know another cool variation? Don't go all the way through the body, just make grooves, and fill then flush with glow in the dark/epoxy mix - I bet it would look outstanding at night (while preserving water resistance), and with the glow being flush, it would probably survive duty as an EDC light, impressing everyone who sees it 

Will


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## PEU (Feb 20, 2009)

Thanks for the nice comments guys!

Miguel & Will: Thats a great idea, will do a new one just for testing it out, wish me luck 


Pablo


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## Mirage_Man (Feb 20, 2009)

wquiles said:


> Very nice looking Pablo!
> 
> You know another cool variation? Don't go all the way through the body, just make grooves, and fill then flush with glow in the dark/epoxy mix - I bet it would look outstanding at night (while preserving water resistance), and with the glow being flush, it would probably survive duty as an EDC light, impressing everyone who sees it
> 
> Will



How would you fill the grooves without the glow epoxy running out? It wants to level itself doesn't it?


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## PEU (Feb 20, 2009)

Mirage_Man said:


> How would you fill the grooves without the glow epoxy running out? It wants to level itself doesn't it?



what if I use 10min epoxy and let it dry while slowly turning? just a tought :thinking:


Pablo


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## Cuso (Feb 20, 2009)

PEU said:


> what if I use 10min epoxy and let it dry while slowly turning? just a tought :thinking:
> 
> 
> Pablo


That's what I thought, mask the inside and let it run around the grooves, its worth a try...:thumbsup:


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## HarryN (Feb 20, 2009)

That is neat Pablo - I like two tone idea. 

It might be possible to tape it off like a mold and pour from the top ?


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## Gryloc (Feb 20, 2009)

I thought of two things you can do to be able to add GITD epoxy to the grooves. 

First, you could always machine the grooves deep, buy not all the way through. This way you can pour in the epoxy without worrying about anything from seeping into the battery compartment.

Second, you can try to shove a wax candle into the battery compartment to work as a filler so the epoxy does not run into the battery compartment. If any candles do not fit, maybe you could machine one up from a block of paraffin wax (I hope that wont create a mess on the lathe). With either GITD epoxy or clear epoxy added into the grooves, the results would be neat. The clear epoxy would be great if you are a proud user of AW cells .

Can epoxy be machined easily? If so, once you finish adding the GITD epoxy to the grooves (using whatever method you prefer), you can machine the epoxy material so it is flush with the metal body, even if that means removing a few thousandths of an inch from the metal. How would your lathe cutting tools like hardened epoxy?

Oh, and I like the idea of the carbon fiber insert. For that, you can machine a more shallow groove (at least not all the way through) so there is a nice backing. Then just epoxy in your long carbon fiber strip. Actually, you can add in any material, from rope, steel cable, braids, copper wire, gold/silver chain, and why not something like insects? All of it will be covered with clear epoxy, making the material you insert last and visible. You can make these grooves of any width to accommodate your unique fillings.

This sounds like it would be lots of fun for whom ever has these machined bodies. Good job with the design, PEU!


Cheers, 
-Tony


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## PEU (Feb 20, 2009)

Back from the machines, still with oil in my fingers (my IBM M-type keyboard have removable keycaps  )

Just for looks I made a tappered body, and as suggested I did a non thru helix, its only 1.5mm deep (0.06") constant deep along the taper.

Here are the machining process photos:







































Now I need to fill the helixes (helixae? ) with glowpowdered epoxy


Pablo


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## 65535 (Feb 20, 2009)

Make one with the grooves all the way through then fit a carbon fiber sleeve to the ID.


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## HarryN (Feb 20, 2009)

I like it just like your picture. Maybe a sandblast finish or HA for the purist.


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## brighterisbetter (Feb 20, 2009)

Does anyone else besides me now all of a sudden have a hankering for a GIANT trit tube?


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## cmacclel (Feb 20, 2009)

Pablo Looks cool but tell me how the heck you debur THAT!!!


Pablo is that a custom wood T-Slot table you tool holder is mounted to???



Mac


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## greenlight (Feb 20, 2009)

I like to see the artistry and creativity you put into these projects. The helix will look cool anodized.

It reminds me of a drilling tool. :wink: :wink:


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## PEU (Feb 21, 2009)

cmacclel said:


> Pablo Looks cool but tell me how the heck you debur THAT!!!
> 
> Pablo is that a custom wood T-Slot table you tool holder is mounted to???
> 
> Mac


I re-chucked the piece in the lathe and removed the excess material, my endmill (2flutes) must be unsharp because on one of the sides the cut was OK and the other was so-so...
Yes, since the lathe is CNC I have no need for the compound to make tapers or threads, so I got rid of it and now Im experimenting with a gang tool style plate, so far so good, next step is to make it in alu.

So... enough words, here is how it ended:











Its not easy to capture the glow, so I used my reflex camera at 3200 ISO, a dark room and the only extra light came from my CRT monitor

Yes, a little extra epoxy went to the top decorative grooves, I already removed it 


Pablo


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## gswitter (Feb 21, 2009)

Mirage_Man said:


> How would you fill the grooves without the glow epoxy running out? It wants to level itself doesn't it?


