My contribution to the group.

I have seen what you are talking about in a manual somewhere. I did try that with a couple of wood screws using just my hands to hold the screws, but I don't know if I like that solution because it made the water noisy as it entered the water. However, that could have been just my hands trying to hold the screws in place.

Therons wrote:John, how about trying a water scratcher? Just touch the edge of the water with a small pin or pointed nail where it exits the nozzle and see what that does. I know that some commercial devices use three, small, pointed, adjustable screws placed around the nozzle to scratch the stream to make it more visible.

Nice idea! *SMILE* I tested this last week, i use a stepper Motor to cut, and on one side of the blade i have a needle, that is touching the the stream, works great. For the flash effect in the water looks nice, not that nice like my knocker but nice. Its a similar effect than the water spray technique. I will test the water spray technique with a tiny micropump and test how good the knocking effect in the Light is.

!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you use a Cut Fluid, be carefull, there are a lot of hi Toxic materials out there, ask before use your dealer. !!!!!!
And do not use it in a Pond with Animals and plants!

What i tested also is to use the stepper as a vibraton engine, looks also very nice. But all this things breaks the laminar stream a bit, and when runn all the time .. .no. My light is relly good without a enhancer, but with, its so cool, and i only use just a tiny little drop in the water.

Thanks Mario

Yea I really wish I had the light that Mario have

Here is an idea. And it is edible! It is white food coloring! It is typically used in cakes! hmmmmmmm cake!

http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-White-Liquid-Color/dp/B0000CFN7X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1242136205&sr=8-1

Mario,
How did you come to select the cutting fluid? Did you try other substances looking for something that would cause the water to fluoresce or was this solution an accident?
Just wondering - Theron

Hi Theron

Yes, you are right, i was an accident
I was testing in my laundry, a small room, and play around with the distance of the fibers to the output, a friend of mine had the idea to use a floor cleaning cloth to reduce the splashing at the end. In this cloth was a lot of dirt and cleaning fluid for the floor. From now on the light was visible much better, i cant believe my eyes! But then it start to produce so much foam ... ! NOOOOO! Ok i star t cleaning it. Start again with fresh water, ohh no, just normal bright light? I have new a lathe and i remember this cooling fluid, that is turning into a white milky consistence in tuch with water, the sign on the bottle says, toxic free, Biostatic ... so i used this and had a great success.
Cheers

Mario

I tried to capture both the nose and the tail in the video, but I'm not sure I accomplished that. I probably only accomplished in making you sick.

There is just a short nose on it, but the ripple effect is about 6-12 inches longer. It's as good as I am going to get it with the money that I'm willing to spend right now.

Hello John, wow, congratulation to you cutter! Looks good. Nice with the stepper.
Let me takl about a viev things can help you:

The stepper is a little slow at the moment, the higher the speed is the better the uncut. I talk earlier about this, if your cutter loose controll when you do a verry fast cut (because gravity or sluggishness .. sorry i dont know the exact tecnical word), then make the first 3 steps or similar in low mode, the knife should not be in the stream actually, then go to a much higher speed level for the rest, thats the way i do and the cutter is amazing fast now. I love the design of your blade, cool, not that much splashing water that i have, really great. Another poitn, the ripple is in the water is mostley createt with spalsing water drops and shaking at the uncut. Try to hold your nozzle as hard as you can in place. If you have problems to seal the stepper, let me know, i found a perfect 100% watertight system, easy to build with grease and a round teflon plate arround the axis of the stepper. Nice to see your work, really nice.

Cheers, Mario

Mario,

Tell me some more about how you sealed your motor. I think I ruined one of my stepper motors because I didn't have a good enough seal.

Hi John, i try to explain. I am not shure, but maybe yor Stepper is not strong enough, it looks so small, but i dont have much experience to tell is it enough or not.

¨Here you can see, the hole is little larger then the axis, under the stepepr and inside the hole, arround the pin, i fill so much grease as possible, also put a little on the plexiglass


Then i use a little plate, made from teflon, a water absorbing material.


It fits strong on the pin from the stepper


The housing is made from a aluminium plate, on the inside i put some paste, the same one like you are using on your PC processor to bring the heat from the stepper back to the outside, without this, your stepper will burn out in a closed room.


This construction is simmilar like they use in boats to seal the rotating parts fronm inside to the outside.
On the Top side you need a housing, seald with silicone.

I never had problems like this 100% water thight.

I thins with tis little modification your will work too.

Hey Mario, nice pictures thanks. what is that black spindle thing with copper on it in the last picture? also do you have any pictures of the pulley system or levers you are using after the stepper motor to cut and cutter. thanks
Jerry

Hi Jerry, The spindle is my new needle stream pricker, a complete noiseless turbulance maker to produce light effects in any length. A coil is pulling the needle in the stream, but just a tiny bit, less than 0.04inch.

The Knife i use now is very simple and very low weight, because gravity problems when you do hell fast cuts with your stepper.
If you use a really strong stepper, you can cut up to 35 times in a second! The arm is made from a small brass piece and the blade is a plexiglass plade edges a little rounded, thats all. Yes the brass is hevy, better you build all from Aluminium, but maybe later, i want ti finish all first and install it now.



There is a little magnet on a cupper wire and a kind a hal sensor to set the zeropoint of the stepper motor.

Have nice day

Mario

Mario Thanks for the quick response ,Is there a reason besides availability that you went with the needle (knocker ) rather than ultra sonic to make turbulence?
what type of glue are you using that is strong enough to hold that Plexiglas to the brass(cutter)?

Nice Idea, using a ultra sonic module in the nozzle ... has someone tested it yet? With the needle i can controll the length of the turbulance, earlier i used the knocker with a coil and a iroon knocker, but this just makes a little pulse.

Glue... i dont know my one will hold a long time, i use a special plexi PVC glue, makes a unbrealeble connection, called kind a cold welding.