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01-29-2014, 11:28 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Richmond, KY
Posts: 57
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APEM Switches
I too spoke to APEM about buying a bulk order and peddling out a few switches. If memory serves me right... They wanted something like a $10k bulk order per year. The switch tops are pretty easy to reverse laser engrave.
I do like the post showing www.newwiremarine.com Thanks for sharing.
Chuck
__________________
RV7 in Process
- Empennage Complete
- Wings and Fuel Tanks Complete
- Fuselage In Process
Dues Paid 10/16
http://mykitlog.com/cka357[/url]
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01-29-2014, 01:38 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ooltewah, TN.
Posts: 580
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FresnoR
Congrats!
Long overdue we get a VAFer to make these custom switches!
Let me know if you want the artwork I made my switches from, I'll email them to you, might save you a couple hours. I used Corel but can convert them to almost any file type.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by majuro15
Props to Lynn who has stepped up to the plate. I'm giving him all the info I've found and contacts so he can run with it. He's also got a ton of info himself and has a great start on getting a little side business going which means we can still put these awesome switches in our planes!
Stay tuned and in touch. I did get a bunch of extras in from all over the world in the past couple of weeks. I will work on getting a list of what I have and post on here so folks can start grabbing what they need until Lynn gets up and running.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krwalsh
I can send you my AutoCAD .dwg or .dxf files for my Contura switches if you'd like. I think I ended up with something like 20 etch patterns, but only used maybe 15 of them.
The Contrua switches laser etch just fine, but they are not white underneath. you must paint them to get the contrast.
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Thanks for the offers on artwork! They would be very much appreciated. You can email them to my personal email account of lynn.dixon@gmail.com
I can use pretty much any format, CorelDraw, AutoCAD, Sketchup, etc.
I have been working on the website a little here and there today, but I am covering for several co-workers that were snowed in (I live in the South, and snow causes alot of problems for us) so I haven't had a whole lot of spare time since snow-mageddon 2014 hit yesterday.
To give an update on the laser, I completed the ACH paperwork late Monday, and got confirmation Tuesday from my vendor that I am in que for delivery. They are stating its going to be about a 10 business day lead time from order to delivery, hopefully. I picked up a 45 watt CO2 laser that has a 20"x12" working area. Its a bit overkill for the switches, but I plan on using it for other purposes as well. It does have a removable floor, and I am going to research using it to custom etch/engrave panels as well. While 45w wont cut the metal, it will work beautifully to etch anodizing, paint, or Thermark.
I am hoping to be able to offer custom engraving on the switches as well, for customers whom want something more personal, or geared to their aircraft.
I will keep every posted as things develop....as of right now its looking great, and I am very opimistica and excited to be doing this. Thanks to Tim and everyone in this thread who have helped!
__________________
Lynn Dixon
RV-7 Slider -
Tail kit Completed - March 2017
Wing Kit Started - June 2017
My Build Log: http://www.theskunkwerx.com
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02-01-2014, 07:04 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 659
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For those that are following this thread, I just posted a new thread in classifieds with a listing of all the extra covers I have accumulated through my searching. If you need some now, please check it out and let me know.
__________________
www.N1017H.com
Tim Huneycutt, Capt, NCANG
PC-12 Pilot
N1017H RV-10 Flying 2019
EAA #: 1106970
2020 VAF Dues Paid!
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02-02-2014, 12:13 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ooltewah, TN.
Posts: 580
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Update:
I made a mistake on my ACH paperwork to the vendor and transposed two of the dang digits!! My vendor called me on Thursday, and we got it straightened out, and they were able to run the ACH succsefully first thing Friday morning. This delayed my shipment a few days, as they don't start building my laser until payment has verified posted. They confirmed everything was good by 4pm ET Friday, and my laser is scheduled for prodcution first of next week. Hopefully it will ship out by end of next week.
I am in the process of building the website, and I have decided to use Open Source solutions for the e-commerce platform (I am a Linux admin as a day-job, and a FOSS supporter so it was a natural fit hehe). I have been looking at Magento Commerce, Prestoshop, OSCommerce and a few others.
