Fixing Slide or Frame Cracks with Rocket Adhesive

[OperationHitFactor]

So, I live in Florida a few miles from the Space Center. One of my friends works for a shop that builds parts for rockets. During a random conversation I was informed that the company developed a few different bonding agents to use in place of traditional welds that would crack under stress due to launch vibrations. The bonded metal then gets a heat treatment that makes the metal have a burnt like look which prevents rust and sets the bond(I'm guessing a finish similar to Iso, Mela, Altra,__nite). The bonding agent is now as hard if not harder than metal, but with enough flex that it does not cause stress on the metal it is fixed to.

Has anyone tried something similar to fix frame or slide cracks? If so, did it work?

So far it seems that it would be pretty cost effective as well. Probably something like $150-200 and the part would have a nice black finish as well.

So before I go spending time and money on developing this little pet project. Would people have any interest in it? I'm thinking it could be the bee's knees if it works. Then if a slide or frame cracks, no worries, you can just hit it with a little space bond.

[MarkCO]

I do quote a bit of failure analysis incluidng welds and exotic materials. There are also magnetic pastes that are used for similar applications. Unless this is something new, it should work, but there are some pitfalls when applied to repair.

When we use these types of systems in the original design, we model the filler and parent mateials in FEA and then run the vibration analysis on it...works well and shows the stress risers as well as heating points. The parts are typically spray coated, held in a stressed fixture and then bonded.

When you are trying to repair a crack, the crack has to be arrested. This often involves drilling a hole at the endpoint of the crack. Also, you need to be able to coat the fracture surfaces with filler. Not sure how you would do this without removing material. You could potentially mill off both sides while slotting the fracture surfaces and then use the filler as essentially a double lap joint, but that seems overly complicated.

In all fairness, TIG welding up the crack is probably a better solution. The impurities are then mixed within the filler and parent materials, hopefully avoiding re-cracking. The melting of the parent metal also effectively arrests the crack so you won't have to drill through the termination.

[atomicbrh]

If the business is not located on the Space Center grounds, why not approach them with the idea of using them as a sub-contractor to you just like they sub-contract to NASA? This might be better for you than making a large investment in equipment. They would probably need a FFL for mending receivers but slides and other parts would need no FFL.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Tons of revolvers out there with cracked frames and backstraps that people would like to keep shooting.

Bobby

[OperationHitFactor]

Exactly what I was planning on. The time and money would be purchasing cracked guns and then test firing and beating the crap out of them. No the company is not located on federal property. My biggest obstacle is going to be getting the guy into the firearms business. My friend says his boss is not into guns at all and has a Clinton sticker up in the office. The biggest cost would be becoming an FFL and all the other business stuff I know little to nothing about.

[OperationHitFactor]

I do quote a bit of failure analysis incluidng welds and exotic materials. There are also magnetic pastes that are used for similar applications. Unless this is something new, it should work, but there are some pitfalls when applied to repair.

When we use these types of systems in the original design, we model the filler and parent mateials in FEA and then run the vibration analysis on it...works well and shows the stress risers as well as heating points. The parts are typically spray coated, held in a stressed fixture and then bonded.

When you are trying to repair a crack, the crack has to be arrested. This often involves drilling a hole at the endpoint of the crack. Also, you need to be able to coat the fracture surfaces with filler. Not sure how you would do this without removing material. You could potentially mill off both sides while slotting the fracture surfaces and then use the filler as essentially a double lap joint, but that seems overly complicated.

In all fairness, TIG welding up the crack is probably a better solution. The impurities are then mixed within the filler and parent materials, hopefully avoiding re-cracking. The melting of the parent metal also effectively arrests the crack so you won't have to drill through the termination.

Exactly, many of the methods are just not cost effective. I've been reading forums all day and making phone calls. From what I gather thus far, fixing cracks either doesn't work or it is more expensive than buying a new part. What I was hoping to achieve was a simple process that was cost effective for people. A new frame or slide is expensive, then once the gunsmith gets paid, and the piece is refinished, you can quickly end up spending a lot of money.

Correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't have a lot of knowledge on welding, but I don't think a TIG weld would hold up. I think it would probably crack again after several thousand rounds due to the impulse of the recoil.

[JimmyZip]

I think the TIG would hold up if you welded it without over heating the joint. if you overheat it though, then yeah it can get pretty brittle.

[MarkCO]

Agree with Jimmy. Have to be careful. It also depends on why the part cracked and if the geometry is proper.

[OperationHitFactor]

I decided to just give the guy a call. Turns out my friend was more than a little bit off as to how the process works. The heat treatment is seperate all together, which is a chemical and heat induced process. The coating sounds like it would work great as far as treating/coating steel.

The bonding proces is not done with heat at all. It's done in a cryogenic chamber where the cold shrinks one thing and expands another. Once the bond is brought back to room temperature it creates a fusion. The engineer I spoke with was more than confident that the process would work very well for the application, but, there is one tiny problem. The process is very very very expensive. I was informed the chamber is large and uses a lot of electricity.

So, for now this is just not a possibility, but their current contract will be up at the end of this year. They did seem geniuinely interested in looking into other markets in the future. Nice guy too, his main concern was transitioning into another market to keep his 20 people employed. He said he has made enough money, but he doesn't want to leave the people who got him there high and dry.

I'll check back later this year to see how things pan out.

[MarkCO]

Yep, keep on it. A lot of good products and processes are the result of technology transfer.