by Rich » Thu Aug 13, 2020 2:25 pm
Kai wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2020 4:57 am
Rich wrote: ↑Fri May 08, 2020 12:29 am
After tedious Dremeling of the latches I got the bronze latches installed. This is not a criticism of the design of the new latches. It is something that has been required of all the Diamond-supplied latches on my plane. I've confirmed a subsequent design change of the canopy-bonded blocks would make this Dremel work unnecessary, but my old bird requires it.
Rich, if you send me your old latches (the broken ones), I can try to adapt the design for older models and add a second design option to shapeways.
The change wasn't to the latch, but that block bonded to the canopy into which the tab on the latch fits. I was sent a replacement block from Diamond years ago to try deal with the poor placement of my left-side block. I couldn't figure out a satisfactory way to remove the original one, so this was never done. But I still have that replacement block.
Recently I decided to compare the replacement with the original and discovered that the cutout for the newer one is deeper than the original. This allows a thicker tab to be used, as that inner surface is now further from the inner surface of the vent window. The difference in dimension is enough that I think it was an intentional design change.
The bronze tabs needed to be thinned on both sides to fit into these old blocks. They are also longer. This is a good thing for my left side, as I have more engagement of the tab in the block. But on the right side, where the block is very close to the vent panel, I actually had to shorten the tab so I could close it. Given the variations of these blocks in dimension and placement, I think the latches are just fine the way they are. They allow for adaptation to circumstances in the field.
[quote=Kai post_id=81116 time=1597294644 user_id=2]
[quote=Rich post_id=79496 time=1588897799 user_id=222]
After tedious Dremeling of the latches I got the bronze latches installed. This is not a criticism of the design of the new latches. It is something that has been required of all the Diamond-supplied latches on my plane. I've confirmed a subsequent design change of the canopy-bonded blocks would make this Dremel work unnecessary, but my old bird requires it.
[/quote]
Rich, if you send me your old latches (the broken ones), I can try to adapt the design for older models and add a second design option to shapeways.
[/quote]
The change wasn't to the latch, but that block bonded to the canopy into which the tab on the latch fits. I was sent a replacement block from Diamond years ago to try deal with the poor placement of my left-side block. I couldn't figure out a satisfactory way to remove the original one, so this was never done. But I still have that replacement block.
Recently I decided to compare the replacement with the original and discovered that the cutout for the newer one is deeper than the original. This allows a thicker tab to be used, as that inner surface is now further from the inner surface of the vent window. The difference in dimension is enough that I think it was an intentional design change.
The bronze tabs needed to be thinned on both sides to fit into these old blocks. They are also longer. This is a good thing for my left side, as I have more engagement of the tab in the block. But on the right side, where the block is very close to the vent panel, I actually had to shorten the tab so I could close it. Given the variations of these blocks in dimension and placement, I think the latches are just fine the way they are. They allow for adaptation to circumstances in the field.