HFU HF Underground
General Category => General Radio Discussion => Topic started by: ThElectriCat on December 18, 2018, 1716 UTC
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Sorry for the tease subject, but I think I may be on to something.
First, something about me. In my other life, I am a potter. I dig up mud from the ground, shape it, glaze it, and make tableware.
I have a serious interest in the design and use of industrial furnaces and kilns, vacuum firing, special materials ETC.
That being said, it would not be too long a road to tool up to make custom ferrite cores, and with luck I could be able to produce repeatable results on call within a year or two.
So, what I am looking for is interest. Is there an interest in the radio and hobby electronics community for custom ferrites?
any shapes, sizes, frequency ranges that are difficult to get or heinously expensive?
Does anyone need anything that is not commercialy available?
if interest exists, I may seriously consider setting up to make custom shapes in small batches. if not feel free to tell me I am just letting my mind wander and that there is no point.
Thanks ---EC
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Please see your pm box.
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I could do with a large 2" square binocular core. I usally use toroids as they are cheap, plentiful and predictable. Type 2 or 6 material or the type 43 ferrite.
Str.
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Unfortunately, the chemical composition for the types are not always so easy to find, my best bet would be to make the same shape until its characteristics match. A 2 inch binocular core is what I actually thought would be a good choice, I have looked for potcores too in that size, but they are fantastically expensive unless you want many of them.
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Apparently flat bars were popular with the fsl guys, but no one is making them anymore. Bars could be used in a lot of configurations.
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Flat bars would probably be about the easiest shape to make.
My biggest disadvantage is that commercial ferrites are pressed in custom machined steel die to many tons of pressure per square centimeter, I do not have access to such equipment, and even if I did, The cost of making a new die for a custom shape would necessitate selling many thousands of parts in that shape. I am going to use the older laboratory method of slipcasting in plaster of paris molds. The difficulty is in preparing a slip that is only 25 to 35 percent liquid (probably water or alcohol) in which the dense ferrite particles will not settle out. I have done this before with silicate minerals, but never ferrite.
PS. I dont really like trade secrets, so I will gladly share any process details I find or methods I use, when I try this.
Feel free to pm me if you have questions/advice/criticisms