Turn Your FX-120i into a Prometheus

[Milo 2.0]

When the GemPro disagrees with the A&D, which one is wrong? FWIW I'll stick with the scale that I bought because the others - including the GemPro - didn't satisfy me.

This is where a set of check weights come in.

 

[Twoboxer]

This is where a set of check weights come in.

Then why use 2 scales?

 

[jlow]

Then why use 2 scales?

New to both scale and autotrickler and so just double checking...

That's part of it but it's actually an offshoot of what I used to do which is I would weight the prime case first, weight powder, put powder in prime case, weight prime case with powder. The weight of the primed case and prime case with powder I would enter into an Excel spreadsheet which already has the weight of the powder to be weight. The sheet subtract the prime case number from the prime case with powder, and then the correct powder weight, this should come out to zero - its double checking and it has been useful for me. It works well if there are a lot of different weights say in an OCW.

A bit difficult to do this now with the autotrickler since the FX-120A is pretty much dedicated to autotrickling and so the other scale. The old method is of course SLOW and so I will only use for reloading where there are multiple different charges. The new way described above is for charging when say reloading for a match where all the charges are the same.

 

[Milo 2.0]

Then why use 2 scales?

To figure out which one is right. Goes back to clowns starting out with a chargemaster and verifying on a beam scale when the load was developed on a chargemaster, but beam scales are always right, lol

 

[jlow]

To figure out which one is right. Goes back to clowns starting out with a chargemaster and verifying on a beam scale when the load was developed on a chargemaster, but beam scales are always right, lol

All mechanical things and electronic things are not failure proof but in my case I was more worried about the nut loose typing this right now. Anybody who thinks that they themselves is not the weak link will find out one day. The key to safe reloading is recognizing each of he weak points and putting in place something to prevent it from happening.

 

[Twoboxer]

. . . Anybody who thinks that they themselves is not the weak link will find out one day. . . .

Now there's something I understand and can agree with 100% lol.

 

[Kiba]

spclark, good idea on the o-rings.

Anyways, got my trickler mods done today.

First up: bore and finish ream both bores in the trickler body in a single setup to maintain alignment. Bore was sized so the bearings are a very light press fit and the bearings were installed with a little added Loctite 609.



Stackup of components on the trickler shaft consists of the following:

2x 0.010" shims on the drive side between Adam's drive pulley and the bearing to ensure contact is only with the inner race of the bearing; without the shims Adam's drive pulley rubs the OD of the bearing and causes a little extra friction.

1x 0.010" shim, 1x spring wave washer, and 1x shaft collar on the spigot side. The shim is against the bearing inner race and the wave washer is between the shim and the shaft collar.




Finally... finished product. Finished assembly runs extremely free and true with no slop and should last a long, long time.


With the last minute thrash on the car project at an end I should be able to make progress on the automated powder throw in the next week or two.

 

[J-rod]

Nice work Kiba!
I did the less impressive mod, man this thing runs smooooov braaah!
Will try to upload a video. Night and day difference.

 

[Cujo]

Nice work Kiba and J-rod! Thanks for the detailed pictures.

 

[jlow]

Nice work Kiba!
I did the less impressive mod, man this thing runs smooooov braaah!
Will try to upload a video. Night and day difference.

Very nice work!

J-rod, looks like you ended up using the MC “Ultra-Low-Friction Dry-Running Sleeve Bearing”. Those have an OD of 3/8” and an ID of .316”. So a few questions.

One is the tube in the trickler I measured out to be 0.311”, so only about 5 thousands clearance – did that worked out or did you have to go bigger?

The other question is how did you drill/ream out the trickler? Did you do an oversize hole or did you do a press fit. If press fit, how much smaller drill bit did you use?

I imagine since your bearings intrude into the trickler body you drill all the way through the body in one shot? How did you line up the initial holes with the drill, did you use a “just fit” drill bit to line with the drill press then immobilize?

Looking for some suggestion since yours was obviously a success.

 

[escopeta]

I like the auto trickler and have had one of the first run. I added dry moly film lubricant to the shaft and it works fine until I can make bushings like mentioned above. I also put a silicone rubber stopper in the tube rear to the little drive pin to keep powder getting all the way back to the green plug. Before I had to really tap on it to get it all of it out when changing powder. Much better now.
I was getting single digit ES with my 6 Dasher using the old dropping kernels in by hand and same results with the Auto Trickler but much, much faster. Think this is a great buy and kudos to Adam for bringing it to us.

 

[1lnbrdg]

I cut off a piece of expanding foam earplug to put in as a stopper on my tube. Worked like a charm.

Just a bit of clear tape to one of my powder pans to add weight until I got them to read the same.

The scale is very perceptive, if I have just a little sweat on my hands, it changes the weight of the pan (as it should).

 

[J-rod]

Thanks jlow. Honestly, I had planned to do it semi correctly but in a rush for time (two little kids) it's more of a hack job.
I brought a .374 & .375" reamer home from work and planned to open the holes up to .373-.374" and ream them to the correct dim. But after I opened them up to .374" (9.5mm drill bit I believe) and chamfering the holes, I got the press for I thought "felt" good if that makes sense. The bushings are so thin that I figured a thou would close them up some to account for the undersized shaft, mine was .311" as well nominal and actually a little less where it had worn on the o-ring side. I haven't measured the bushing to see what it closed up to since they are a tiny bit oversized from McMaster, but the fit is perfect for the low load, low speed application.
Keeping the bores concentric was my biggest concern, but again due to time your guess is correct, just used the tightest fitting drill bit in my press to line up both sides but only drilled one at a time. I flipped and repeated the procedure. The bushings went in tight, but by hand. They definitely won't move do to the press as well as having no axial load so to speak.
If I could do it over again, I would like to drill initially to a few thou smaller and open up to .373 maybe .374" with a reamer but in the end, it turned out exactly how I wanted....but I'm kind of a perfectionist, but I'll get over it I guess lol.
Bottom line, just line things up well and punch out to 9.5mm, definitely chamfer/sand leading edges smooth as bushings cut easily with pressure and a sharp edge.
Hope that wasn't too much of a nonsense reply, I'm having to type this in a quick like fashion...kids...lol.
Good luck! I highly recommend this mod, or anything to eliminate the current configuration.

