Some homemade attys and genesis

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Sputnik

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Good info, I see there's a difference between cast and extruded tubing. Would cast have more stable measurements?

I guess I need a place that will sell minor purchases to the US... any ideas?

Yes, cast is more accurate, but smaller diameters may be extruded.

Look at usplastic.com , delviesplastics.com , Tripp Plastics

There are many suppliers, just google for acrylic tube.
 

Sputnik

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Thanks, I'll check some of those out. I tried delviesplastic and looked at US plastics already. Getting 20mm OD/16mm ID will be hard in the US.

Keep a close look at actual dimensions if listed. Some are actually manufatured to metric dimensions. Made over seas, and imported. Meyer plastics here in Indy imports all their tube from China in metric dimension, rounds the dim. to the nearest imperial dim. and sells it with inch dims with a tolerance. You may see the same elsewhere.

Also,maybe .75(3/4") o.d., .625(5/8") i.d. would suffice. Maybe not, but its darn close.
 

Sputnik

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Not. 16mm = .6299" and acrylic doesn't stretch.

Dood, thats .002 a side, thats two thousandths of an inch per side, .004 on the diameter. I dont think what hes going to be doing is going to be that tight a tolerance. A lot of modern machine shops wont even promise any better than that unless your paying them good money to do so. Im almost certain, whatever is going in that tube will fit just fine at .625
 

Quick1

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Dood, thats .002 a side, thats two thousandths of an inch per side, .004 on the diameter.

Maybe if you got lucky with a tube on the large side of the tolerance. One of the problems we have (which is why we're looking for spare tubes) is that the acrylic tubes have a decent chance of fracturing just from the internal pressure of the rubber o-ring. They don't stretch. If they do stretch at all they fracture soon after or with any sort of shock. If anything the ID has to be larger than 16 mm and the seal is done with an o-ring. Starting off even .001 diameter under is not going to work.
 

Sputnik

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Maybe if you got lucky with a tube on the large side of the tolerance. One of the problems we have (which is why we're looking for spare tubes) is that the acrylic tubes have a decent chance of fracturing just from the internal pressure of the rubber o-ring. They don't stretch. If they do stretch at all they fracture soon after or with any sort of shock. If anything the ID has to be larger than 16 mm and the seal is done with an o-ring. Starting off even .001 diameter under is not going to work.

If the oring is the issue, then you should probably consider relaxing the groove tolerance a bit to allow a little more squish. There should not be a reason for it to be that tight to provide a good seal. The design needs altered a bit if you are seriously having issues where .001 on an o-ring fit causes you problems. I am a manufacturing engineer and machinist, have been for many many years, trust me, something needs to give! I know its not a production part, but regardless, if you have trouble getting it together with tolerances that tight on an o-ring fit then it needs revised. Thats why there are tolerances. Im not so sure even if you buy metric tube that its going to be within your .001 tolerance. Thats a pretty damn tight tolerance for even a cast tube.
 

Quick1

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If the oring is the issue, then you should probably consider relaxing the groove tolerance a bit to allow a little more squish. There should not be a reason for it to be that tight to provide a good seal. The design needs altered a bit if you are seriously having issues where .001 on an o-ring fit causes you problems. I am a manufacturing engineer and machinist, have been for many many years, trust me, something needs to give! I know its not a production part, but regardless, if you have trouble getting it together with tolerances that tight on an o-ring fit then it needs revised. Thats why there are tolerances. Im not so sure even if you buy metric tube that its going to be within your .001 tolerance. Thats a pretty damn tight tolerance for even a cast tube.

The aluminum disk that the acrylic tube fits over is 16 mm in diameter.
0.625 inches equals 15.875 mm.
An acrylic tube with a 0.625" (5/8") Inside Diameter will not fit over the aluminum disk.

That's all I was saying.
Not. 16mm = .6299" and acrylic doesn't stretch.
 
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asdaq

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Quick, I forgot you have the alu genisis, I thought is was a hybrid... The alu would not be hard to sand down for a 5/8 tube, by hand even, and come out with a nice finish. SS however, I would not want to try. As for o-rings, you can also stretch smaller ID ones on and that makes them also thinner.
 

Sputnik

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The aluminum disk that the acrylic tube fits over is 16 mm in diameter.
0.625 inches equals 15.875 mm.
An acrylic tube with a 0.625" (5/8") Inside Diameter will not fit over the aluminum disk.

That's all I was saying.

