STEM Blogs by Boca Bearings :: Ceramic Bearing Specialists

Air Hockey Table Project : Part I

Dec 29, 2022

Nicholas Cordero

Starting on Boca Bearings brand new air hockey table project, the first thing to be done is to 3D print some parts. Though this is not a very big project, the time it takes to print all of the necessary parts are quite time consuming.

Holiday Message to our Team and Customers

Dec 20, 2022

Boca Bearings

In this holiday season and as we approach a new year, we’re reminded about how grateful we’re for the tireless efforts of the whole Boca Bearings team. It’s thanks to this fantastic team that we have been able to reach this remarkable milestone of turning 35 years old.

Power Wheels : Electronics

Nov 21, 2022

Nicholas Cordero

Alongside the mechanical aspects of building a go kart, come the tedious challenges of wiring everything up correctly. Making sure everything is getting proper voltage, nothing more and nothing less, ensures that our kart will function just the way we want to.

Pulley - Lawnmower

Nov 01, 2022

James Laumeyer

Continuing with the race mower project one of the last major issues was the thing just keeps eating its belts. When we would run it it would go for a few minutes before the belt heated up to a point it was melting, stretching, and tearing itself apart.

Vampire Bunny Moon

Oct 17, 2022

Michael Rudinsky

The Vampire Bunny Moon was created by using Lithophanemaker.com to create the half moon, half bunny.

Workshop and STEM internship

Sep 12, 2022

Boca Bearings

The Boca Bearing Workshop was founded in August of 2014 with the goal of creating an environment to promote creativity and innovation. This initiative was designed to allow Boca Bearing employees and engineering students alike, to collaborate on projects using 3D printers, CNC machines, and other equipment.

Troubleshooting PWM

Sep 09, 2022

James Laumeyer

If you have ever worked with anything involving motor control you're probably familiar with PWM or Pulse Width Modulation.

FAU-Human Powered Submarine

Aug 22, 2022

Boca Bearings

Florida Atlantic University’s Human Powered Submarine (HPS) team traveled to England in July 2022 to take part in the European International Submarine Races (EISR). The HPS members competed against teams from various universities around the world in the 11-day event, in competitions that tested various characteristics of the teams’ submarines, including speed and maneuverability.

Robotic Arm: Completion

Aug 15, 2022

Nathan Fournier

Over the past few weeks, I have continued working on the EezyBot MK2 Robotic Arm found on Thingiverse. The assembly and printing of the robotic arm were relatively simple, however, wiring and solving power issues for the arm have taken quite some time.

Robotic Arm: Development stage

Aug 12, 2022

Nathan Fournier

As my Boca Bearings comparison tower project is now complete, I had to look for what I could do next. After scouring Thingiverse through many questionable things to 3D print, including a T-rex shower curtain holder, I found a robotic arm that had very straightforward instructions and many other users creating their own version.

Pinball Upgrade

Aug 08, 2022

James Laumeyer

After maker fair 2021 the pinball machine was feeling a little rough, two days of kids smashing buttons nonstop meant parts broke, coils started getting over heated from the excessive use, and relays failed. By the end of the even the machine was still functional but 3 relays died, the main launching system was getting weak from the coil not having enough cool down time, and a handful of 3d printed playfield pieces broke.

Drivetrain Design in CAD

Aug 05, 2022

Marc zum Tobel

Going by the preliminary design I created in CAD I have been designing the rear drivetrain assembly of the power wheels kart with the twin alternators as motors.

Drivetrain and Major Components

Aug 04, 2022

Marc zum Tobel

As James and I begin designing the chassis for the electric go kart we must also take into account the drivetrain,major electronics and motor controllers, as well as wheels/tires and axles.

Fishing Trip to Baja With Matt Santora

May 02, 2022

Boca Bearings

In this epic fishing video, Matt not only takes us to beautiful Baja but also gives us an inside look at his organizational process from picking the right lures and rods to choosing a Talica with the right fishing bearings.

For Women's History Month Boca Bearings Honors Michele Baum's Legacy

Mar 01, 2022

Boca Bearings

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Michele was a natural entrepreneur. Sadly, Michele passed away in 2001, yet she left her mark and a lasting legacy. For Women’s History Monthwe honor her memory. Allen remarked “Michele did everything from picking orders, customer service, sales, and marketing. She worked with us side by side every day until the last year of her life.”

