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  #1  
Old 01-05-2017, 12:47 PM
Kent_323is's Avatar
Kent_323is Kent_323is is offline
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Default Custom Aluminum Diesel Tanks

Here are some aluminum fuel tanks that I designed and built for the all terrain track chair project I'm currently working on for a client in a wheelchair.
1/8" 5052 aluminum bent & rolled, and TIG welded together.
There is a left and a right, and they are exact mirrors of each other.
I designed the tanks in CAD, had the shapes laser cut out, and then I formed/rolled them to shape and TIG welded them together.

Here's a video of the design & assembly process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4nGm5jG_aw

I will have some more metal forming projects coming up as I work on some filler panels on the cab, and firewall.
If you want more info about the project, you can follow this link:
http://kustomsbykent.com/all-terrain-track-chair-attc/

Thanks
Kent
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Researching sheetmetal shaping and forming, starting to buy the tools and practice the techniques

My shop projects: www.kustomsbykent.com
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  #2  
Old 01-05-2017, 01:59 PM
Gareth Davies Gareth Davies is offline
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That looks an interesting project Kent so it will be nice to see some more photos as it develops.
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Old 01-05-2017, 10:02 PM
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Thanks Gareth.
I've been posting progress photos on my Kustoms By Kent facebook page.
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Eastern South Dakota (work & home)

Researching sheetmetal shaping and forming, starting to buy the tools and practice the techniques

My shop projects: www.kustomsbykent.com
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  #4  
Old 01-05-2017, 11:01 PM
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Kerry Pinkerton Kerry Pinkerton is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kent_323is View Post
Thanks Gareth.
I've been posting progress photos on my Kustoms By Kent facebook page.
Probably 80% of the more experienced shapers don't do social media. It's a generational thing. You may not care but I want folks to understand that just posting things to FB or other social media sites doesn't generate the exposure you might think.
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Old 01-08-2017, 10:32 PM
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Kent_323is Kent_323is is offline
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Kerry brings up a good point about facebook vs the guys here. I'll add some more info and pics...

The fuel tanks on this project were really the first items that really fall within this subject matter of metal shaping. I designed them before I had bent any of the aluminum, so I ended up making a special rolling bender to make the smooth large radius bends. I made one prototype tank that required some cuts to make everything fit, and after that made a few modifications to the bending process, and then I got the 2 production tanks to bend up and fit up with no cuts or modifications to designed flat pieces.

A majority of the project so far hasn't been metal shaping... a lot of design and fabrication for suspension (air ride) with hydrostatic drive for the tracks. The vehicle is fully radio controlled, so you can drive it remotely. Quite useful for parking it where the wheelchair can't go, or loading it onto a trailer.
It has a secondary alternator and rear PTO, as well as a 12,000 lb winch. The ramp in front raises and lowers so a wheelchair can back directly in/out, and then it will have a fully enclosed cab, with heat, side opening windows, and the front windshield will open via air cylinders and gas shocks to allow the wheelchair to get in/out.

I have done all of the work on this project, from the design, to the metal fab, tube bending & rolling, aluminum tig welding, electrical & electronics.

I've been working on this project for almost 2 years, and the first 1.5 years I was in China working, so I only worked on the fabrication every 6 months when I came back to the US. During those visits, it was an intense period of 2-3 weeks of fabrication, then back to China (corporate job) where I worked on design of this project in my spare time in preparation for the next visit back to the US. Fortunately, we finally moved back to the US in Aug for good. 5.5 yrs in China was enough!

You can watch videos of the project progress if you follow this link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...HEjSNpCyGB1dO8

I've learned a lot on this site, there's a lot of members that have some really cool shaping projects!

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Eastern South Dakota (work & home)

Researching sheetmetal shaping and forming, starting to buy the tools and practice the techniques

My shop projects: www.kustomsbykent.com
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Old 01-08-2017, 11:02 PM
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Kerry Pinkerton Kerry Pinkerton is offline
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That's neat Kent. There was a TV show a couple years back about a couple twin brothers who had a fab company called Howe & Howe Tech. They made small remote controlled tracked vehicles for the military. Same kind of look as yours.
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Old 01-09-2017, 04:34 AM
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Gojeep Gojeep is offline
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I love the tracked vehicle.
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Old 01-09-2017, 10:25 PM
scranm scranm is offline
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can you post more pics of your radius brake? thanks
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  #9  
Old 01-09-2017, 11:21 PM
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Kent_323is Kent_323is is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scranm View Post
can you post more pics of your radius brake? thanks
Here's some more pictures.

I call it a rolling folding table. It is based on a folding table style sheetmetal brake. Typically the upper stationary fingers on a folding table have a very tight radius, and so you get a tight bend radius on sheet metal. Typically in the range of 0.050" to 0.125". You can control the radius a little bit by shifting the upper die back. But I needed a large radius, so I replaced the upper stationary finger with a larger radius shaft or pipe. Then, in order to make the sheet metal follow that radius, I needed the bending arm to follow the radius, so I made arms with various holes, and mounted another shaft and/or pipe on that. So when you make a bend, it's rolling the sheet metal around the radius you desire. It's almost more like my tube bender in functionality.
By changing out the stationary shaft or pipe that acts as the upper die, I can modify the radius. In this case, I had a ~1" radius, and a 3.5" radius to achieve.
The outer one that is being rotated around is just there to help roll it around, and the radius doesn't matter.

This made the bends very consistent, and it rolled those radii so much nicer. 1/8" 5053 Aluminum is no joke trying to bend when it's 12+" wide.

For the really large radius like 12", then I just used it as a fixture to hold the sheet metal, and then hand bent it up in increments.

Hopefully that helps!

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Kent

Eastern South Dakota (work & home)

Researching sheetmetal shaping and forming, starting to buy the tools and practice the techniques

My shop projects: www.kustomsbykent.com

Last edited by Steve Hamilton; 01-10-2017 at 09:23 AM.
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  #10  
Old 01-09-2017, 11:22 PM
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Kent_323is Kent_323is is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gojeep View Post
I love the tracked vehicle.
Thanks Marcus!

Here's a fun video of it out testing in the snow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOVskBY7B9c
I have made a lot more progress on it since that video.
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Researching sheetmetal shaping and forming, starting to buy the tools and practice the techniques

My shop projects: www.kustomsbykent.com
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