Help me identify a strange bolt.

OK could use some help here.

I have this strange bolt. I need like 120 of them to finish a project. They are a standard part off a set of $$$$$ optical tables we bought like 20 years ago though and there are no engineering drawings and according to the company that made them everyone who worked on the project is dead or retired.

Looks like this.

Strangest this in the outer thread diameter is 19.5mm or .7677. Pitch is 2.5mm or 10 per inch. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I am confused, or need more coffee. Anybody seen something like this, I thought that M bolts only went to whole numbers above 10 and non of my taps are big enough or the right pitch.

I think the word we might use here is "proprietary".

Streetwiseguy wrote: I think the word we might use here is "proprietary".

If I have to crank them all out myself I would kind of make sense. The ones I have are fantastically made but some of the dimensions are metric and some are standard like dead on, IE the ball is exactly 1 inch to like 0.0001 and there is no part number or machine shop identifier anywhere.

They look like leveling feet for a robotics table, but without the pad. Except for the fact that the ball is huge......yeah I'm no help

Is strength a big issue? I'm seeing a 3/4 inch bolt, drilled 3/8" in the center of the head and threaded to hold a ball on top with a tapered head capscrew. Would certainly compromise shear strength, but it would make you a thing, and all you'd need to find would be balls of the right size.

Like this

Foot

cmcgregor wrote: They look like leveling feet for a robotics table, but without the pad. Except for the fact that the ball is huge......yeah I'm no help

Quiet you!!

Problem is I have like 500K worth of these tables and they are already drilled out for this bolt pattern. The metal does ok but corrodes due to the solvents, its the plastic feet that fit on that I really need to replace. The 3D printed ones just cracked immediately under the 1.25 ton weight of the tables and equipment as you would expect and to machine them is just hideously expensive out here for some reason. Like 250$ a pop and I would need almost 400 of them.

Hoping that I could find a threaded rod or something close and do a metal cup foot on the bottom.

cmcgregor wrote: Like this Foot

Exactly like this but with at least 2 inches of thread and a REALLY BIG foot. Might order one of those up and see if we can just make and extention and weld those to the end.

In reply to wearymicrobe:

LOL

Well, that was no help since you're looking for an alternative solution. I can check the ones we have here, but I know Bionex builds custom tables - maybe call them and see if they'll give you their source?

cmcgregor wrote: In reply to wearymicrobe: LOL Well, that was no help since you're looking for an alternative solution. I can check the ones we have here, but I know Bionex builds custom tables - maybe call them and see if they'll give you their source?

I am a Newport table shop as they can take a serious serious beating and you can clean them with things that would kill a lesser table. I ordered some 3/4 rod just to see if somehow they have deformed over the years or all of our calipers are out of tolerance by .15. Worst care I can break out the welder.

FYI I have one of those tables that is 12x8 foot in total length.

That's a big table.

That's way heavier-duty than anything we have around here, our stuff is not nearly sensitive enough to require that kind of support. I was just suggesting calling them up and seeing if they'll give you their source for those feet, since I sincerely doubt they (Bionex) manufacture them.

I suppose waiting until February and bringing one to SLAS is probably out of the question, right?

A machine shop can make those no problem. Either a guy with a screw machine or a lathe.

Whomever quoted you $250 wants you to go away. That is a less than 5' part on a twin spindle lathe.

Slippery wrote: A machine shop can make those no problem. Either a guy with a screw machine or a lathe. Whomever quoted you $250 wants you to go away. That is a less than 5' part on a twin spindle lathe.

Got a call back form the vendor, looks like I am right and its a one off. Got a few of the plastic feet under the scope and they honestly look hand cut on a lathe. Will send it out for a real quote tomorrow cannot be that expensive.

M20x2.5? The tips of those thread don't look very sharp, maybe enough to explain the missing .5mm (~0.020"). McMaster carries a few leveling feet in M20.

How about using a urethane disc and take a 1" ball end mill and put a dimple in it. Or do it with aluminum.

In reply to wearymicrobe:

I deal with a machine shop that does a fair bit of prototyping and reverse engineering of obsolete parts. If you want I can swing by there and show them your pic, if they are game to build some I'll get thier contact information to you.

Ball mill plus a few cases of hockey pucks?

The major diameter is 19.5, but what is the minor diameter?

Any chance the minor diameter matches something standard that could have the OD tuned down to match what you have?

Yeah, I would charge you $250 to set up and do one or two, but since I can walk away from the machine while it cut the next few hundred, it should get a lot cheaper. Maybe $10 cheap or less?

Rather than make the bolt, would it make sense to make an insert to re-size the hole so that you could use a more common foot?

In reply to wearymicrobe:

It would take a lot less effort to make the plastic piece. It can be machined or molded. Rapid prototyping can work, but it is typically expensive and doesn't always allow for the right material. A mold might be the best bet so you can choose a tough, chemical resistant material.

I have worked with a similar situation. I was able to transition from fragile Rapid Prototype to molded final components in a few weeks with the right vendor. You have already made a rapid prototype. You have the dimensions, find a mold shop.

If you plan to mold it, I've had good experiences with these guys in the past:

Supermold

I'm not sure if it's still the case, but the deal used to be $5k plus the cost of resin would buy you the tool plus the first 1,000 pieces.

Is the floor so irregular that you need the big foot on the bottom? How about a grade 8 head on the floor and a lock nut near the table?

That thread isn't 3/4 - 10?

Dan

In reply to 914Driver:

I just mic'ed a 3/4"-10 tap at .7575".

It could be metric, or as previously mentioned, proprietary.

I can't believe a company would use a proprietary leveler. And the ball head does not have a finish that would /could give a +- of .0001. You can check the thread with a nut from your local hardware store. My guess is 3/4-10. This company has a full line of levelers. http://www.californiacaster.com/products/leveling-mounts

Chas_H wrote: I can't believe a company would use a proprietary leveler. And the ball head does not have a finish that would /could give a +- of .0001. You can check the thread with a nut from your local hardware store. My guess is 3/4-10. This company has a full line of levelers. http://www.californiacaster.com/products/leveling-mounts

Got to have a foot there is a 1K robot on top swinging around and generally making a mess.

That was just the crappy one I pulled off to take a picture the others are much better machined. Like spookey high tolerance and finish work. M20 rod is on order as well I can always use it in the future. Its definitely measuring M19.5 OD like three guys have checked it now but covering the cheap bases first.

Got a call back form a local shop who can rush the order if it actually is what we think it is at 20$ a piece for 100 minimum order. The plastic is even cheaper at that if I supply the material which I have.

Thanks All.

It looks like a larger clutch fork pivot ball from a NV transmission!