BackYard Engineer

X2’s Beginnings. X2 started right after I built X1. I found that my first design was a little too wobly and a pain in the neck to remove a jambed piston in the cylinder. I decided that there had to be a better way. The Idea was to separate the pressure from the chamber; to have it segregated meant that I would gain a little flexibility in the machine.

New Material. X2 no longer uses aluminum rods. I found that although aluminum is a softer metal and easier to machine, it simply doesn’t have the tinsile strength of steel. This presents both an answer and a new problem. Steel does not conduct heat as nicely as aluminum, so the new machines will require additional lower watt heat. I will begin carrying 150 Watt heat elements in the next couple of weeks.

New Feature. In the old machine one of the main problems that I found was that the cylinder would slip every once in a while. Specifically when I was removing the piston. This started to drive me crazy because everytime I wanted to do a new injection I would have to realign the cylinder with the Top plate. I give that a pain in the ass factor of 10. My newer chamber plates eliminate that by having a special notch cut out to fit the cylinder.

Perpetual Problem. To date my nozzles are still not yet perfect. I really wish I could produce these nozzles at a much cheaper cost however there is a direct correlation of quality to cost. For me to create a perfect nozzle requires 5+ hours of machining, and the nozzles are still not threaded at this point. This is primarily caused by both my lack of skill and my resistence to learning it. What I am going to do is simply inform you that my nozzles are sometimes going to leak when to much pressure is applied. I can tell you however that I have changed the angle of the seal from perpendicular to a 5 degree pitch which gives a much tighter seal. So although it may leak, it is still a bit nicer then before. Figured I’d let you know.  If you have the ability to produce my nozzle design for cheaper then $85 please contact me I would love to make them for $20 if possible.