Bent links with sleeved delrin

[JeremyH]

Ha! I can certainly empathize with that. I have a 4 y/o boy and he drives my wraith........anything just shy of an indestructible product on that truck is not gonna last.

It was like I got a pay raise when I got to stop buying diapers...:lol:

 

[Donahue]

Ha! I can certainly empathize with that. I have a 4 y/o boy and he drives my wraith........anything just shy of an indestructible product on that truck is not gonna last.

It was like I got a pay raise when I got to stop buying diapers...:lol:

yeah, the 3 year old is out of them. but ive got a 2 and 1 year old still in them, and another due sept. we likes our babies:ror:

 

[WAM]

i would welcome anyone posting up the specific alloys used for typical ti parts on RC applications. my guess is the really strong ones are too expensive for 90% of the market and that the base alloy would be good enough.

Yeah, I think you're wrong about that. Just looking around I found that Chaotic Crawlers, Blue Monkey, Moes and Lunsford advertise using either Grade-5 or 6AL/4V which is the same stuff. I think Erik D_Lux and Vanquish make their links from 5, but I didn't find it on a quick check.

But it wouldn't surprise me if the ICE threaded rod isn't Grade-2 like McMaster sells. High grade threaded rod in small diameters is hard to come by. If so, it's similar strength to mild steel but less than half the weight. I also agree it's pretty pricey.

 

[JeremyH]

yeah, the 3 year old is out of them. but ive got a 2 and 1 year old still in them, and another due sept. we likes our babies:ror:

Wow. :shock: You are either the bravest person on this planet.....or the craziest. :ror:

 

[Donahue]

Wow. :shock: You are either the bravest person on this planet.....or the craziest. :ror:

probably a little of both with a pinch of meh added in. we will just keep having them until we are unable to. its my own personal army:twisted:

back onto the subject:

Yeah, I think you're wrong about that. Just looking around I found that Chaotic Crawlers, Blue Monkey, Moes and Lunsford advertise using either Grade-5 or 6AL/4V which is the same stuff. I think Erik D_Lux and Vanquish make their links from 5, but I didn't find it on a quick check.

But it wouldn't surprise me if the ICE threaded rod isn't Grade-2 like McMaster sells. High grade threaded rod in small diameters is hard to come by. If so, it's similar strength to mild steel but less than half the weight. I also agree it's pretty pricey.

you might be right about that. after some deeper digging it seems grade 5 accounts for 50% of the alloys used worldwide. its basically the same as grade 8 steel hardware. either way, i dont think i will have much trouble with mine at $1 a link.

 

[WAM]

Depending on how you drive, I don't consider them bulletproof. Keep an eye that bends don't start to buckle and that you don't get some bending at the ends of the rod-ends. Like you say...at a buck a link you can afford an occasional replacement.

 

[Donahue]

i am a feather finger. i could probably keep q-tips running for awhile.

 

[crawl-o-matic]

Ice Links are very much a labor of love. I consider the grade to be a trade secret but I will tell that it is the correct grade for the job. I also went to great lengths to use M4 which is the correct size for the job. You'll have to trust me when I tell you that you're getting more than your monies worth with Ice Links

 

[Donahue]

first, let me state that i do not feel like they are a bad product, or that they are not worth the price to the right buyer. let me also state that i have owned my own fab company and have designed and sold products in a similar manner, just nothing for the RC market.

my thoughts on the matter are simple. with most products, if the manufacturer does not advertise the fact they they use higher grade material, then they likely dont. if they use higher grade material, then their overhead would be higher and they would need to pass that cost onto the customer. most buyers would want to know why they were asked to pay the higher cost, to make sure they were getting their monies worth.

if i wanted to buy a similar product, and the manufacturer would not state a grade or yield strength then that leads me to believe that it is because they do not want to be called out when the product failed under less than advertised conditions. im not saying that is the case here, but i have learned the hard way to be a pessimist and just expect people to be out to take advantage where they can.

with all the philosophical crap out of the way, i think that the proof is in the pudding. if someone upgrades because they keep breaking $10 links, and now suddenly stop having problems, then they have indeed found a superior product. also, peace of mind is certainly worth something.

 

[crawl-o-matic]

Actually, it's a trade secret because if another company wants to copy my design then I want them to have to test all 38 grades of titanium to figure out the grade that works best...it's like a secret recipe.