Re: Adding rubber cleats on tracks? Joe Sommer help! [TANKS]

["WJ" <WJ-at-vdtogt.nl>]

Mhm, If I read your story about the belts, I would swear you have a
completely different type!  The belts we use came with a spare rod, and
you can just use that one to push out one of the rods in the track to
seperate it.


> All,
>
> I am in the process of getting ready to add my cleats to the Intralox
> belts. One thing that you might want to keep in mind. The nylon rod that
> connects each piece together is a disposal piece. Intralox reccomends
> cutting them when seperating the links.  I tired using a screw driver to
> pull the rod out, but this ends up tearing up the "sidelox" of each link.
> The replacement rods only cost about 10 Cents (US) each.  Rather than tear
> up my tracks pulling rods, I just ended up ordering some replacements. The
> cleats are nice to add to the tracks, but alot of work. Molding and
> casting is not really too hard, I have done resin casting with silcon
> molds.   Good luck to all.
>
> Rob Snyder
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Marc en Wendy
>   To: tanks-at-rctankcombat.com
>   Sent: Monday, July 03, 2006 2:33 AM
>   Subject: Re: Adding rubber cleats on tracks? Joe Sommer help! [TANKS]
>
>
> This is the e-mail Joe sent a while ago.
>
> Marc
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joe Sommer" <anvilus9-at-adelphia.net>
> To: "Marc en Wendy" <marcmethorst-at-zonnet.nl>
> Sent: Friday, June 17, 2005 3:50 AM
> Subject: Fwd: Track Cleats
>
>
>>
>> original message from Chatten per your request
>>
>> Joe
>>
>>>Feel free to use the spare cleats to make masters for the molds. You
>>> need
>>>to mill off the outsides of the track segments, as shown on the attached
>>>drawing. You will also need to remove the tracking tabs.
>>>
>>><http://www.smoothon.com>http://www.smoothon.com
>>>   Mold Max 30 - silicon mold material (requires vacuum bell jar to get
>>> out bubbles)
>>>   PMC-790 - urethane rubber is what we used
>>>
>>>One "Trial Size" of Mold Max 30 should be enough. I will send you our
>>>PMC-790, plus the softer stuff. I also found our aerosol spray can of
>>> mold
>>>release, which I will send along (be careful not to overdo it).
>>>
>>>You will want to find a source for 5cc syringe bodies. They are very
>>>useful for injecting urethane into the molds.
>>>
>>>The best way to make a mold box (for pouring the silicon) is to wrap
>>> tape
>>>around the milled-off track segment. I will send you some photos
>>> tomorrow
>>>of the process.
>>>
>>>Once you have enough silicon molds, you can lightly spray them with mold
>>>release, insert track segments into each mold, and cast urethane around
>>>the track segment. (Try not to get mold release onto the track segments.
>>>Also be sure to very thoroughly mix the urethane, or else it will not
>>> cure
>>>correctly.) After the urethane has hardened, you can peel the mold away
>>>from the track. Some excess urethane may need to be cleaned up. Then you
>>>need to cure the finished pieces in an oven at 175 degrees Fahrenheit
>>> for
>>>a couple of hours.
>>>
>>>Our experience was that the entire casting/curing process for 20 tracks
>>>takes about five hours. You will need about 200 tracks, so allow time.
>>
>>
>> **********************************************
>> Joe Sommer, Anvilus Machine Works
>> 2378 Nantucket Circle, State College, PA 16803
>> 814.234.4773     anvilus9-at-adelphia.net
>> http://www.anvilus.com
> cleat_v4.pdf
>