Actually I might think about the other things, but it's not a lawnmower blade so rocks aren't a very big worry for me.
I think parts of my car and 1 ton truck (like around the brakes) are cast iron, so I don't much fear using it myself, though it is heavy.
As I think about it, the rear axle housing supporting the entire wieght of the 1 ton truck and everything I put on it is also cast iron. This take the force of everything and transfers it to the springs and tires, also holds the bearings and gears that drive the wheels hitting all those bumps.
I geuss I don't worry about cast iron much except for heating it for welding and the weight of it.
And I still preffer cast iron engine heads and blocks any day over these junk aluminum things.. nothing to lose
Spelin and tpying are my strong points, not electronics.[ Parent ]
http://www.matweb.com/index.asp?ckck=1
And if you go forward and acctually find someone that makes and sells it in PLATE FORM, Post here and let me know. I've since moved on and am looking at Steel now.
Several of the Stainless Steel ALLOYs are low on the magnetic spectrem do to low Iron Content and by no means is ALL Stainless steel that magnetic. I've got a 1/8 inch thick SS door Kick plate ( ie: The silver plate at the bottom of a resterants kitchen door ). I can't get a NEO to stick to it in the vertical possition without GLUE. Turns out it has a Iron content of less than 15%. GREAT if RUST is your worry. On the other hand I dropped the same NEO in the home SS sink and nearly broke my fingers getting the dam thing loose. So I really had to wonder why my sink hasn't Rusted away.....
It's the quantities of those other elements that Aelric was mentioning that makes the difference. So with that said, Steel with a high (Fe)Iron content alloyied with STUFF like Nickle(Ni), Manganese(Mn). As it turns out the more corrossion resistant the Steel is, The less benificial to the flux path. So again it's a game of Trade-offs. Then again a good enamel paint job could make up the difference. Stainless Steels 410, 416, 430, 434. These seem the best blend of iron content ( 80 to 85 %) with a fair resistance to rust and structuraly sound for a fast spinning disk. I really can't coment on Carbon steels as I've found little in the way of element contents for it. I would imagine the same holds true about them aswell.
As a SIDE NOTE to thumbnail101's original question, I've kind of been wondering if a cast iron Ring embedded in say an aluminum disk or SPOKED steel wheel might not work. It's probably making more work for myself and I question the possible benifit values of doing so. Dollars to Dougnuts kind of thing.
Hehe, Well thats my BOOK on the subject. Sorry for being so Gabby, Cafine buzz....
.Chaos reigns within. Reflect, repent or reboot. Order shall return.
Derek
whether you should use a iron rotor over a steel disk, is an entirely magnetic question, the strength of the rotors will be comperable with any kind of thickness. the cast iron is slightly lighter than steel (higher carbon content).
allan[ Parent ]
so i take back what i said, them rotors are pretty tough.
Alway's looking for way's to use my scrap cars for material.Barn's burnt down--now--I can see the moon.
Laminations are to interrupt parasitic "eddy" currents in the magnetic pole pieces, reducing the losses that occur when they create drag and heat the pole metal, converting some of your mechanical power to waste heat.
If you got your sheet steel pieces smashed together REALLY CLOSE, so they didn't have little air (or paint) gaps for the mag field to jump, they'd do about as well as a solid piece. Otherwise they'd do worse.[ Parent ]
Cast iron is convenient because you can get brake rotors cheap, they're already the right shape and size for some designes, with holes in the right place, designed to mount on a very good (and cheap) standard bearing, can be easily made flat by standard brake-job tools, etc. Cast iron rusts out somewhat faster than steel. But brake drums are thick, so it will take a long time. Also: you can epoxy-paint any of the exposed metal that isn't already buried in epoxy from mounting the magnets. (No heat issues with the rotors.)
Steel is easier to work if you're having a rotor custom-made rather than recycling a used brake disk.
rotary laminations would seem to perform worse than solid, but you could use them if you had them. but unless you have old cars like me, you will be cutting alot of sheet steel to make any kind of thinkness. also, you are going to find that almost no surface on any car is completely flat, unless its a jeep :)
as far as strength is concerned, i dont think that anyone suggested that you mount the blades to the magnet rotors directly. cast iron does not take that kind of fatigue well enough. but for issues like foreign object contact, you could hit the average vented rotor with a sledge while it was turning, and its not going to fly apart at room temperature.
hot tip: ford suv's with rear disks often use a small drum brake inside the hat on the rotor as a parking brake. with those as your two rotors, if you cand find a way to keep the parking brake working, you could have automatic overspeed or manual lock down, inside the rotors.
allan
