Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

Guess the subject header says it all. I went to my LBS and saw a Cannondale
on the used rack. I checked the welds, and they were so smooth it almost
appeared monocoque. How does Cannondale do it? They're a lot neater than the
aluminum welds I've seen on other makers.

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

They *dress* the welds and remove material from the joints so they
appear smooth.

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
They *dress* the welds and remove material from the joints so they
appear smooth.

How do they "dress" the welds, and does it serve any purpose other than
cosmetic? It sure looks nice.

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

Gooserider wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

They *dress* the welds and remove material from the joints so they
appear smooth.


How do they "dress" the welds, and does it serve any purpose other than
cosmetic? It sure looks nice.


potentially, it can reduce stress risers, but otoh, the degree of gross
material removal can work the other way... i think it's mainly cosmetic.

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 00:46:29 GMT, "Gooserider"
wrote:

Guess the subject header says it all. I went to my LBS and saw a Cannondale
on the used rack. I checked the welds, and they were so smooth it almost
appeared monocoque. How does Cannondale do it? They're a lot neater than the
aluminum welds I've seen on other makers.

The welds start out just as rippled as any other, but theirs get
polished. The technique is neither new nor exotic, it's just
expensive...but as common as roaches in the kitchen equipment trades,
where my nephew does a lof fabrication that involves just that
treatment on the welds.

To make it work well and easily, a slightly greater rate of deposition
during the weld can be helpful, of course.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
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Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 03:21:43 GMT, "Gooserider"
wrote:


wrote in message
roups.com...
They *dress* the welds and remove material from the joints so they
appear smooth.

How do they "dress" the welds, and does it serve any purpose other than
cosmetic? It sure looks nice.

Sanding and buffing. Aluminum is the easiest common structural metal
to do that with.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

Gooserider wrote:

wrote:

They *dress* the welds and remove material from the joints so they
appear smooth.

How do they "dress" the welds, and does it serve any purpose other than
cosmetic? It sure looks nice.

I understand they use Dynafile miniature belt sanders to smooth the
welds by hand. The double-pass welds are also performed by hand,
though the tubes are cut to length and mitered by CNC laser.

http://www.dynabrade.com/cgi-bin/Industrial/11000

Cannondale make some vague assertions that their hand-shaped joints
minimize stress risers, but how much they really help is anybody's
guess. They can't hurt-- unless the original tubing wall is
compromised in the process.

Chalo Colina

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

Gooserider wrote:
Guess the subject header says it all. I went to my LBS and saw a Cannondale
on the used rack. I checked the welds, and they were so smooth it almost
appeared monocoque. How does Cannondale do it? They're a lot neater than the
aluminum welds I've seen on other makers.

My smooth welded Cannondale was just stolen 3 weeks ago. Are you in
Toronto?

Cam

Why are Cannondale welds so smooth?
 

Cannondale files them down.

However, I have heard that Klein bikes also achieve the same appearance
without the use of the dynafile. Anyone know how Klein achieves this?

Claude