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Chain mail is an interesting type of fabric, having both
strength and flexibility. The problem is its difficult to
make.
Here's a simple way to make chain mail that would
make
mass production easy.
Step 1. make rings of two different materials. One
material is strong, the other is soluble
or having a low
melting point (e.g. gallium).
Step 2. Stick rings in an alternating stack.
Step 3. Cut the ring stack axially
Step 4. Skew the ring stack so that one end of the first
ring
is adjacent one end of the next ring and so on. Attach
the
ends together (e.g. fuse with heat). This makes an
alternating material helix.
Step 5. Stretch the helices.
Step 6. Enmesh helices (e.g. wind one helix through
the
next).
Step 7. Dissolve or melt the soluble material.
Step 8. Chain mail is formed.
See illustrations.
Could be used for very small chain links to make a
smooth
fabric. Could also be used to make 3 dimensional
chain
mail.
illustrations
https://imgur.com/gallery/SW8NBRD [xaviergisz, Aug 31 2019]
Chain matrix
[xaviergisz, Aug 31 2019]
Welded chain mail glove (< $90)
https://www.amazon..../dp/B000NNT2GW?th=1 [scad mientist, Aug 31 2019]
Ring cut pattern
https://i.imgur.com/rhvoPeN.png [xaviergisz, Dec 07 2021]
[link]
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3 dimensional chain mail would provide great protection against
being stabbed through time. |
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Sounds like you end up with all unclosed rings. There will
continue to be a market for handmade chain mail, just
because of that. |
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I suspect that there are already automated methods of
creating welded chain mail. Otherwise a butchers glove
would cost much more than $90. [link] That looks like a
good one made in Germany "with hermetically sealed micro
plasma welds." There are a lot of cheaper ones as well, but
I didn't look at them all to see if any of those were also
welded. |
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Knitting machines are quite cleverly complex. Adding a weld at the right time seems trivial. But if your process mechatronics is simpler, you're onto a winner. |
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As an alternative to the axial cut (step 3), and attach
ends (step 4), it would be better to make a 'toothed'
cut (shown in the illustration in most recent link).
The rings thus interlock to form the helix with a
stronger connection that just the straight axial cut. |
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As per [notexactly] above, I think if you "un-skew" after the
winding through & before the dissolving, you can get back to
closed rings but still interlinked. Not sure about the HOW... |
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The permanent segments of the helix are resilient so
when the temporary segments of each helix are
removed, the resilient metal forms back into rings.
The 'toothed' cut will guide and align the ends of the
rings together. This will of course still be the
weakest part of the ring. |
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I think I get it. I like it, although attaching the next ring segment might prove challenging. |
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<daily kvetch warning> I would comment on imgur about your postings but they still will not tell me why my ability to do so has been taken from me. <daily kvetch warning has now passed> |
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