Wrap/tape the outside and fill from the inside. It wouldn't really matter if the inside surface of the epoxy was flush with the inner wall.

Nice work on those tubes BTW, Pablo!


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## Mirage_Man (Feb 21, 2009)

PEU said:


> my endmill (2flutes) must be unsharp because on one of the sides the cut was OK and the other was so-so...



I was talking with a machinist friend of mine yesterday about me experimenting with some flutes and he said,"one side will look good and the other won't if you do it in one pass". He said it's because if you're making the flute in one pass you're climb milling one side and not on the other. The only way to make them both nice is to move over a couple thou and climb mill the other side. I hope I explained it correctly. :thinking:


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## PEU (Feb 21, 2009)

Mirage_Man said:


> I was talking with a machinist friend of mine yesterday about me experimenting with some flutes and he said,"one side will look good and the other won't if you do it in one pass". He said it's because if you're making the flute in one pass you're climb milling one side and not on the other. The only way to make them both nice is to move over a couple thou and climb mill the other side. I hope I explained it correctly. :thinking:



Good tip! thats probably the cause (and you saved me from purchasing a new endmill  )


Pablo


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## collector (Feb 21, 2009)

Nice, very nice....
Still, I dig the one where you went all the way through the body....
Not water-proof, but very cool to see the power-plant, hehe


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## ECKO32 (Feb 21, 2009)

Scattergun said:


> Wow!! Very nice!!
> Would it be possible to machine a body like that one and then make an insert out of carbon fibre? Would be waterproof, and really good looking!



I was think of Brass instead of carbon but possiablities could be endless
Great Work hope this runs into production


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## wquiles (Feb 21, 2009)

PEU said:


> So... enough words, here is how it ended:



Man, you are GOOD! That is EXACTLY what I had in my mind when I wrote the earlier post with the suggestion to do this. Talk about "reading my mind" :devil:

Will


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## PEU (Feb 22, 2009)

wquiles said:


> Man, you are GOOD! That is EXACTLY what I had in my mind when I wrote the earlier post with the suggestion to do this. Talk about "reading my mind" :devil:
> 
> Will



Yeah, and I use the flashlight body pattern to hypnotize people :nana:


Pablo


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## DUQ (Feb 22, 2009)

65535 said:


> Make one with the grooves all the way through then fit a carbon fiber sleeve to the ID.



Now that would look cool.


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## PEU (Feb 22, 2009)

but the carbon fiber being black would be barely noticeable inside the groove, will try to simulate the effect with a sheet of black paper and post results.


Pablo


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## greenLED (Feb 22, 2009)

I DIG that glow mod! :rock:


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## cave dave (Feb 22, 2009)

A PD style flashlight could be made waterproof if you put an o-ring on the piston at the head end. Then you could visually see the PD action. Brass would be best for contrast. Maybe machine a decorative (not all the way through) spiral in the opposite direction on the piston, as you pushed you would get an interesting motion illusion. 


:thumbsup:


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## greenlight (Feb 22, 2009)

PEU said:


> Its not easy to capture the glow, so I used my reflex camera at 3200 ISO, a dark room and the only extra light came from my CRT monitor


It is easy with just a little preparation. 


Use the lowest possible ISO for maximum sensitivity clarity.
Use a tripod.
Use the camera's self timer to reduce shake.
Set the camera to take multiple images and choose the best one.
Choose a shutter speed of 2-6 seconds.
Wave a low power flashlight over the subject to highlight its features.

I like this method because it utilizes another flashlight. The goal is to charge the GLOW and capture its luminance and at the same time add a small amount of light to make the rest visible. If you have a UV light handy you can use it to charge the glow while you are photographing it. A fun project!


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## collector (Feb 22, 2009)

>> Use the lowest possible ISO for maximum sensitivity.
I think you mean highest, right ?


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## greenlight (Feb 22, 2009)

I guess you're right. You get the least noise at low ISO, so that's what you want for a good pic.


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## PEU (Feb 22, 2009)

Yes, I know the paint method, check this old post of mine.

The difference between now and then is that now I have a nice reflex camera with 3200 ISO sensitivity, so the photo was taken without tripod 


Pablo


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## greenlight (Feb 22, 2009)

OK, you always seem to do your best when it's called for. I like that shot. Those are my favorite types of shots to do because of all of the variables.


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## jmw19 (Feb 23, 2009)

Lookin' good with the glow-poxy! 

I like the carbon fiber inner idea, but agree that you wouldn't see much of it. But what if a clear plastic tube was bonded in? The aluminum would protect it, so the tube could be pretty thin, and could be epoxied in at both ends to seal the light. The loaded batteries would be visible through the plastic, which could be good with Surefire or other colorful batteries (maybe AW's IMRs?).


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## PEU (Feb 23, 2009)

Who is interested in these bodies? 

I still have 16units of 2x123 blanks I can machine like the ones I posted here, models could be: straight body or tappered body and full thru cut or half cut. I leave the epoxy filling job to the buyer. Please post here.

Thanks for the interest!


Pablo


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