Dune Spice Harvester Scratchbuild

Thanks for the reference photos. Yes, I have them. I've been collecting every image I can find. I just found this really cool one today:
lynch.jpg

I didn't know about the 'making of' book. I'll have to check that out. Thanks.
I'm going to hunker down and try to produce a decent set of blue prints to work from.


Peter
 
Just such a cool movie and cool designs used in the movie. Thank you for showing us your build up of the spice harvester.
 
Hey everyone.
Here's a brief update. I'm still building the forms that I'll be vac-forming over. In fact, I'm on my third iteration :(
I think this new version is a lot closer to the real deal, so hopefully, third times a charm.

In the meantime, to keep from going crazy, I've been giving some attention to other parts of the model.

Here are some photos of some work I've done on the wheels and a detail I'm calling the 'potato masher.'

Since the wheels are egg shaped, I hunted down some eggs that were close to scale.
eggs2.jpg


The plastic egg was hopeless. It sanded horribly and I couldn't get any glues to stick to it. So wood it is.

I needed to drill the egg down its major axis. I made a quick cradle out of some styrofoam and held it in the vise.
graceunderpressure.jpg



There's still plenty of detail that needs to be added. The idea for now is, I'll make one detailed Master, then cast them in resin. (there are 8 wheels!)
cutdrilled.jpg


Here are some shots of a fixture that I made for marking the locations of the treads that are radially distributed around the egg.
it's a styrene tube with an off-center channel cut in one end and a styrene scrap cut to fit the eggs profile
egg-fixture.jpg





This styrene contour can rotate around the egg allowing me to draw the center line of each tread. I'm going to print out an angle guide that this will sit on, so all I'll have to do is line up the styrene to the marks on the paper and make my pencil line.
egg-fixture2.jpg

I've offset the styrene sheet by half it's thickness so the lines will originate in the center of the egg.
eggtop.jpg



Another fixture that I built was to help glue up the 'potato masher', pointed to here in a photo of the full sized hero model:
DuneSpiceHarvester1.jpg


This fixture is a thin sheet of aluminum (.040" thick) with the cross section of the potato masher cut out of it. Below that is a sheet of .090" basswood with the same shape removed. in the center is a fixed stainless rod.
finfixture.jpg


A styrene tube fits over the rod.
wtube.jpg


Then the 12 'fins' of the masher are glued in one at a time using Tamiya extra thin cement
testfit.jpg

I haven't removed this from the fixture yet, I still have to make a few more fins.
I may beef this up a bit with some Apoxy Sculpt to make it look more like a heavy casting. We'll see.
Hopefully I will have more to show soon. Thanks for visiting.

Peter
 
Last edited:
I finished my vacuum former! Here are a few 'in progress' shots if anyone is interested..

The design is based around the 'Corning Electric Table Range' circa 1974, which I managed to score in a 2nd hand shop for $6.-
It has very even heat across the whole top surface, while the frame itself doesn't really get hot at all. Plus, I really like the slim form factor. (all that and fake wood veneer and gold trim.)
P1040102.jpg



Here's the vacuum motor. Found on ebay


P1040107_1.jpg



Heater support frame. Made from some 1" square aluminum tube and angle.


P1040103_1.jpg



Simple MDF box


P1040108.jpg


Frame to support plastic made from aluminum bar. The seal is a high temperature silicone gasket


P1040104_1.jpg



Forming surface

P1040099_1.jpg



Everything fits pretty well. The frame rides between the square tubes smoothly and the heater sits nicely in the frame. I have a ON-OFF-ON switch thats rated for 25A. Up turns on the heater, down heater shuts off and vac comes on. That way I don't blow any circuit breakers.
P1040111.jpg



Let's move to the garden, shall we? I've added some kitchen cabinet magnetic latches to hold the frame against the heater. I had to move them from the original position, because they interfered with the frame opening.


