Serotta newspaper story . . .

[BumbleBeeDave]

Every year about this time the newspaper where I work, The Daily Gazette, publishes what we call our "Outlook" edition on Sunday. It's a large "progress" edition type of section--basically a vehicle for selling local advertising during what is traditionally the weakest part of the year for ad sales. In other words, we ned the money! It's a fairly common device at this time of year among newspapers. We work on writing and photographing the stories for several months in advance and this year's section came out at 72 pages. There ended up being someone on the cover I thought you all might recognize. :rolleyes:

Full disclosure: I did NOT lobby to either do this story or have it on the cover. The story list for he section was presented to me with Serotta already on it and pegged for a photo package. It was pitched by our Saratoga Springs reporter, Lee Coleman. But naturally I did try to make sure Staff Photographer Marc Schultz had plenty of time to go shoot it. I hope you like his photos.

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . that ran inside.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . Andy Keech TIG welds on a new mountain bike in the Serotta facility on Geyser Rd. in Saratoga Springs.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . preps a bike before another paint coat.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . in for repairs are lined up waiting for attention.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . works on a Titanium frame.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . sit ready to be installed on bikes.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . shoots the paint on a titanium frame in the factory's paint booth.

[ada@prorider.or]

nice!
:banana:

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . applies composite glue to carbon fiber parts.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . TIG welds a new mountain bike frame.

[MarleyMon]

Fun - an inside look!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . applies composite glue to the headtube/seat tube junction on a carbon fiber frame.

[Ozz]

Dave,

Nice photo of the welder (the first one)....that's a cool shot, worthy of the catalog! :beer:

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . applies the Serotta logo to the frame.

[swoop]

.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . works near the crank of a titanium frame.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . Looks like an Ottrott?

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . the one on the left is a blank and the finished machined dropout is on the right.

That's all, folks!

[superunleaded]

Thanks for the pics.

It felt like a walk through of the facility with those pics. :beer:

[ti_boi]

Yes! A great reason to buy these bikes.....pure craft!

[rwsaunders]

No robots...imagine that. Nice Dave.

[Steevo]

BBD - Great pics. Thanks for posting. I'd like to read the article. Any chance of posting a .pdf or a web link? Thanks.

[Hardlyrob]

Great pics BBD - Thanks!

[Buzz]

Thanks for posting this. Reminds me of our tour of the factory this past August. The attention to detail, especially regarding the carbon fiber fabrication, the tolerances, etc. was very impressive.

[Ti Designs]

It's all in the timing - nice post Swoop!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . at this link:

http://cms.dailygazette.com/news/2008/feb/24/0224_outlookbike/

BBD

[slowgoing]

BBD should be getting a big discount on his next Serotta!

[ada@prorider.or]

No robots...imagine that. Nice Dave.

Great good welder i think.
Altough a robot is more accurate in 360 degree ,and better warm control these days with a infra red camera.
And cheaper too (wich make´s bike cheaper ).

Robot can work also 24 hours a day 360 a year.
And with robot prices these days 10.000 euro´s and CAD/CAM controls.............

[sailorboy]

very cool; and a good brief history of the company and Ben. I like the statement about them being more American made than ever. and good that the weak dollar is resulting in better sales abroad. Are we going to see a Euro top tier team on Serottas soon???

[1centaur]

. . . applies composite glue to the headtube/seat tube junction on a carbon fiber frame.

There's a joke about a Serotta fit somewhere in here.... :D

[Fixed]

wow nice
cheers

[Brian Smith]

Great good welder i think.
Altough a robot is more accurate in 360 degree ,and better warm control these days with a infra red camera.
And cheaper too (wich make´s bike cheaper ).

Robot can work also 24 hours a day 360 a year.
And with robot prices these days 10.000 euro´s and CAD/CAM controls.............

Cees - Do you know where Serotta could borrow one of those robots for a month?
We're always trying to make improvements to the process, but so often the cheapest way to the best result is simply human effort. It would be nice, though, if we could manage to give the welding robot only 5 days off per year. The people we have seem to need one EVERY WEEK!

[Brian Smith]

. . . that ran inside.

Dave - Thanks for posting that, the break room copy went missing, like, in 20 minutes.

[ada@prorider.or]

Cees - Do you know where Serotta could borrow one of those robots for a month?



Sure i work with some one who has those and can make some welding programs no problem
:banana:


