Jan 22 2011

Aluminum

I just returned from the 2 pm show of  Aluminum at the Performing Arts Center.

A while back, I saw an advertisement for Aluminum inthe papers and have a secret  love for the metal.  I enjoy it as much as using fiberglass.    I like aluminum because it shiny, easy bend, holds it shape, inflexible and unforgiving nature and the creative easy to work, forgiving, complex to work with, high tech BUT difficult to fabricate nature of fiberglass.    I would love to build an RV aircraft someday.

The news paper add showed a shinny round tube of Aluminum with two legs sticking out (M? or F?)    Quite a visual image!   …. heck, why not go I thought.

aluminum.jpg

I had no idea what I was getting into when I purchased the ticket.   This week a short  article about the show appeared the Post and Courier.   I quickly scanned the article and in one sentence the story could be summed up as: 

A BIG tube of aluminum drier hose which gives birth to a tiny baby drier hose THEN the parents and baby tube get separated THEN begins the quest of reuniting the baby (which has many interesting adventures with new friends) WITH the sad, lonely, distraut parents aluminum tubes who are desperately searching everywhere for their missing young one. 

After reading the article,  I scratched my head and I thought “WOW, how lame is THAT?”     I can watch the CBS nightly news and see the same story line.  Heck wasn’t it this week a woman who was living in New York and stolen at birth was reunited with her biological parents in Alabama or am I just imagining it?  It was a big deal on TV (I think?)     

Now I am going to see a bunch of aluminum tubes with the same heart breaking problem.  Got the ticket…got to go.

While I was walking up to the PAC with ticket in hand I happened to notice TONS of kid.   Kids everywhere.   Chatting with to a couple of parent I found they too had no idea of what the show was about.  The  kids were bringing them in tow.    Hum, I guess I am not alone in blissful ignorance.    Surprise me Aluminum I thought. 

And surprised me it did. The creative use of small and large aluminum tubes made of mylar was just amazing.   The blend of “human” and “human hybrid tubes” and “mechanical puppetry” was incredible.  This show just works. 

It is a HIGH energy, energetic music  show with great performers and creative use of props.  Visually stunning Aluminum is simply an over the top production.  A fantastic unusual show which will delight you.    Easily, this is one of the best shows I have EVER seen at the Performing Arts Center.

I was drawn into the story, was dazzled by the imagery and thoroughly enjoyed the non stop action and surprises.   Aluminum is definitely a stage show which should be featured at the 2011 Charleston Spoleto Festival.   It would be the must see, most talked about, killer show of the year.    

Here is a Youtube link for the Aluminum show

If you EVER get a chance to see this production GO.   Definitely, GO!   Get a seat dead center about ten rows from the front.  You WANT to be right up front so you can get involved in the audiance interaction, the characters and props.  You’ll have a blast! 

Take the kids (5 yrs old on) and your parents if they have even a minimal abount of motor and cognative skills (basicly they are still breathing).   Both young and old will have a fantastic sensory experience none of you will never forget.

Copyright 2011
Nick Ugolini

Jan 22 2011

Wire Lacing

I think the epitomeof a good wiring job is how the wires are bundled together.  When ever I look at someones wiring, I look at how the wires are grouped together, are they in nice straight lines, do the corners have radius’s, etc.  Good wiring is an art as well as science.

The most important aspect of wiring is how the wires are grouped or bundled.  Lets say you have a 100 wires, it is not a good idea to bundle them all together.   The problem is that when trouble shooting you can’t determine which wires goes to which plug or if you need to test a wire or spice into one, which one is it?  If you have 30 white wires in a big bundle you’re got a problem. 

In production shops identification information is actually printed on each wire.  I dont have the luxury of having a dedicated piece of equipment to do this.

A better way is to bundle wires is to separate them into smaller groups for a dedicated purpose.  An autopilot bundle, a trim controller bundle, etc.  This way if there 8 wires in the bundle, you can figure out the purpose of the bundle is and therefore what each wire represents.

There are a number of ways to fasten the wire bundle together.   The easiest and quickest way is to use zip ties.  I dont like them but they have their place.   They are heavy and the little cut ends (if you are not careful to trim the properly) will slice your hands when reaching around them.   Boeing decided to stop using them in the 747’s which saved them over 400 lbs per plane.    Granted, I am not using tens of thousands of them in this plane but you get the point.  Besides I think they look unprofessional, they can squeeze the wire to tightly, or not tightly enough. 

The “old fashioned” and I think the best way of  bundling wires is using lacing cord.  It is bee’s wax coated polyester cord and is the standard for the aerospace industry.   I think it looks great, is very light weight and wont cut you.    The only issue with lacing cord is that it is a bit time consuming to use (although I am getting faster with practice).   When done properly it is very artistic.   

When I went to the National Air and Space museum in Washington DC, I marveled at the wiring on the old NASA space craft.  All the wire bundles were beautifully stitched together.  Nice even knots and they used techniques I couldn’t even find on the web.   Wire lacing is truly an art if done correctly.

Here is a picture a wire bundle using individual knots. 

Fairly easy to do, but as I was sitting (butt getting sorer by the moment) I remember seeing on the web techniques for “continues” lacing, so I did a little more research and printed out some instruction sheets.  Continuous lacing uses a starter and end knots and a repeating lace stitch between them as you just move down the wire bundle.  I think it looks fantastic and is much quicker than individuals knots.  Not as nice as NASA, but I am getting better and faster.

Here you can see the left bundle with a continuous lace stitch and the right bundle with individual knots.    The continuous  lacing looks much better for sure…

I plan to lace as many bundles of  wires I can.   Sure makes for a good looking an professional job!