I had a moment of clarity ( or was it insanity???) recently and got an idea I want to run by the RC Universe family.

I have a potential design for a rivet machine that would allow someone to detail their planes in less than an hour. It would allow the wings AND fuselage to be done in minutes. The fuselage could be rotated so that you don't have to remove it in order to do all sides. You would be able to do the rivets in virtually any design you choose with a single pass. You would be able to select the type of rivet (i.e. size, slotted vs flat etc) as the unit will be fully adjustable in multiple axii. The most time consuming part of the process would be the set-up of the machine. There would be manual and powered versions available ( manual version first then powered version at a later date).


IF this could be manufactured at a price between $100 - $150 would you be interested??

One of the issues I have with all the methods I've seen to make rivets faster than the traditional burn in primer, or glue drop, is that there is no way to change the spacing. You need to be able to adjust the spacing to match the actual aircraft you are modeling. Take a look at a lot of planes and you will find that not only are there different size rivets, but the spacing of the rivets are different from one area to another on the same plane.. Also, there are double rows and offset rows to deal with too. There would need to be methods of dealing with these variations for it to be of interest to me.
Please don't take this as a knock, or to discourage you, they are simply issues that matter to me that I offer for consideration. Advancement and improvement in tools and methods are always great endeavors. If it did all the above, it would be worth every bit of the $100 -$150 you suggest. I would be happy to have a tool that simply made it easier to apply the rivets in a straight line.

Scott

All good points that I have considered in my design. My machine is designed to be able to reproduce different size rivets simultaneously!! The spacing will be totally adjustable in multiple axii and will allow you to reproduce different patterns simlutaneously with the multiple adjustable heads.

If anyone has ideas for features this machine shpul have LMK.

This is also something that scale builders would be more interested in. You may want to post it in the scale forum too.

if you build it, we will come.   Just a joke.  Seriously tho, build it first.  Take pics and vids of the actual product.  Im not saying this is a scam.  I am just wary of something that claims to be able to do so much.  The detail you speak of is enormous for that price.  If its real I would love to see it.

If I was you, just patent it and sell the design to TF

That sounds like a good idea. May just do that.

TF, as in Top Flight (Great Planes), I assume? As soon as they buy the rights to something, then realize they can't sell ~10,000 copies per year, they will shelve it.

Would this device also be size selectable? For scale purpose a rivet on a 40% scale plane is obviously much larger then a rivet on a 15% scale plane. I like this idea.. kind of curious now, although I'm not a scale buff, it does sound interesting.

Your right with TF I mean Top Flite, and like that it can be Dubro, or other manufacturer that maybe is interested on such excellent idea.

Yes; rivets will be size selectable. You could even have different sizes at the same time. The beauty of the design is the simplicity. I have some more work to do but it is very encouraging at this point.

I say just Build it and they will come

" I say just Build it and they will come "

And if there is any money in it, the Chinese will copy it and flood the market at a fraction of the price, regardless of patents.

Les

So true!!