Grinding carbon graphite RESPONSES
Randall McFarland, CPO
Description
Collection
Title:
Grinding carbon graphite RESPONSES
Creator:
Randall McFarland, CPO
Text:
Thanks to those who responded!
Original posting:
What Trautman grinder tools have you found to be the most successful when
grinding a relief in a carbon graphite socket? The conventional cutting
tools lose their edge immediately and the solid carbide pineapples last
only a few minutes longer. Do you have a cost effective source for such
cutting heads? I will post responses.
Randy McFarland, CPO
RESPONSES: (separated by a blank line)
I generally use an air-powered dremmel tool with a 1/2 inch sanding sleeve on
it. The last time I bought the sanding sleeves, a bag of 100 was only about
$6
at Sears. Just make sure to wear exam gloves, or your hand will itch forever
Good Luck,
Marcus Boren, CP
We have stopped using carbon, with few exceptions. If we do, we try to
localize it to specific points of stress where the fiber will not be exposed
to grinding (or skin). In my opinion, the weight savings is negligible
compared to the cost, potential health hazards, and very real irritation of
working with carbon fiber. Our technician can make a beautifully light
socket using conventional fibers reinforced with bi-directional fiberglass.
We preshape hard felt arbors and use a kit available from Otto Bock that had
40 and 80 grit sand, a primer for the felt and the epoxy used to bond the
grit to the arbor. I use a light bulb shaped arbor on the inside of our
Starbands. This is a good shape to us inside of cavities. Whittling a felt
arbor to the shape you want isn't very difficult so we have about three
popular shapes and sizes we use. The 80 grit seems to work the best for
smooth finishes after grinding.
the coated felt arbors worked very well on the inside of a carbon-acrylic
socket. The relief we ground was smooth and had no tearing of the layers of
cloth.
Bob Patterson, CO
Original posting:
What Trautman grinder tools have you found to be the most successful when
grinding a relief in a carbon graphite socket? The conventional cutting
tools lose their edge immediately and the solid carbide pineapples last
only a few minutes longer. Do you have a cost effective source for such
cutting heads? I will post responses.
Randy McFarland, CPO
RESPONSES: (separated by a blank line)
I generally use an air-powered dremmel tool with a 1/2 inch sanding sleeve on
it. The last time I bought the sanding sleeves, a bag of 100 was only about
$6
at Sears. Just make sure to wear exam gloves, or your hand will itch forever
Good Luck,
Marcus Boren, CP
We have stopped using carbon, with few exceptions. If we do, we try to
localize it to specific points of stress where the fiber will not be exposed
to grinding (or skin). In my opinion, the weight savings is negligible
compared to the cost, potential health hazards, and very real irritation of
working with carbon fiber. Our technician can make a beautifully light
socket using conventional fibers reinforced with bi-directional fiberglass.
We preshape hard felt arbors and use a kit available from Otto Bock that had
40 and 80 grit sand, a primer for the felt and the epoxy used to bond the
grit to the arbor. I use a light bulb shaped arbor on the inside of our
Starbands. This is a good shape to us inside of cavities. Whittling a felt
arbor to the shape you want isn't very difficult so we have about three
popular shapes and sizes we use. The 80 grit seems to work the best for
smooth finishes after grinding.
the coated felt arbors worked very well on the inside of a carbon-acrylic
socket. The relief we ground was smooth and had no tearing of the layers of
cloth.
Bob Patterson, CO
Citation
Randall McFarland, CPO, “Grinding carbon graphite RESPONSES,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 7, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/218808.
