My last post about this project was over a year ago, wherein I mentioned that I had purchased the aluminum stock to make the main parts of the valve unit. A lot has happened since then, to the point where…
Category: Monotype Composition Caster
Now I know…
…why the Monotype manuals say not to raise or lower the pot unless it is molten. They never explained why this could cause any problems, and the pump piston linkage is jointed enough to follow the pot up and down…
It’s Getting Real
I actually went out and purchased some aluminum stock for making the computer control valve for my Monotype. That’s a piece of 1″ aluminum square bar which will make the mouthpiece that fits against the air holes in the caster’s…
An Interem Solution to the Pneumatic Valves Problems
This week I’ve been occupied with (finally) putting away all the display mats I bought last year at the Anderson and Skyline matrix auctions. They have been cluttering up the shop since last summer with their variety of packaging. I…
Tagged with: Jim Rimmer
More information on Matrix pneumatic valves
This week I was having another look at the pneumatic solenoid valves I want to use to run my Monotype from a computer. I was somewhat disappointed that the valves I had were the Normally Open (N/O) type and designed…
Cleaning up unearths a treasure—a month late
I did a round of cleaning up in the shop, partly to search for my missing mat holder, and partly because I picked up more parts from Don Black. While cleaning up, I found the box of stuff I picked…
Measuring air valve spring strength
In addition to poor flow when open, the other shortcoming of my stock of surplus Matrix pneumatic valves is poor sealing (leakage) when operated in NC mode, where the shutter spring is the only force holding back the flow of…
Measuring air valve shutters
Looking deeper into the poor airflow observed on my stock of surplus Matrix pneumatic valves, I did a subjective measurement of the airflow on each port, on a scale from 0 to 5, using a 20PSI supply. At zero, the…
Pneumatic valves for Monotype computer control
The most expensive and bulky aspect of making a system for computer control of the Monotype composition caster is the pneumatic solenoid valves. You need 31 valves, and they typically cost $30-$50 each. They are generally large enough that they…
Cleaning and refilling the Monotype pot
For the casting job I have coming up I want to use Monotype medium alloy (74/10/16% Pb/Sn/Sb) rather than the softer Linotype alloy (84/4/12%) currently in the pot, which I was using to cast spacing. To do this, I got…
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