Collets And Collet Sleeves: Fill & Download for Free

Thanks for the A2A on this. It is always nice to discover unconventional approaches to problems.I have not worked with Space X nor had I any knowledge about Falcon 1's pneumatic separation system, so unfortunately I can't provide a good answer to the question, but perhaps I can provide some general principal of operation that might be used.According to the Falcon 9's User Guide (Page on nasa.gov) the 10th page includes this nice table below.Indicated as the stage separation system for the 1st stage is something with the use of "pneumatically actuated mechanical collets", which on the Falcon 9 is a larger version of what was designed and used for Falcon 1's stage separation. So what is a collet? Well if you've ever used a "pen knife" or a power drill, then you have probably already used a collet similar to the one below.For this pen knife, the collet is made of 4 pieces of metal that, towards the end, gets a little larger in its cross sectional area. The gripped sleeve is on a thread, so turning it will cause the sleeve to move back and forth. As it moves forward, since the sleeve resists increasing its cross-sectional area and the 4 metal pieces resist decreasing their cross-sectional area, if there are any gaps between the 4 metal arms, they will be the first space to close up. This closing of the space in a collet is what provides the powerful frictional forces needed to hold whatever it is you are trying to hold.Given the design of a collet, the opening of a collet is as easy as increasing the distance between two flat surfaces. Often these can be spring loaded in some way but the only considerable resistance to releasing the collet's grip is the sleeve itself. So if you were using a collet chuck to hold onto steel pins or something attached to maybe the first stage of a rocket, a well lubricated mechanism could easily use very little pneumatic effort to grip those pins or whatever with 100's or 1000's of times the input air pressure.Another collet design that does not focus on friction to do it's holding power is what is used in quick-connect air compressor hose joints. These are almost identical except that steel balls are used to hold the pin or whatever by taking up the space in some groove. The balls normally protrude from the inside of the outer connector and the sleeve holds them there, by moving the sleeve out of the way, the balls are free to retract and allow a sphere or something with a lip having a diameter of the outer cylinder to slip past them. Once the larger diameter object passes where the balls are, the collet sleeve can be put back in place, pushing the balls in their previous position and preventing the object inside of the cylinder from having enough room to be removed without deforming it.These designs can of course be modified to have lock pins, restrain larger forces, or even be simple ball and socket joints (easier for disconnect I would assume), but they all have in common the ability to lock in place an item with incredible force and release it with very little.I am not sure what type of pneumatic collet Space X has engineered for their stage separation, but I would bet it is some form of the second collet design mentioned that just uses some sort of pneumatic actuator to operate the sleeve and maybe also push the gripped object out of the mechanism.The advantages of a design like this are pretty obvious in that you can test before you fly, reuse, and maybe sometime later in space exploration, reconnect future rocket stages if you don't posses the manufacturing or materials needed for another pyrotechnic release mechanism (if you are on mars or something).I hope this answer is useful to the Interrogator.

A collet is the steel sleeve that holds a router bit in a router. The collet works with the router shaft (connected directly to the motor) and the collet nut. ... Many routers come with interchangeable 1/4" and 1/2" collets so that either size bit can be used, but some accept only 1/4" shank bits.In this manner, are router bits interchangeable?There are two common sizes of router bit shanks: 1/4" and 1/2". Many routers come with interchangeable 1/4" and 1/2" collets so that either size bit can be used, but some accept only 1/4" shank bits. Except for very small and very large profiles, router bits typically are available in both shank diameters.Can I use router bits in a drill?A drill bores holes and is designed for downward pressure, while a router shapes edges and cuts grooves and is able to handle significant sideways pressure. This mechanical difference, among others, makes a drill unsuitable for use with a router bit.It is My Personal Library of Over 16.000 Plans For Every Project You Can Imagine - Click Here to Read

Q: Woodworking: Is it feasible to strictly use the metric system in a home shop in the United States?Yes. But you will spend more money for some items. In return all of your math will be easier once you are basically comfortable with metric and you will be less likely to make measuring mistakes. And lastly, when the US finally makes the switch to a throughly superior system…you won’t have to buy anything new.Your materials will not be of concern as you will nearly always bring raw materials down to the size you need them to be for a particular task. Even engineered products like plywood are not exactly the specified size (and are often sourced from metric countries anyway.)Most of your tools are of little concern. A 10″ blade diameter on a table saw has little to no bearing on the work you do. For other cutting tools the cutter you use will be a bit more challenging. While your ½ inch drill will easily fit metric drill bits your router will be bit more challenging. Most routers sold here use ¼ or ½ inch collets (the sleeve that holds the router bit). Much of the time using an imperial measured bit won’t matter, at other times it will (math for template routing will be easier if you stay pure metric in your bits and guides).Make sure that you either buy a US available router with a metric collets and accessories (off the top of my head the only readily available ones are from Festool) or make sure that you can buy a collet adapter to fit metric router bits as it will be hard to find thinks like a metric based cutting edge on a ½″ shank. And expect to pay more for your metric bits due to scarcity.Finally, your hardware will often cost you more if you really need to use metric fasteners (screws, bolts etc.). This one area where you might surrender to using imperial items as their exact dimensions aren’t likely to affect anything you do except perhaps drilling pilot holes.On a side note, Home Depot and other big box stores don’t cater to many metric things they have a hefty premium. Shop around online for other metric friendly suppliers.