titanium, stand-alone, portable stand

[rosc]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if any engineer types hang around here, and might be able to help spec out a stand that could be portable and stand-alone.

What I'm thinking is, something like this steel monster (See this link) made in aluminum or titanium, with holes drilled through the base, to allow the standing arms and feet to simply slide on. The suspension arms would extend through the holes in the base to connect through another hole in the feet. (don't ask me to draw!

It wouldn't require any soldering, would be easy to assemble, and should be light enough to pack. The longer pieces could be made like collapsible tent poles so overall packed size would be under 3'.

What needs a bit of engineering is figuring out the pole sizes & ideal lengths, I have no access to titanium or aluminum material specs or the necessary physics to figure this out myself

Hoping someone can help so we can go forth and make these ourselves (instead of having to wait for someone to take the idea, make it proprietary and charge a fortune selling them to us :P)

[Fronkey]

I think something like that made from titanium would be really expensive. But, there are some engineers and machine workers here that will probably chime in. Good Luck!

Fronkey

[rosc]

You're right about the titanium prices, I just had a brief look at them here:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/

Aluminum would probably do just as well, which is available at the same location:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant...p=2&top_cat=60

Problem for me is figuring out the minimum tube size, distances and cutting angles in the tubes, etc.

Anyone have a pointer to a design app to help figure out the right specs?

[AaronAlso]

Google Sketch-up is pretty decent I here. If you have any 3D modelling skills Blender 3D is free & open source. Corel Draw X4 is really nice, and comparetively cheaper than other competitive products.

That's just a few off the top of my head.

[rosc]

Drawing out a design would be easy enough, but, I have no clue about the actual physical forces that would be involved, which is what would be needed to figure out the tube sizes (width, thickness, lengths, max angles, etc.)

As far as the high end CAD apps, forget it, graphics & maths and me just don't get along

[Gary_R]

Hi all,


would be easy to assemble, and should be light enough to pack. The longer pieces could be made like collapsible tent poles so overall packed size would be under 3'.

So is the idea here to have something you can take down and strap onto your pack for like.. Backpacking?

[oldgringo]

The stand you linked to is not suitable for gathered end camping style hammocks, so don't invest any time or money in replicating it.

What you envision is doable, will involve the use of high tech materials, and require considerable engineering and machining talent. It will be breathtakingly expensive, and even if it weren't, few, if any, would be willing to pack it.

[rosc]

The stand you linked to is not suitable for gathered end camping style hammocks, so don't invest any time or money in replicating it.

What you envision is doable, will involve the use of high tech materials, and require considerable engineering and machining talent. It will be breathtakingly expensive, and even if it weren't, few, if any, would be willing to pack it.

Doubt it. Should be a simple matter of 1 cross member tube, 2 arms and 2 short feet connected through the cross member with the arms. Presumably aluminum tubing would be light enough to carry (under 5lb.) This has already been done many times posted on this forum, except it was done in wood and/or steel, which obviously is too heavy to pack.



As far as engineering, that's why I asked for help, since I'm not an engineer to be able to figure out the exact specs necessary for the weight carried by the arms being applied to the holes in the cross member at the bottom.

Please, if you have nothing to contribute but to poo-poo the whole idea, refrain from posting derision.

[rosc]

So is the idea here to have something you can take down and strap onto your pack for like.. Backpacking?

Yep.......................(obligatory 10 chars for replies...)

[WingNut]

Trees are easier, usable to all hammock types randomly found almost everywhere and no need to carry.