 

[jlow]

Thanks jlow. Honestly, I had planned to do it semi correctly but in a rush for time (two little kids) it's more of a hack job.
I brought a .374 & .375" reamer home from work and planned to open the holes up to .373-.374" and ream them to the correct dim. But after I opened them up to .374" (9.5mm drill bit I believe) and chamfering the holes, I got the press for I thought "felt" good if that makes sense. The bushings are so thin that I figured a thou would close them up some to account for the undersized shaft, mine was .311" as well nominal and actually a little less where it had worn on the o-ring side. I haven't measured the bushing to see what it closed up to since they are a tiny bit oversized from McMaster, but the fit is perfect for the low load, low speed application.
Keeping the bores concentric was my biggest concern, but again due to time your guess is correct, just used the tightest fitting drill bit in my press to line up both sides but only drilled one at a time. I flipped and repeated the procedure. The bushings went in tight, but by hand. They definitely won't move do to the press as well as having no axial load so to speak.
If I could do it over again, I would like to drill initially to a few thou smaller and open up to .373 maybe .374" with a reamer but in the end, it turned out exactly how I wanted....but I'm kind of a perfectionist, but I'll get over it I guess lol.
Bottom line, just line things up well and punch out to 9.5mm, definitely chamfer/sand leading edges smooth as bushings cut easily with pressure and a sharp edge.
Hope that wasn't too much of a nonsense reply, I'm having to type this in a quick like fashion...kids...lol.
Good luck! I highly recommend this mod, or anything to eliminate the current configuration.

J-rod – great description and sounds to me like a very good job. I am very happy to hear that your .384” drill bit actually did the job as I don’t do metalwork and so don’t have access to reamers which are obviously better suited for the job. As they say, you can say anything you want but you can’t argue with success…. Thanks a bunch for your help!

 

[adamjmac]

FYI I will be incorporating bushings into a new trickler design which will be available as an upgrade kit when it's ready.

 

[kcomeau10x]

FYI I will be incorporating bushings into a new trickler design which will be available as an upgrade kit when it's ready.

Just my luck! I ordered two bushings yesterday.
Adam, thanks for bringing this wonderful set-up to the reloading community. I received mine about a week before Canada Post's expected delivery date.
I didn't want to use grease or oil so I tried a piece of Teflon plumber's tape. Not enough clearance for enough tape to help and the roughness of the trickler wall chewed it up.

 

[Webster]

Rulon is a good choice and should work well, as would oilite bronze.

My bearings arrived today, going to try to spend a few minutes on the mill tomorrow. I also think you can probably get away with using just a hand drill or a drill press, but since I have access to a mill I'm going to use it. With the bearings I chose you can bore all the way through from one side without hitting the bottom of the trickler housing.

Still waiting on a tracking number for my FX-120i, been a week and it still hasn't shipped. I'm thinking Cambridge Environmental didn't actually have 17 of them in stock like their website claimed...

Like your choice of Rulon. I used to have the spec sheet. Solved several big problems with it. Out of at least 25 polymers it has the lowest coeficient of friction and the best start stick properties. Self lube. Best polymer bearing material to run on dry aluminum. They make many versions of Rubon. Different fill materials. Rulon-J should be ideal.

Rulon catalog:
http://www.seals.saint-gobain.com/uploadedFiles/SGseals2/Documents/Rulon/Rulon-Fluoro-Bearings.pdf

 

[J-rod]

Ha! Jlow, my wife refers to me as a "high-tech redneck".
I also had to use my 20yr old tiny Sears drill press that is only sitting on the floor...translation, if I can do it, anyone can!

Good news Adam, are you making a larger hopper and/or any changes to the thread pitch of the feeder tube? If this stuff is top secret then no problem, I can understand completely lol

 

[Cujo]

I opened up the trickler body so I could press fit the sealed bearings that Kiba spec'd in. Locked the bearings in place with green Loctite 609. Just using this setup (sealed bearings only) with Adam's spacers makes it run super smooth and quiet. It is REALLY smooth. Thanks again for the idea, Kiba. The results exceeded my expectations.

I placed an order a couple of days ago with M-C for one locking collar, .010" shims (pack of 10), and wave spring washers (pack of 25). The tough part is that you can't just order a couple of each item but have to buy them in a pack (except for the locking collar). Those 3 items alone were around $26 plus shipping. I'll have 24 of those wave spring washers left so if anybody needs one. . .lol.

I'll install the shims, washers and locking collar once I get them since it should just take a few seconds.


ETA: Extra shims and washers are already spoken for.

ETA2: IMHO, trickler runs better without the shims, wave spring washer and locking collar. I must've purchased the wrong OD shims. Runs great with just the sealed bearings and Adam's spacer.

 

[spclark]

OMG!

I just weighed out 50 'Palma' charges in about 18 minutes, a couple of which were wasted 'cause I dumped a weighed charge into an already filled case.

Clearly Adam's trickler tie-in to an FX120i won't cure screwups on the part of the operator.

But it sure does speed up my reloading!!

Thanks man, you deserve that Tesla! (Hope this market's big enough to buy you one!)