How to build a machine to beat bats
One of the most sought after areas in bat coiling is how to build a bat coiling machine.
There are several factors that go into building a bat roller. I will break this article down so that you can make an intelligent decision on whether you want to undertake such an endeavor.
Here are some questions that need to be answered before starting a project.
- how the machine works
- Parts and materials
- cost
- Weather
How the machine works:
Before any of these can be answered, you’ll first need to decide what kind of machine you’re looking at.
- perpendicular
- The bat is inserted at 90 degrees to the rollers and can only roll 1 way.
- Parallel
- The bat is inserted from the sides along the plane of the rollers and the entire sweet spot can be rolled at once.
Most parallel machines can roll both ways, but a perpendicular machine can only roll 1. Also, a perpendicular machine will leave flat spots on the bat and won’t roll the entire sweet spot.
We strongly recommend a parallel machine.
The machines work by compressing the carbon fibers and laminates between rollers and then rolling the bat between the rollers. Mainly, the bats sweet spot is the section you aim for during the turn.
Material’s list
- the shell
- Usually made of steel or aluminum.
- Holds the guts of the machine.
- welded or bolted
- top carriage
- Hold the upper rollers
- It moves up and down
- Tolerances are tight
- Aspects
- roller bearings
- thrust bearings
- bushings
- axes
- Do you drive
- skates
- plastic, steel, wood, others
- Tolerances are very tight.
- The center hole through the roller should be fairly exact.
- The rollers are machined on a metal lathe.
cost
The cost to build a machine can be very high… but you can figure the minimum will be over $200, depending on the bearings and roller materials. It will be more because of the state of the art plastics that are used in the best bat laminating machines.
Weather
Building a machine will take some time as you will have to draw the layout and then cut and machine the parts and put the bearings together etc.
The bottom line is that this is a do-able project if you are a do-it-yourselfer with the right equipment, time, and some design savvy. A machining background or a friend who has one would help here.
Another viable option is to buy a Bates Mixer directly from a reputable manufacturer. Here are some things to look for when choosing that manufacturer.
- Reputation
- What kind of machines are supply?
- Do they have various models to suit your individual needs?
- We recommend parallel machines as they give you the best of both worlds and are not limited to a partial run like perpendicular machines do.
- What plastics are you using in your blending machines?
You should stay away from a plastic called Acetal with the trade name of Delrin. He’s really tough and has zero forgiveness.