I wasnt saying that it wasnt smaller than the specified diameter, just that considering the tolerances that these should and probably are made within, would probably suffice. If you have to sand a thou or two , its much better than harping for months trying to find the exact spec tube you need, and even then, it probably will not be as close as the .001" you were stating.
 

Quick1

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Quick, I forgot you have the alu genisis, I thought is was a hybrid... The alu would not be hard to sand down for a 5/8 tube, by hand even, and come out with a nice finish. SS however, I would not want to try. As for o-rings, you can also stretch smaller ID ones on and that makes them also thinner.

Yes. That would be my last resort though. I don't have a lathe. It does have a center hole so I could fix it to a drill and turn it to keep it round. It would still be hard to keep it square (straight edge and not a conical cylinder). The most readily available "standard" tubing over here would be 5/8" I.D. with a 1/16" wall. So the O.D. would be a bit smaller (more sanding :)).

The o-ring thing is a hassle I haven't dealt with yet. Very little margin (if any?) where it provides a full seal and at the same time enough pressure to withstand bumps or possibly drops or pocket pressure without fracturing the tube. Pressing sideways on the drip tip applys a good bit of leverage down at the base. Having my Silver Bullet standing upright on a hard surface and then fall/knock over generates a good amount of impact shock as well as lateral force on the tank (tank is smaller diameter than the Silver Bullet cylinder and so is still suspended without support when the SB smacks flat on it's side).

I'm first going to see if I can find a semi-permanent sealer/glue solution. Silicone sealer hasn't worked out so well. It seals fine but loses it's adhesion. I do want to be able to disassemble it so I don't want a totally permanent bond. I may risk trying 2 part epoxy glue next time I take it apart. I'm guessing one might have to destroy the tube to take it apart but you should be able to remove the epoxy from the aluminum with heat. I may try epoxy with the flexible (thick walled) pvc tubing I have. I really like the shock/impact proof qualities of that. With a 3/4 to 1" length it's still fairly rigid.

I wonder how nylon tubing would do? Haven't found it in clear yet, always translucent.
 

Quick1

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Hey Quick, stay away from nylon for anything that is in contact with the juice because nylon absorbs and swells.

Good point... Not only fit but I think juice goes bad after about 3 months. I was thinking maybe nylon might stretch somewhat. It would be neat to have a press on tube that didn't need o-rings or sealant. Might be worth trying it and just swap them out every month or less?
 

Sputnik

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Yes. That would be my last resort though. I don't have a lathe. It does have a center hole so I could fix it to a drill and turn it to keep it round. It would still be hard to keep it square (straight edge and not a conical cylinder). The most readily available "standard" tubing over here would be 5/8" I.D. with a 1/16" wall. So the O.D. would be a bit smaller (more sanding :)).

The o-ring thing is a hassle I haven't dealt with yet. Very little margin (if any?) where it provides a full seal and at the same time enough pressure to withstand bumps or possibly drops or pocket pressure without fracturing the tube. Pressing sideways on the drip tip applys a good bit of leverage down at the base. Having my Silver Bullet standing upright on a hard surface and then fall/knock over generates a good amount of impact shock as well as lateral force on the tank (tank is smaller diameter than the Silver Bullet cylinder and so is still suspended without support when the SB smacks flat on it's side).

I'm first going to see if I can find a semi-permanent sealer/glue solution. Silicone sealer hasn't worked out so well. It seals fine but loses it's adhesion. I do want to be able to disassemble it so I don't want a totally permanent bond. I may risk trying 2 part epoxy glue next time I take it apart. I'm guessing one might have to destroy the tube to take it apart but you should be able to remove the epoxy from the aluminum with heat. I may try epoxy with the flexible (thick walled) pvc tubing I have. I really like the shock/impact proof qualities of that. With a 3/4 to 1" length it's still fairly rigid.

I wonder how nylon tubing would do? Haven't found it in clear yet, always translucent.


Did you try Aquarium type silicone? Give it a shot if not. Its actually PURE silicone, the hardware store stuff typically isnt,even if it says 100%. Aquarium type silicone is the only type I have ever been able to seal a cnc machine cabinet with, nothing else has ever worked.
 

Persis

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Sep 14, 2010
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Yes. That would be my last resort though. I don't have a lathe. It does have a center hole so I could fix it to a drill and turn it to keep it round. It would still be hard to keep it square (straight edge and not a conical cylinder). The most readily available "standard" tubing over here would be 5/8" I.D. with a 1/16" wall. So the O.D. would be a bit smaller (more sanding :)).

