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Key Clam Impressioning Shells

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LocksmithArmy

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 12:59 pm

Key Clam Impressioning Shells

sooo... I was running some designs through my head... I think I can make these tools better than any i have seen on the market... and probably cheaper too.
image_scale.jpg


I will upload a picture of my draft when i get home and draft it (shouldnt take too long, I can even do an animation if ur interested) Mine will be made of durable plastic (probably acrylic) and you can provide your own clay...

I was just wondering if anyone would like to jump in and get this tool when i order the parts I will just order more for each person that wants one. my design is 4"x2.5"x1" so its about the size of a cell phone (a little bigger these days). how I get these parts is I draft the design and send it to a cnc milling place and they make the parts and i assemble them... rather simple right.
I can make any tool this way if you have any requests for neatoe tools let me know... but i can only do this in plastic for now as i have not found a metal company i like yet.

basically it works by putting clay in as shown, putting a key in the clay and closing the "clam" and it will push the key in the clay... then you pour liquid metal of some sort in and you have a key... or you can stare it down and cut ur own key from a blank... or you can use fimo clay and make a mold that way... just something fun that will come in handy for those that may need it. or something to play with for those that done...

and i wont sell these just to any member, you need to be a respected member, not just a log in to get this tool kind of guy. respectablness will be judged by me. feel free to comment or pm me if you want one or have any ideas to make it better...

and i only plan to do this once and i dont plan to order extras so if you are wanting this tool you need to jump on it nowish
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uklockpicker

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:21 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

Nice work Lsa , ive not seen anyone on here toil with the idea of key Impressioning yet , Nice work and very well thought of - Also there are some very good but old books/literature on key impressioning ..... But im sure youve already read them as uve said before you have stacks of pdf ect ... :cool:
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LocksmithArmy

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:39 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

haha yes i have a few... im not changing the idea or how it works... but I am making it cheaper... so far im only making one part instead of 2 different parts (cutting costs from the start) and adding a couple new features to help remove old clay and what not... im right now researching what plastic can withstand the 110degrees celsius(230 degrees farenhight) gthat it takes to bake fimo clay. PMMA can do it but it aint as cheap as others that may do it.
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LocksmithArmy

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:33 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

Here is an update...

I have finished the drafts and an animation...
Clam Shell.png

this is the draft, you can see how it will look when complete, im open to suggestions for improvements, it costs me nothing to get a quote for an updated part so pleas ask away...

the whole thing is 3"x2"x1" so its rather small


here it is working, Im no animation specialist... so thats the best i could do, you might want to make if tull screen to see it better.
in reality i think im going with the PMMA acrylic because it can withstand the heat... only issue is it will be clear... so what, itll look more like the image not the animation.

they will not come polished, this means there will be tool marks on it... a quick polish will remove these marks
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uklockpicker

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:54 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

im impressed no further questions your honour :D

Looking 4ward to seeing this in fruition :wink:
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LocksmithArmy

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 8:46 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

sooo i updated the desind again
UpdateBalls.png


these balls and indents will keep everything ligned up whilst you get your impression

I did have one more idea, i wanted to add a clip to the sides of the front so when you close it you can clip them together and lock it... so i wont come open in your pocket... but i dont have the contacts to make the clasp part... i can add the area to this design but i cant make the clasp... that and i think that will break rather quickly... but who knows...
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the lockpickkid

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:03 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

Neat idea, any thoughts on what kind of metal to pour into it?
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geardog32

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:13 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

question: so you place clay in both sides of the clam and make them nice and flat, do you then apply some sort of grease or lubricant to keep the two sides of the clam from sticking to each other when you want to pull it apart and retrieve the key? (powder maybe too)
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LocksmithArmy

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:22 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

yes lubricant of any sort really... pam cooking spray, talcom powder... anything to keep them from sticking... do this before and after you impression your key
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sandman

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 10:29 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

can you melt plastic into the impression, and let it harden to room temperature? you dont need a clip to hold it together, a rubberband will do fine.
how much will this baby run for?
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LocksmithArmy

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Post Tue Sep 14, 2010 10:38 pm

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

plastic, metal, gel... anything you want... jello keys lol
i will be able to answer all the price questions tomorrow im waiting on a quote
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aka.decoy

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Post Wed Sep 15, 2010 5:03 am

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

Cool. Awesome stuff, LSA. I humbly have some questions for ya-

-I'm sure the CNC comp. can machine aluminum as easily as the PMMC...or are they strictly plastic, or does that material cost more? (Sorry if i read your post wrong)

-will dowel pins (horizontal) cost less than bearings for alignment?

-if they say vertical pins then the hinge wouldn't work unless there's some slop in the hinge. But I know you didn't want to make 2 pieces costwise...

-You mentioned that you're saving money by making it one part...but aren't they machining it as 2 separate parts and pinning the hinge together after? (just wondering, for clarification)

-If a clasp isn't looking too good, you could also ask them to drill, tap, and counterbore for 1 or 2 allen head screws opposite the hinge end or have a thru hole drilled for a machine screw and a wingnut to hold the mould together. Or, like sandman said a rubber band or small C clamp should do the trick. (if temp. is not an issue for the rubber band melting.)

-Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense, I'm a little loopy off my amoxcicillin allergic reaction and benadryl. G'nite!
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aka.decoy

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Post Wed Sep 15, 2010 5:16 am

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

could parchment paper be utilized in any way? Or is that too much of a hassle with the key shape?
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s1deshowmick

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Post Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:58 am

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

That's what i like to see, a new cheaper good quality option to an old expensive version with no other option.

Keep up the great work LSA.
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LocksmithArmy

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Post Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:59 am

Re: Key Clam Impressioning Shells

aka.decoy wrote:-I'm sure the CNC comp. can machine aluminum as easily as the PMMC...or are they strictly plastic, or does that material cost more? (Sorry if i read your post wrong)-

well wehn i started doing buisness with this company it was cause i needed plastic parts... but upon furtutre inspection they can handle aluminum and brass... wow that made my day...
ill check prices of the finished part to see if either is cheaper but if i use metal it wont pass a metal detector (which wont matter to most of you but it is something i wanted to defeat)

-will dowel pins (horizontal) cost less than bearings for alignment?
good question... they are not bearings, they are actual half balls wticking out of or cut into the mold... but it may be cheaper to use pegs but it also may not work if i use pegs... ill try

-You mentioned that you're saving money by making it one part...but aren't they machining it as 2 separate parts and pinning the hinge together after? (just wondering, for clarification)

they are machining the 1 piece 2 times then im putting the hinge pin in... this saves them time to re configure their machines to cut a second style of part. and if i want to do injectionmolding in the future for mass quantities it will only take 1 mold instead of 2.

-If a clasp isn't looking too good, you could also ask them to drill, tap, and counterbore for 1 or 2 allen head screws opposite the hinge end or have a thru hole drilled for a machine screw and a wingnut to hold the mould together. Or, like sandman said a rubber band or small C clamp should do the trick. (if temp. is not an issue for the rubber band melting.)

I really wanted to avoid the screw thing... thats just silly to use a screwdriver(or allen wrench) when its a simple hand tool.... finger screws maybe but tapped holes cost much more, and the finder screws would stick out more. if i wanted to leave an indent for a rubber band it would make it thicker... but its not a bad idea... or just put a rubber band on and deal with it lol...

aka.decoy wrote:could parchment paper be utilized in any way? Or is that too much of a hassle with the key shape?

I have no idea what your talking about here...

hope that answered all ur questions
Last edited by LocksmithArmy on Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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