Building A Computer Part 1

Ok, I would be the first to admit that I have been lackadaisical about blogging. So many things have happened over the past three weeks that I just have not had the time to post some new things. Although, that could be a good thing because I have a lot to write about now. Here's a list of things that I would like to post (not necessarily in this order):

1) Building a new computer
2) Steam engine project
3) Career fairs
4) My new GT I-Drive 1.0 bike

So, without further ado, let's talk about how to build a computer. As a side note, other people may have their own opinions about how to build a rig.

CPU

So, generally, choosing a CPU (central processing unit) is the first thing that one should do. The two main companies that manufacture these processors are AMD and Intel of course. I will mainly talk about AMD since I tend to be loyal to that. So after choosing either one of those, you need to think about what you will be using your computer for. A computer that will not be used for high-end gaming does not need a dual -core processor like AMD X2's or FX's. So, a lower end processor like AMD Athlon 3200+, 3000+, etc will do. However, if you are into gaming like I am, one would require a higher-end processor as well. Luckily, processors nowadays are becoming cheaper and cheaper. An AMD X2 6000 about a year ago would cost a fortune, but nowadays, I was able to get one for about $170. Really, it is an awesome processor, even though it's very power hungry. With the stock fan, I am able to overclock it up to 5% making it better. The 6000 comes at 3.0Ghz and it can be overclocked to 3.15Ghz. Some processors are shipped with their overclocking capabilities unlocked like the AMD FX's which are quite good as well. Now, if you want to compare different processors as it performs with different games and programs, it can be checked easily on different websites like www.tomshardware.com.

Really, there's much more to choosing a CPU than games and programs. After choosing that processor, we can then choose a motherboard.

Steam Engine Part 3

So, I've been putting it off for a few days. I actually wanted to post several things but I just didn't have the time to. Like I said before, I wanted to post something about building a new computer. So, at this point, my blogging goals are: 1) process of building a new computer system 2) continue posting about the steam engine project 3) getting an internship/job during or after college Number 2 would be the quickest. Does anybody remember my very first post about this steam engine project? It was a failure so it shouldn't be too hard to remember. Basically, it turned out all lopsided and deformed because we had too much water in the sand and really, we were rushing it. Anyways, we were able to find some that were in a lot better condition, but still not in top form. So that's when the milling process came in. Vertical mill was the type that we used to cut the deformities off the aluminum frames. My friendly neighborhood Wikipedia explains it better:

A milling machine is a machine tool used for the complex shaping of metal and other solid materials. Its basic form is that of a rotating cutter or endmill which rotates about the spindle axis (similar to a drill), and a movable table to which the workpiece is affixed. That is to say, the cutting tool generally remains stationary (except for its rotation) while the workpiece moves to accomplish the cutting action.
Source: Wikipedia-Milling Machine

So the entire process was cool. In a matter of seconds, your material can be smooth and polished. To me, the advantage of using a milling machine over a lathe is that parts of the mills (endmills, etc) in a milling machine don't have to be switched out during th process. Instead, the actual part that you want to mill is moved (rotated, etc). However, this is not true for the lathe. When using a lathe, the part is stationary while the different drills,etc. are replaced. So which one would be more efficient in the end? Well, I believe that the milling machine would be a little bit more efficient because one doesn't need to switch out the different endmills, etc. However, it is said that a lathe is able to do ALL of the functions of other machines. But why would you want to do that if there are faster ways?

Steam Engine Part 2 (aka Let's Melt Some Metals)

Alright, this is the second part of the story on my steam engine project. I'll try to keep it brief this time. Last time, we completed the frame portion so now, we worked on the cylinder part used for the actual piston assembly itself.

Basically, we used this machine called Lathe which is quite spectacular really, when you first use it. Good ol' wikipedia helped me out on this one.

A lathe is a machine tool which spins a block of material to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or def ormation with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object which has symmetry about an axis of rotation....

Metalworking lathes are commonly provided with a variable ratio gear train to drive the main leadscrew. This enables different pitches of threads to be cut. Some older gear trains are changed manually by using interchangeable gears with various numbers of teeth, while more modern or elaborate lathes have a quick change box to provide commonly used ratios by the operation of a lever.

Source: Wikipedia-Lathe

So there, you have it. Check out the site for much more descriptions. Anyways, I decided to post some pictures of the cylinder. Enjoy =].