well test robot program for you

PROG Task.1
/ATTR
OWNER = MNEDITOR;
COMMENT = " Resource Id ";
PROG_SIZE = 0;
CREATE = DATE - 08
MODIFIED = DATE 08-
FILE_NAME = ;
VERSION = 0;
LINE_COUNT = 0;
MEMORY_SIZE = 0;
PROTECT = READ_WRITE;
TCD: STACK_SIZE = 0,
TASK_PRIORITY = 50,
TIME_SLICE = 0,
BUSY_LAMP_OFF = 0,
ABORT_REQUEST = 0,
PAUSE_REQUEST = 0;
DEFAULT_GROUP = 1,*,*,*,*;
CONTROL_CODE = 00000000 00000000;
/MN
1: UTOOL_NUM = 1;
2: UFRAME_NUM = 1;
3:J P[1] 50% FINE ;
4:J P[2] 50% FINE ;
5:J P[3] 50% FINE ;
6:J P[4] 50% FINE ;
7:J P[5] 50% FINE ;
8:J P[6] 50% FINE ;
9:J P[7] 50% FINE ;
10:J P[8] 50% FINE ;
11:J P[9] 50% FINE ;
12:J P[10] 50% FINE ;
13:J P[11] 50% FINE ;
14:J P[12] 50% FINE ;
15:J P[13] 50% FINE ;
16:J P[14] 50% FINE ;
17:J P[15] 50% FINE ;
/POS
P[1]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2195.966 mm, Y = 0.003 mm, Z = 619.023 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[2]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2195.967 mm, Y = -818.171 mm, Z = 619.024 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[3]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2419.380 mm, Y = -818.172 mm, Z = -160.111 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[4]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2419.378 mm, Y = 532.380 mm, Z = -160.112 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[5]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2279.912 mm, Y = 532.381 mm, Z = 326.266 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[6]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2279.912 mm, Y = 532.381 mm, Z = 326.266 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[7]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 1738.318 mm, Y = 532.380 mm, Z = 170.966 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[8]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2245.326 mm, Y = 230.991 mm, Z = 1098.870 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[9]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2245.326 mm, Y = 230.991 mm, Z = 1098.870 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[10]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2154.488 mm, Y = -481.583 mm, Z = 1415.665 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[11]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, -1',
X = 1988.048 mm, Y = -202.312 mm, Z = 1996.108 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[12]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 1, -1',
X = 2134.697 mm, Y = 948.064 mm, Z = 1484.675 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[13]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 1, -1',
X = 1259.731 mm, Y = 818.336 mm, Z = 1190.529 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[14]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 1, -1',
X = 1166.228 mm, Y = 84.864 mm, Z = 1516.615 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[15]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = -925.386 mm, Y = -2267.142 mm, Z = -1399.170 mm,
W = 107.533 deg, P = -156.202 deg, R = 5.676 deg
};
/END

[Brian Smith]

Sure i work with some one who has those and can make some welding programs no problem
:banana:


well test robot program for you

PROG Task.1
/ATTR
OWNER = MNEDITOR;
COMMENT = " Resource Id ";
PROG_SIZE = 0;
CREATE = DATE - 08
MODIFIED = DATE 08-
FILE_NAME = ;
VERSION = 0;
LINE_COUNT = 0;
MEMORY_SIZE = 0;
PROTECT = READ_WRITE;
TCD: STACK_SIZE = 0,
TASK_PRIORITY = 50,
TIME_SLICE = 0,
BUSY_LAMP_OFF = 0,
ABORT_REQUEST = 0,
PAUSE_REQUEST = 0;
DEFAULT_GROUP = 1,*,*,*,*;
CONTROL_CODE = 00000000 00000000;
/MN
1: UTOOL_NUM = 1;
2: UFRAME_NUM = 1;
3:J P[1] 50% FINE ;
4:J P[2] 50% FINE ;
5:J P[3] 50% FINE ;
6:J P[4] 50% FINE ;
7:J P[5] 50% FINE ;
8:J P[6] 50% FINE ;
9:J P[7] 50% FINE ;
10:J P[8] 50% FINE ;
11:J P[9] 50% FINE ;
12:J P[10] 50% FINE ;
13:J P[11] 50% FINE ;
14:J P[12] 50% FINE ;
15:J P[13] 50% FINE ;
16:J P[14] 50% FINE ;
17:J P[15] 50% FINE ;
/POS
P[1]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2195.966 mm, Y = 0.003 mm, Z = 619.023 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[2]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2195.967 mm, Y = -818.171 mm, Z = 619.024 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[3]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2419.380 mm, Y = -818.172 mm, Z = -160.111 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[4]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2419.378 mm, Y = 532.380 mm, Z = -160.112 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[5]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2279.912 mm, Y = 532.381 mm, Z = 326.266 mm,
W = 0.000 deg, P = -74.000 deg, R = 180.000 deg
};
P[6]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2279.912 mm, Y = 532.381 mm, Z = 326.266 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[7]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 1738.318 mm, Y = 532.380 mm, Z = 170.966 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[8]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2245.326 mm, Y = 230.991 mm, Z = 1098.870 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[9]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2245.326 mm, Y = 230.991 mm, Z = 1098.870 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[10]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = 2154.488 mm, Y = -481.583 mm, Z = 1415.665 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[11]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, -1',
X = 1988.048 mm, Y = -202.312 mm, Z = 1996.108 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[12]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 1, -1',
X = 2134.697 mm, Y = 948.064 mm, Z = 1484.675 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[13]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 1, -1',
X = 1259.731 mm, Y = 818.336 mm, Z = 1190.529 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[14]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 1, -1',
X = 1166.228 mm, Y = 84.864 mm, Z = 1516.615 mm,
W = -72.467 deg, P = -23.798 deg, R = -97.265 deg
};
P[15]{
GP1:
UF : 1, UT : 1, CONFIG : 'F , 0, 0, 0',
X = -925.386 mm, Y = -2267.142 mm, Z = -1399.170 mm,
W = 107.533 deg, P = -156.202 deg, R = 5.676 deg
};
/END

Cees, that is an impressively large working envelope, but for a frame we can use much smaller. Perhaps your friend has a smaller version he no longer needs and is more cheaper? ;) We do, of course, require more sophisiticated programs to weld tubing together, or do we spend more time on the programming than the welding? Perhaps a robotic programmer as well? :)
Talk to me in private if this is available.

[Steevo]

BBD, Thanks for posting the link. Interesting story.

[Bud_E]

...
W = 107.533 deg, P = -156.202 deg, R = 5.676 deg
...

Sorry. I double checked this on my slide rule. Should be "R = 5.677 deg" . :no: :banana: