Zip ties

[Jersey Tom]

Is there anything they can't do? I'm using one right now to eyeball precise angular alignment on some transmission parts I'm reverse engineering. And its workin like a champ.

[BeaverGuy]

Yes, there is something they can't do. They can't suspend a 5 gallon bucket of oil with out the oil ultimately ending up on the floor.

[Frank]

Just wait until you get a ziptie sponsor http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

there is nothing they cant do
(including strapping an engine to a dyno frame)

[KevinD]

Originally posted by BeaverGuy:
Yes, there is something they can't do. They can't suspend a 5 gallon bucket of oil with out the oil ultimately ending up on the floor.

yes they can. you just didn't use enough of them. or if you wanted to get away with only using a few, you should have tried some mil spec steel zipties http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[Sathersc]

I wish I had the idea for the velcro zip ties. Those are handy for every day things, and re-usable!

[John Valerio]

Originally posted by Frank:
(including strapping an engine to a dyno frame)

sketch...

[Conor]

Being a first year team in '06, we were still finishing our car at competition. I'd say a good 10% of our final car was zipties http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif. I love the damn things.

[cieutag]

I've zip-tied cryogenic equipment to test stands at work before, so don't let anybody tell you no one in the "real world" uses them.

[Alexandre D.]

We've had some issues with low quality zipties that would break very easily. We never realized how important zipties were befo
re. This was a MAJOR reliability issue. It was easy to fix, pay 50cent extra for the best quality.:P

[J. Vinella]

You always know when you have stepped on a zip tie when you hear that loud pop.

Has anyone ever modeled zip ties? And if so what defection numbers are you seeing in FEA? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[Dr Claw]

One thing i wish they wouldnt do, is slice up your hands and fingers when your working on the car..

If you could figure out a way, to train your team to cut them just-so, you'd have a million dollar idea. It's impossible though http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[Maurini]

One thing i wish they wouldnt do, is slice up your hands and fingers when your working on the car..

Buy a set of cheap "flush-cut" snips and take them to a grinder. If you grind the end so that the cutting surface is "flush" with the end of a zip tie... no more sliced fingers.

A cheaper alternative is to use an exacto or utility knife to cut them instead of side cutters. If you pull on them while cutting with a knife, the cut edge will actually be recessed when the tension is released.

Marc

[Korey Morris]

have a look at mcmaster page 1371. Those tools make for perfectly cut zipties every time. our ee at work got me hooked on one of those, and it is badass.

[Dr Claw]

I know how to cut zip ties...sombody on the team however, DOESNT. it never fails and that's my point http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

speaking of zipties...
yes, reusuable would be nice so that once you cut all the extra long ones off the car, you dont have to link 4 short ones together

oh ya, and we have these at work:
tightens and cuts flush
http://www.computercablestore.com/detail.aspx?ID=2608

[Peter Dozeman]

All zip ties lose there strength when they get old. Even the best nylon dries out and gets brittle. Keep the fresh and rotate stock. I'm glad to hear about triming the zip ties to avoid those nasty cuts. A good source is R & R Wire Loom. www.wirelm.com (http://www.wirelm.com)
Peter

[RawePower]

This was not an FSAE experience, but it still counts:

They even work well for carburetor mounting!

(Yes, I once had a racecar with carburetor retention issues)

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

Originally posted by RawePower:
This was not an FSAE experience, but it still counts:

They even work well for carburetor mounting!

(Yes, I once had a racecar with carburetor retention issues)

This reminds me of my old gokart. It had a 5 horse Briggs that I reved up like all hell and ran it all day up and down my driveway. Numerous times I had parts vibrate loose, one that amazed me was the carb. The funny thing is that the carb bolts to the tank and the tank has a fuel bowl built in it and the long straws to suck it out, so amazingly it still ran with the tank and carb bouncing around independently...I finally broke the frame (some monkey stick welded on thin wall molly tubes before I got it) but that damn briggs was still running strong at prob twice stock redline for 6 months thru its custom 2" dia stainless exhaust pipe and stock block!!!

[RawePower]

Yes, my experience was on a 5 horse Briggs as well (5 horse in that it was losely based on 5 horse briggs architecture. It actually put out ~25 hp). It was a 33 mm Mikuni carb that kept coming out of its rubber boot mount - a total of 3 times. Wire-ties fxed it like a charm. Of course, the last time it wdged between the chain and a frame rail, grinding a hole in the fuel bowl. We made another pass down the track before finding the gaping hole... Talk about a lean condition!!! http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif JB Weld fixed that problem. That same fuel bowl was still in use when we sold the car 4 years later. Who says JB Weld won't hold up to Methanol??

[J. Vinella]

Originally posted by RawePower:
Who says JB Weld won't hold up to Methanol??

Ahhh JB Weld the liquid ziptie.

[Jersey Tom]

And when your ass is REALLY hangin in the wind.. JB Kwik!

Christ that stuff is weak.