u/Abject_Grand_2358

Hey everyone,

I’m a relatively new mechanical engineer and do not currently have a mentor, so I’m hoping to get some advice on a manufacturing/design challenge.

We have a drive dog with a somewhat complex geometry that was historically produced as a forged brass component with corrosion-resistant plating. A few years ago, it was transitioned to a copper-infiltrated powdered metal part. Unfortunately, the supplier has now lost the tooling, and replacing it will require approximately $12,000 in new tooling investment.

Before committing to that expense, I’m exploring whether there may be a more cost-effective manufacturing method.

A few details:

• The part operates in a relatively low-torque application.
• The system is protected by a shear pin, so the drive dog is not intended to be the sacrificial failure point.
• There are secondary machining operations required, including the shear pin hole.
• The component is generally enclosed within the assembly but may be exposed to humidity and cold temperatures.
• Corrosion resistance is important, which is why I’ve considered transitioning to a grade of stainless steel and eliminating the plating operation.

Some options I’ve thought about include:

1. Replacing the powdered metal component with a metal injection molded part.
2. Machining the part directly from brass or stainless steel stock.
3. Switching to stainless steel and eliminating the plating requirements.
4. Revisiting a stamped-brass design.

One complication is that we have a very similar part currently produced from cartridge brass stampings, but the supplier has struggled to reliably add the shear pin hole because the material is relatively thin and soft.

For those with more manufacturing experience:

• What manufacturing processes would you evaluate first?
• Is replacing the powdered metal part with stainless steel a reasonable direction?
• Are there cost-effective options I may be overlooking?
• At what production volumes would you favor machining versus investing in tooling?

Any advice on how you would approach this evaluation would be greatly appreciated. I’m trying to develop a logical decision-making process rather than simply replacing the lost tooling by default.

Thanks in advance!

Finally after almost two years of stomach issues I have a diagnosis.

I got a parasite from contaminated water, dientabmeoba fragillis. I couldn't afford the 8k in antiparasitic drugs but finally treated it almost a year after finding out. So that's my root cause

Prior to getting the right medicine I was prescribed metronidazole and tinadizol (or something). These made me sick and didn't eradicate the amoeba. Symptoms for better after the parasite treatment but didn't go away. Was retested to ensure it was truly gone.

Now another year later I found a doc who would test me for sibo. Hydrogen sibo is my diagnosis. Currently take NAC, glutamine, turmeric, an eye supplement, magnesium and quercetin. I have been struggling with increased eye floaters painful intestines specifically the low left. Gas gets trapped in large quantity and I have to do yoga and manually stimulate to get it out.

Been eliminating foods that cause the majority of my symptoms but I think its affecting the rest of my bodies. The floaters gum recession and overall fatigue has been tough. Any advice for moving forward. Been considering iverogast, and atrantil because the rifmaxim will take a while to get.

Since my root cause is treated do we think it will come back after antibiotics?

I work with large, pressurized metering devices, and historically we’ve used impacts to tighten flange bolts. No torque wrench was used, so if the assembly passed the hydro/water-tight test, everyone was happy.

Recently we had an inventory issue where stainless bolts were ordered instead of the B7 bolts we’re supposed to use. That raised concerns about the major difference in torque requirements between stainless and B7 hardware, which snowballed into a larger discussion about needing to hit specified torque values on every flange every time.

The challenge is that these meters are bulky and top-heavy. Applying 500 ft-lbs manually is difficult without nesting the meter or clamping it down somehow. Right now, that’s not part of the process.

I don’t have much experience with torque multipliers, but I’m wondering if they actually help reduce the likelihood of the meter rolling/tipping during torquing. I understand the total torque is still there; the gearbox is just multiplying input torque. So intuitively it seems like the reaction forces still exist. Does the stabilizing/reaction arm make a significant difference in practice?

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Looking for practical, minimally intrusive ways to safely and consistently torque large flange assemblies without redesigning the whole setup.