P1040117.jpg


hopefully next update there will be some plastic to show ...

thanks for looking
Peter
 

Attachments

  • P1040102.jpg
    P1040102.jpg
    105.5 KB · Views: 56
  • P1040107_1.jpg
    P1040107_1.jpg
    121.8 KB · Views: 66
Last edited:
Photon, nicely done! Couple of thoughts: one, what is the internal arrangement of the 'box'? Any reduction of the evacuation plenum volume below the forming table will help with the 'draw'. Second, do you have a means for pressure relief once the vac reaches max. Perhaps a simple hole with a spring loaded cover plate, drilled into the side of the plenum. The relief 'flapper' spring should be adjustable so you can best match the tension to the suction.

Regards, Rober
 
Thanks guys.

Robert, If I understand your question, yes, there is a reduction of volume. Here's a sketch and photo to help explain. The sketch is not to scale.

Here's the underside of the plenum. There are 2 sheets of 1/4" MDF glued up. One is just an open frame, the other continuous. On top of that is a .040 aluminum sheet.
The top of the box has a 1.125" hole that lines up with the intake on the vac. So only the narrow space under the plenum is evacuated. The larger box is at atmosphere (or slightly higher because of the exhaust.)
P1040109.jpg


Maybe this sketch will help clarify a bit...

Untitled-1.jpg


As far as a pressure relief...no. When the vac isn't running the plenum is vented. Do you think it's needed?
 
Last edited:
Last thing first, I'm not sure but I expect you will to improve the motor's longevity (it may already have one built in...) How you'd do it with the current installation, I'm not sure. I didn't have one on a 'shoebox' vac-form I made, but it would then collapse the shoebox (yes, it was literally made from a cardboard shoebox!) when the pull was 'done', signalling for a quick shut off of the vacuum cleaner I used as my suction.

The relief is needed once all the air is pulled out so to prevent the motor sucking against a blockage (the formed part) plus to prevent the suction actually sucking a hole into the part. Usually a moveable, spring loaded plug is used to close a connection to atmo so when the suction peaks, it pulls the plug open and vents to the intake. Adjusting the spring's tension is how you set it to the correct resistance. Perhaps if you had a space plate atop the motor, it would give you room for a vent. But again, the vacuum motor, being made for such work, may already have a relief built in. Just gotta test it with a blocked platten to see.

R/ Robert
 
Thanks for your interest.
This project is temporarily on hiatus. I restarted several times because I was unhappy with the basic forms. Then I eventually got a bit burnt-out/bored with it for the time being.
I've since started another model.
However, I still intend to finish the Harvester and I recently came up with an entirely new approach that I'm really excited about. So when I finish my current project, I plan on jumping back on board. Watch this space for details.

Here's photographic evidence of past failures. This isn't even all of it, just what didn't get tossed in the bin.

-p.
failure.jpg
 
Top notch work!!! l appreciate the perfectionism in you, on another note I love synths I still use my old JX 3P and D-50 Roland also had a mini Moog at one time just classics!

GFollano
 
I still use my old JX 3P and D-50 Roland also had a mini Moog at one time just classics!

GFollano
I loved my JX 3P, limited but all I could afford at the time, a valued bit of kit though. I got it out of storage a while back and it no longer works. I'd like to get it repaired but not knowing what the problem could be it might be a financial rabbit hole. Also snagged a DX 9 from an old keyboard shop for £50 years back. Again, limited compared to the DX 7, and at the time I was looking more at analogue gear but I have to say FM really charmed me and may even have won me over in the anologue/digital debate. Had my eye on a D50, a really dirty but gutsy synth!

With a Tascam porta 7, EMU esi 32 sampler and Atari those were the days!
 
I loved my JX 3P, limited but all I could afford at the time, a valued bit of kit though. I got it out of storage a while back and it no longer works. I'd like to get it repaired but not knowing what the problem could be it might be a financial rabbit hole. Also snagged a DX 9 from an old keyboard shop for £50 years back. Again, limited compared to the DX 7, and at the time I was looking more at analogue gear but I have to say FM really charmed me and may even have won me over in the anologue/digital debate. Had my eye on a D50, a really dirty but gutsy synth!

With a Tascam porta 7, EMU esi 32 sampler and Atari those were the days!


Cool to hear!!! I love my D50 some very rich synth sounds, I had paid it over $1000 back in the days and still works great, I did need to take it part a few times to clean and change some of the key rubber sensors, I was suprised thats you can actually still find most of the parts for it.
 
This thread is more than 6 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top