If you are bored and want to give me some suggestions on which you like best, I would appreciate feedback! Here are some test instances of each one that I have on my test domain:
Magento Commerce: http://www.ftfw.net/magento/
PrestaShop: http://www.ftfw.net/prestashop
OSCommerce: http://www.ftfw.net/oscommerce/
TomatoCart: http://www.ftfw.net/tomatocart/
Honest feedback is appreciated
Also, as a side note: I found out that I will also be able to laser etch and engrave photos and images onto iPads with this laser! I will be offering that as a service as well.
__________________
Lynn Dixon
RV-7 Slider -
Tail kit Completed - March 2017
Wing Kit Started - June 2017
My Build Log: http://www.theskunkwerx.com
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02-11-2014, 11:47 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ooltewah, TN.
Posts: 580
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Laser was delivered today! I have taken the day off from my day job to get it setup, software installed, and some test fires done today.
I have a bunch of switch covers that I am going to use to get the power and speed settings correct. Once I feel confident I have the laser "tuned" to the switch material, I will be ready to start making these things for folks.
Website is coming along well, and I will have it ready for orders soon. In the meantime, feel free to PM me here, or email me at lynn.dixon@gmail.com if you want to get some of these made. I will be happy to share my phone number as well, just shoot me an email or PM for it.
Thanks!
__________________
Lynn Dixon
RV-7 Slider -
Tail kit Completed - March 2017
Wing Kit Started - June 2017
My Build Log: http://www.theskunkwerx.com
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02-11-2014, 12:09 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Fresno, CA
Posts: 479
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CubedRoot
Laser was delivered today! I have taken the day off from my day job to get it setup, software installed, and some test fires done today.
I have a bunch of switch covers that I am going to use to get the power and speed settings correct. Once I feel confident I have the laser "tuned" to the switch material, I will be ready to start making these things for folks.
Website is coming along well, and I will have it ready for orders soon. In the meantime, feel free to PM me here, or email me at lynn.dixon@gmail.com if you want to get some of these made. I will be happy to share my phone number as well, just shoot me an email or PM for it.
Thanks!
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Where is the "like" button? Congratulations
__________________
Rick from Fresno
RV-7A
The art to flying lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
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02-18-2014, 02:59 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 886
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I'm definitely interested in these switches. Can't wait to see how the laser engraving goes!
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03-02-2014, 12:05 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 886
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Any updates? Itching to buy switches.
Thanks,
Russ
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03-04-2014, 12:10 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ooltewah, TN.
Posts: 580
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Hey Russ! Thanks for the interest!
I have made some progress but its been slow. Shortly after receiving my engraver, I came down with some nasty bug. It was either flu or something else, but it had me down for over 2 weeks. I thought I was feeling better at the first of last week, and had planned the entire weekend to get the engraver going, and start making covers.
Then started feeling horrible again. Horrible stuffy sinuses and sore throat and itchy eyes, and overall feeling like poop. I ended up taking a few more days off work, and working from home the rest. Started feeling better around Saturday night, Sunday morning, and hopefully the crud is all gone.
I did however, spend some time on the laser. I actually used my laser to build my jig for the switches, which I thought was kinda neat. Ended up designing the jig in Autocad, and cutting it out of acrylic on my laser. I even managed to try it out on a few covers.
I will admit, my first few covers were....interesting.  One ended up a molten mess (amazing how fast the laser can do that on too high of power) and another ended up a little to light and fine to be any good. After a few more runs, I think I have found a perfect medium of power and speed on my particular laser, and now I am just tweaking the designs to get them to match Aveo's perfectly. I have a couple of Aveo's on hand that I am using as "gold templates" to compare my work to, and with the help of Tim I have some more Aveo's coming for comparison.
I haven't gotten the website where I want it, but thats low priority right now, as I want to master these covers so I can start getting some out to you folks that are interested in hopes of getting good honest feedback from them. Until I get the website up and running we can work from email, telephone, or PM here on VAF.
I will get some photos snapped of the covers I ran so far (even the melted ones for fun!) and post them for you folks to review and feedback on.
My wife has actually spent more time using the laser than I have due to me being sick and she has turned out some pretty cool wood and stone engravings. She engraved a photo of her niece and grand-neice onto a piece of marble and it look really cool.
__________________
Lynn Dixon
RV-7 Slider -
Tail kit Completed - March 2017
Wing Kit Started - June 2017
My Build Log: http://www.theskunkwerx.com
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03-04-2014, 12:40 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 886
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Must be quite a powerful laser to etch stone!
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