Selecting and Buying a Drill Press

Feb 21, 2022

James Laumeyer

When buying tools for a workshop on a budget I believe Adam Savage said it best, "Buy cheap tools until you know what you really need from that tool, then buy the best one you can afford.”

Lawn Mower: Rear Axle Conversion

Feb 14, 2022

Boca Bearings

The solid rear axle conversion has been going smoothly with no major hiccups along the way. The only thing that has been very time consuming is waiting for parts to come in so we can get to work. We did have to modify the brake disk mount a bit for the holes to line up but other than that the fit for the parts have been good.

Lawnmower Solution: Converting to a solid rear axle

Jan 14, 2022

Marc Tobel

The racing and parade Mower James and I have been working on for the past couple months has had some issues during testing

Failures in engineering: Lawnmower

Jan 10, 2022

James Laumeyer

This project is a lesson in the failures that sometimes happen in engineering. I have learned many things in this project, how to weld, how to retrofit parts to an existing system, what conditions resin 3d printed parts, importance of tight tolerances, and how not to build a race mower. So while this project was on every level an important learning experience on my road to becoming an engineer, it is definitely a failure as it stands but we have a plan to change that.

Ryan White: Motorcycle Racer

Jan 04, 2022

Boca Bearings

When you’re a thrill seeker racing motorcycles will be high on your list! It’s high on ours! We even carry a special line of motorcycle bearings, CHIP for improved performance.

The Clock is Ticking: Another 35 Years

Jan 01, 2022

Boca Bearings

One thing is for sure; the clock is ticking figuratively and literally. When we commissioned this beautiful hand-made clock from Mike Bruck all of us were a year younger.

In the Spirit of Giving: Marine Education Initiative

Nov 04, 2021

Boca Bearings

In this month of November we are grateful for people and organizations that give back to the community even in challenging times and circumstances.

Millie Hart-Breaking Ground for Women in Motorsports

Oct 14, 2021

Boca Bearings

Allow us to introduce you to Millie Hart, a brilliant racer hailing from the UK. Millie tells us that her passion and destiny is to race!

A conversation with Athlete Beata Wronska

Oct 04, 2021

Boca Bearings

It's not often we meet and develop a close relationship with a well-rounded athlete such as Beata Wronska. Beata has really impressed and motivated us with her commitment and dedication to mountain biking.

Go-Kart

Sep 22, 2021

James Laumeyer

the BBEGC it had two main problems, a bad battery pack, and a bad motor controller. As the motor that was mounted was a brushless motor we first attempted to use a brushless controller to swap in for it though the problem was getting KV values off of a part that was designed to work with a specific controller and had poor documentation.

Amos Robinson & His Kinetic Art

Sep 20, 2021

Boca Bearings

Last year we had a conversation with Amos, well now we just want to share his kinetic art videos. Take a look and enjoy.

A Wooden Clock, A Kinetic Sculpture

Sep 13, 2021

Boca Bearings

Trial and error is the name of the game when it comes to clock building. We are huge supporters of artistic talent so it comes to no surprise that we commissioned a clock from Mike Bruck, a very talented and experimental clockmaker. Mike is not afraid to try new machinery or processes for his craft.

3D Printed R/C 3-Wheeler

Sep 08, 2021

Michael Rudinsky

The 3D printed R/C 3-Wheeler that I printed and built was designed by Andre Tessier. When you download the files, the instructions are very easy to follow with a complete list of materials and links to the parts required.

Racing / Parade Mower III

Sep 01, 2021

James Laumeyer

Continuing with our racing mower project significant progress has been made in the month and a half since our last blog update.

Flow Hydro-Electric Energy Converter Completion

Aug 27, 2021

Boca Bearings

The initial set up of the project included a box leveled on top of the tank, in which a second bilge pump and tube entered and exited the box.

Matt Santora - Avid Fisherman

Aug 17, 2021

Boca Bearings

Matt Santora is an avid fisherman and owner of Finbomb, a fishing and diving apparel company. He holds 2 California State Records for fishing, and he truly loves all aspects of the sport, from reading signs of the birds overhead, to finding the boiling tuna, to choosing the best lure, to angling and cooking the fish.

Flow Hydro-Electric Energy Converter II

Aug 10, 2021

Tyler Gilley

At the shop today I started by redesigning the Turbine housing the water turbine will sit inside. The problem I encountered with my first design was that the turbine did not sit centered.

