RTV diaphragm
RTV diaphragm
Has anyone here made their own custom diaphragm by layering fabric and rtv or plain silicone? It'd be nice to be able to make the exact shape and weave-strength orientation you want. You could even cast in some metallic portions. Any tips?
Re: RTV diaphragm
I haven't tried bonding it to a cloth backing, but I made an RTV diaphragm for one of my Stirling generator that worked reasonably well.
I used a balloon stretched over a tin can, I forced some of the air out to give the balloon a slight satellite dish shape. Next I spread a
thin layer of RTV over the balloon. Once the RTV was set, I could peel away the balloon, leaving just the RTV diaphragm.
You can see a video of it here : [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdlDP2Udg2g[/youtube]
I used a balloon stretched over a tin can, I forced some of the air out to give the balloon a slight satellite dish shape. Next I spread a
thin layer of RTV over the balloon. Once the RTV was set, I could peel away the balloon, leaving just the RTV diaphragm.
You can see a video of it here : [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdlDP2Udg2g[/youtube]
http://www.scraptopower.co.uk My web site, Stirling engines and AE stuff.
Re: RTV diaphragm
Thanks Junkie. Did you use anything between the balloon and the rtv? I would have thought they would bond tighter than that. Neat video, though it's been a half-hour and I can't get past 0:47. I almost never watch videos because I'm on dial-up and usually get more out of diagrams anyway, but I always like to see folks stretch the bounds of every-day materials.