Today I was able to see a bending test at Mol Transport Solutions in Sleihage, a local builder of heavy transport vehicles. I was already long before interested in this firm, but one needs the right contacts to be introduced to be able to present the tankproject. Thanks once more to Robert Vandaele who knew somebody who knew upon his turn somebody we did get the right connections. Paul Messely in the end took us to Mols and besides the making of the trackplates they finally also will provide the pieces for the framework. It happens by coincidence that our local welder Herman Persyn,who did the yellow framework some years ago works in subcontract for Mols, so the way to proceed and work again also with Herman this time was a logical result.
The photo shows a testpiece of the C-profile where the rollers will be bolted on at the underside, but shown here upside-down. For comparison I laid Philippe Gorczynski's original trackplate of Deborah up it.
This is nothing more than bended plate of 10mm thick in the same order of bendingresistance as the profiles of the undercarriage of an excavator. The order for all of it was given green light today and we hope at april 1st we can start the welding together !
In reality it will be upside down, the rollers being bolted at the short ends and those rollers rolling upons the chains of an excavotor where track plates will be bolted on, upon their turn being bolted on them rubber pads. The image below shows a partially framework, so you can see the different profiles.