The o-ring thing is a hassle I haven't dealt with yet. Very little margin (if any?) where it provides a full seal and at the same time enough pressure to withstand bumps or possibly drops or pocket pressure without fracturing the tube. Pressing sideways on the drip tip applys a good bit of leverage down at the base. Having my Silver Bullet standing upright on a hard surface and then fall/knock over generates a good amount of impact shock as well as lateral force on the tank (tank is smaller diameter than the Silver Bullet cylinder and so is still suspended without support when the SB smacks flat on it's side).

I'm first going to see if I can find a semi-permanent sealer/glue solution. Silicone sealer hasn't worked out so well. It seals fine but loses it's adhesion. I do want to be able to disassemble it so I don't want a totally permanent bond. I may risk trying 2 part epoxy glue next time I take it apart. I'm guessing one might have to destroy the tube to take it apart but you should be able to remove the epoxy from the aluminum with heat. I may try epoxy with the flexible (thick walled) pvc tubing I have. I really like the shock/impact proof qualities of that. With a 3/4 to 1" length it's still fairly rigid.

I wonder how nylon tubing would do? Haven't found it in clear yet, always translucent.

Quick, reading about the problems you have to find mm tubes, and how to solve your problem, you can do other things, and there are several things you can consider:

1) acrylic tubes do not fracture because the disk + o'ring fits very tight, that's no good, but is not the reason. The tubes fractures because it happend, is a characteristic of extruded plexiglas, the manufacturer told me that, even before I bought the tubes, this material can fracture by being in contact with many liquids, and it seems that our e-liquids are within that group, even if nothing is doing pressure over the acrylic. The acrylic tubes works great but there are not for ever, because of that we must think in spare tubes.

2) You can reduce the diameter of the disc as well asdaq says, but if you do this, you will probably also need to deepen the O-ring gland or search for an o´ring with a less diameter section but a smaller diameter section perhaps let too much space on the sides of the gland and that is not good. There are certain rules to be followed for an O-ring.

3) The O-rings should NOT go extremely tight, because it is not necessary, if the disc enters the tube very tight and then you can not easily remove the tube by hand, is wrong. To build housing for o'ring must follow these guidelines, though trial and error is the best as always:
Static O-Ring Gland Design - Static Radial Applications

I have done several discs for the genesis, (you've probably seen my pics), of ss and aluminum, for orings mm and inch, with one gland and two, etc etc, and in my experience I say it's quite difficult to find the perfect fit gland. So in your case perhaps be best not to touch the disk, and yes play with the acrylic, you can do that, and you can always have easily another piece to work with.

I know you dont have a lathe, but, you can grab a 15,875 mm ID tube with a hand drill and sand down it a little with 500 grit sandpaper only on the parts that fits on disks, you only have to sand down 1.3 tenth of a millimeter, it's easy, and if you do it wrong, you can do it again and ready.

3 recommendations:
- The inner edges of the tube should always be perfectly polished because if not, it would hurt the oring.
- Do not go with another material such as nylon
- Do not look a great solution with silicone or sealants, because probably you will not get it, and you will lose the property of mechanical assembly provided by the oring.
 
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Persis

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Very good info 'persis'. Are we sure Acrylic is the best material w/ all the other plastics out there?
yes, absolutely... with the plexi you can rest assured that even blood may contain, but I do not recommend to vape blood :lol: ....

are some considerations, cleaning it with alcohol turns it opaque, and as I said, does not last forever, and it is not scratch proof. For me it is the best chice.

There is something better, borosilicate glass, but if it falls it breaks easily.


What about syringe plastic? It's softer and doesn't seem to break w/ my smaller cartomizers I made.
works, I have used them of course... , but absolutelly it dont have the properties of the plexi and I'm not sure what chemical reaction can happen with liquids afetr few days.

...............................................
 
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Quick1

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Thanks for the link. I may experiment more with o-rings... have to buy an assortment. I don't believe the juice I'm using is a factor although it could be (100% vg, 26 ml nicotine, dekang tobacco flavors). There is no crazing. When there is a failure it has always been a single crack at the bottom. Not sure if that is indicative of anything. The first one cracked within a day. The second one lasted weeks.

Good point on polishing the inner surface. With a sharp edge it just grabs/slices/smears the o-ring so I beveled the inside edge -- but I didn't polish it after. Makes sense that would cause it to grab the o-ring rather than sliding over it (doh).
 
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