Gold Hog Mats

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Occasional_panner said:
Mate if you want to test how a 3700gh works on it, you can borrow mine to test, not like I can use it now as the creeks are ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate but I reckon the 3700gph would work great. Probably just going to get one from ebay. $53. Easy.
 
Cheers. Hadn't actually looked at them in detail yet...just typed 3700gph bilge pump into the search and quickly looked at the results. Happy to spend a few more dollars though.
 
HeadsUp said:
If you do print up mats of some kind in reverse and want to make rubber ones , then corn starch is the word of the day.

2 pack silicone rubber is expensive.

But a cheap option is to buy roofing silicone , mix it with turps and corn starch , and voila ! You have your own rubber.

Spray mould release to your master , make dams around it and pour your rubber on to the mould .

I have tried it , yes it works , but google it or search YouTube to get the right mix ratios to obtain the rubber hardness you desire.

Corn starch from the supermarket does just fine. :D

Ps check out www.barnes.com.au for accessories
Click to expand...

Nice!!!!
I was thinking of using a compound mitre saw to cut some angled slots into a bit of timber, then dam up the sides and ends to make a rubber riffle.
The depth and angle could be adjusted, and even do a double cut to widen the gap.
Hmmm another thing to put on the list.
 
Well its polyurethane so its going to be pretty tough even at its worst I'd suspect. The TPU is supposed to be better than TPE (another candidate) filament for many reasons, but importantly it has better abrasion resistance...which has got to be a positive attribute for a sluice mat I'd think. So seems to me like it might be worth a shot.
 
Yeah mate, seems the go, the better abrasion resistance is what you want aye, for sluice mat.?
 
Very interesting, i've seen a few goldhog mats copied over the years with 3d printers as you've found the problem with this is the flex required to clean them out. i have to be honest thats the biggest problem with the real deal rubber as well its just plain hard to reverse roll and remove all the gold and black sand.

Polyurethane in a printed form will not provide sure hardness flex required to bend fully back on itself if you are going to persist i would consider opening the scale up slightly to reduce the clean out issue.

interesting project.
 
Yeah, its not as easy as cleaning out say an AM sluice, but at the same time, it waaay easier than cleaning out miners moss and hungarian riffle set up. I've ran those mats a couple of times now and havent had any issue with stuff sticking in there. Maybe the fact its hard means the stones cant jam themselves in there as much in the first place. With the softness of the actual mats maybe they can get pushed in further and so the mats hold the stones better? Either way, doesnt really seem to be an issue tbh.

And Im not really sure what you mean about it not having the shore hardness flex to be able to bend back on itself? From what Ive seen the printed polyurethane (TPU) bends back on itself perfectly, with perfect flex back to its original shape...as shown in the vid a posted a few days ago ofnthat wrench. If anything, its too soft and flexible.
 
Hey mate you might be right about the hard not letting material in to begin with ive only used the real deal. Talking about shore hardness its what we use to measure the softness or hardness of polymers and elastomers i.e. a rubber band might be a 25 a whereas a grubstake sluice would be a 75 d. Lookup shore durometer if you're interested its scale that explains alot of variables in characteristics.

100% agree riffles mesh and carpet or moss are slow and inefficient at reducing concentrates whereas mats like gold hog and dream mat make for a fast cleanup no competition.

Ive run goldhog for years i have thousands $$ in hog runs sitting in buckets its a pain to cleanup when you are working deep heavies in the field the rocks jam into each riffle so you need ti run great lengths to be effective.

Are u gluing those sections together or leaving them as individuals
 
Yeah fully aware of the shore hardness scale already. I just meant Im not really sure what you meant about it being to hard to bend on itself since I've seen stuff that directly contradicts that...including the vid in this thread. Never mind.

And yeah definately could see what you mean about stuff getting stuck in there if you're running out in the field for any length of time, and how you might need longer lengths to be effective. That could definitely be an issue. But as far as cleaning up it seems pretty good so far.

For now Im leaving them as individuals, but am considering joining them together and maybe just using a length of rectangular PVC downpipe to wash the mat off in. If I can make it one piece it might be quicker and easier to do a quick clean out whenever I need.
 
The vid on the previous page doesn't show the flex required to open rubber backward on itself it only shows twisting.

It will be interesting to see how it goes in the field nice build anyway. Good fun making stuff
 
Yeah but it shows how flexible the material is. When you flex something the inner surface compresses and the outer surface stretches, yeah? If the outer surface is stretching apart and if it had prostrusions sticking out of that surface (the riffles), would those protrusions not get pulled apart too? Like, if you just had a flat sheet with two protrusions sticking up 5cm apart, then as long as the material is as flexible as shown in that vid then when its bent in between the protrusions they will move further apart. No? Shouldnt matter what scale it is, as long as the material is flexible. Maybe there's some science Im missing here or something I dont know.

And yeah not long and I'll have more gph to play with so can do some proper testing out in the field. Just in time for the nice weather (if it ever arrives...Im starting to doubt it haha).
 
I think ur over complicating it mate if youd used the real rubber product you would know what i mean. You cant compare a tool an inch thick to a rubber with contours as complex as gh. Im sure you will find out soon enough if it has enough flex mate.

I assume you have a piece that you copied try doing what we call the reverse roll which openes the catch zones within catch zones. They work like a vaccume drawing gold in when dialed in.
 
Am I complicating it though? I feel like I gave a simple explanation of what happens when you bend something. It would seem you're complicating it by saying that the obvious thing that should and would happen actually wont happen in this case, yet providing no real explanation as to why that is the case. Maybe Im wrong, but you havent really given me a reason to think otherwise with what you've actually said. You havent explained anything beyond saying "trust me", and "you'll see", yknow.

And I think an "inch thick" is a bit rich I'd say 15mm max. And why would that not be comparable anyways? Again, it shows how flexible the material is. Even if it is an inch thick and flexed like it did in the vid, then would that not indicate that a thinner piece would be even more flexible? I pretty much have no doubt at this point that if I print a mat in that TPU like in that vid that I'll be able to flex it back on itself and open up the riffles. Im more than happy to be proven wrong though :)
 
Ive explained in great detail actually cobber if you had a piece of the product ur copying and had used it you would know what i mean. Yoi cant guage the rollback capabilities of a product by a non similar component in a video twisted sideways no need to get your knickers in a knot. No stress fella good luck with it i hope it works out for you.
 
You've inspired me to finally buy a 3d printer by the way so thanks dor that. Looking at s unit that has a cnc router as well
 

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