Facebook To The Rescue

In a world where social networks like Facebook and MySpace are becoming more and more popular, it's very easy get caught up in all the madness. I remember getting a Facebook account when I was a Freshman in college and I could remember a time when I depended on Facebook for news and information about my friends-seriously, phones and hanging out are way overrated. No, actually, I think that Facebook was a waste of time; however, I still use it for some reason =). The ever so useful Wikipedia reports that as of July 2007, Facebook has over 34-million users worldwide. With numbers like that, you should be able to find your friends or anyone easily right? Right.

Well, at least one person should be thanking Facebook. CNN reports that a victim of a hate-crime attack used Facebook to recognize the suspect.

After the attack, the victim started looking on Facebook to see if he could find the person who attacked him, according to Lt. Alberto Jova of the Metropolitan Police Department's Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit.

When he found a profile of someone who looked like his attacker, police investigated, then created a photo spread of possible suspects. The victim picked Cooney's photo from the photo spread and Washington police worked with Georgetown University Public Safety officers to arrest him.

Source: CNN - Victim Uses Facebook To Finger Suspect

Well, if you ask me, that racist b#$tard should rot in jail. It makes you wonder how many friends he had on his list. This would not have been possible if it weren't for Facebook. Now, if only Facebook could give me back the one million hours that I wasted....

Let's Melt Some Metals!

So, I have a bit of free time today (which is rare) so I am actually going to write something.

Since I am writing my very first actual engineering post, I believe the foundation is a good topic to start with. Any products such as cars, bridges, houses, and even a chair will require some sort of manufacturing process put into it. Sand-casting is of particular importance to me because it is a method that we use in my Manufacturing Process class lab. It is quite simple when you think about it, albeit the dangerous aspect of it. So what is sand-casting really?

No, I am not going write a report about this but I will try to explain the process. Really, sand-casting is just what it sounds like-sand + casting. Although, you cannot use regular sand; green-sand molds which is not necessarily green, but it should contain a little bit of clay and water for bonding. Patterns come in different forms and sizes but really, it is important to make the pattern slightly bigger to compensate for the shrinkage that occurs when the metal cools down. So we start off with a metal container that could be separated from the middle (becoming two separate parts) with the top part being cope and bottom being drag. So basically, the pattern is attached on the molding board (think of it as the floor) of the drag. Next process is kind of crazy!

We shovelled a bunch of sand on a sieve (aligned on top of the drag) and shook it continuously which causes a bunch of smaller sands to fall onto the drag-process is called riddling. Seriously, I do not know who came up with the term "riddling" but it sure is tiring (especially if have to do it so many times). Fast forward to the fun part, assuming that we rammed the sand as hard as we could every time, the sand should be pretty tightly packed-which is good. Last thing we want is the sand collapsing. We removed the pattern then we created a hole through the sand (should lead to the pattern) so we can pour the metal into it. Has anyone ever seen the process of melting a metal?

For this particular project, we used aluminum which was melted on a furnace. I know this may sound crazy-but, seeing molten metal in person is almost a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was marvelous. Dang, it took a while and it was obvious how powerful that furnace is from the noise it was generating. Seeing molten metal in person was quite astounding. Just the thought of metal not having control over its form at such high temperatures was crazy. Other students were taking videos and pictures with their camera phones but I thought that was a little weird. So we let the metal cool for about thirty minutes.......BIG MISTAKE.

The metal piece that we built had so much deformities that it was not even funny. Thirty minutes was not sufficient and it was probably the amount of water that was responsible. See, the water in the sand did not have enough time to evaporate so it probably reacted with all the high pressure vapors in the casting---->really, ask a chemistry major for the actual explanation because I really do not know. Good news is that 90% of all the metallic parts formed that day were defective. It is always nice when the mistake of a lot of people can quite nicely cover yours =). So, I brought home an actual deformed metallic part. In case you were all wondering about we were going to use these parts for, it is supposed to be for a miniature steam engine which is quite nice. Currently, we are building the piston in lab.

The shortcoming of sand-casting becomes obvious when you try to mold a very detailed pattern. Also, sand-casting itself, is not a very controlled process. Slackers could skip a few rammings and they could end up garbage. A different process would be required for those parts with really intricate details such as die-metal casting. Unfortunately, the actual die-metal casting process is beyond the scope of what we cover in lab although I may talk about it later in future posts if I am in the mood.