Joe Pirozzoli- RC Aerobatics- Arvada Associated

Jul 30, 2021

Boca Bearings

At Boca Bearings we believe all hobbies are great, especially RC Aerobatics. As a matter of fact one of our team members, Jonathan, has been flying RC planes for over 30 years! But not only does he fly RC planes, he also has a private pilot’s license for real planes! How cool is that?!

Gerardo Martinez - BMX Expert

Jul 29, 2021

Boca Bearings

Bikes and music go together like peanut butter and jelly! At least that’s what we believe here at Boca Bearings. Our friend Gerardo Martinez can wholeheartedly back us up on this since he is the General Manager for Nuclear Blast Records (Meshuggah, Testament, Slayer, Exodus, Rob Zombie) and a BMX fanatic!

Flow Hydro-Electric Energy Conversion System Project

Jul 28, 2021

Carmen Riggs

We recently changed directions from a waver energy conversion system to a Flow Hydro Conversion system due to some time constrains. However, the concept remains the same and the same materials will be used.

Humanoid Otto

Jul 21, 2021

Dylan Butera

Here is my first entry for the humanoid Otto. Previously, I put together and coded the standard Otto DIY robot. For this project, I will be putting together the Otto Humanoid robot. The humanoid version has arms, a touch sensor, a sound sensor, an LED matrix to show emotions, metal gear servos as opposed to plastic, and a Bluetooth module, all of which the standard Otto does not have. I have started by printing out the shell, and now I’m ready to start assembling the robot.

Racing / Parade Mower II

Jul 07, 2021

Marc Tobel

For our next project James and I decided to do something a bit more ambitious than the previous projects we have worked on.

Racing / Parade Mower I

Jul 05, 2021

James Laumeyer

The intern team at Boca bearings is always busy turning out new and creative ways to showcase our bearings, as such we are always looking for ways to build upon our past experiences and leverage those skills to new projects.

Recoding the push button on OTTO Robot

Jul 01, 2021

Tyler Gilley

Upon receiving this kit, I was informed that the OTTO robot did not work outside of its USB port connection. For example, the OTTO DIY Robot has a USB connection that gives it the ability to import code into an Arduino circuit Board, once properly connected to a computer or laptop.

New workshop set-up

Jun 28, 2021

James Laumeyer

Over the past few weeks, the team at Boca Bearings has been working on revamping the workshop in the warehouse as the space was proving to be difficult to work in due to an inefficient use of space that caused tools to get lost or straight up not have

Otto Kit Completed

Jun 25, 2021

Dylan Butera

Now that the robot is fully assembled I have been using the Otto Blockly program to code the Arduino. This robot is only capable of doing simple actions like walking or dancing using servos, making it a great starter project for me. The eyes are ultrasonic sensors(the part is the HC-sr04) which can be used to make the robot perform an action when something comes within a certain range of them. I have programmed Otto to do a dance once something comes within about 10 cm of his face. This can also be used to make Otto avoid obstacles while he is walking. This project has introduced me to robotics and programming, and I look forward to working with the more complex options offered by OttoDIY.

Otto Kit

Jun 23, 2021

Dylan Butera

For this project, I will be building and programming starting with the basic builder kit from Otto DIY. The goal is to program this robot and use the motion sensors

Trey Harpel- Thkustom

Jun 22, 2021

Boca Bearings

We value and support small businesses, thus we love to hear about their passion, commitment and innovative ways. Today we had a conversation with Trey Harpel, the owner of Thkustoms.

Wave Energy Converter 2

Jun 17, 2021

Tyler Gilley

This past week Carmen and I collaborated ideas on how the wave tank should be constructed. Carmen created a spreadsheet that compared and contrasted parts to be used in this project. At first we came up with the idea to use plexiglass, but we came to the conclusion that we are going to need steel bracing to

James Laumeyer: Our Intern of the Spring Semester 2021

Jun 04, 2021

Boca Bearings

The internship at Boca Bearings has many objectives from fostering an ecosystem of local talent to community involvement. However, one of the paramount objectives for our engineer interns is to explore new talents and hone in on preferred skills.

Wave Energy Converter

May 24, 2021

Carmen Riggs

The purpose of the wave energy converter project is to demonstrate the wide range of applications which wave energy can hold for the modern world and future energy projects

LED Programming

Apr 28, 2021

Carmen Riggs

When I joined the skeeball project, I was tasked with the complete development and design of the electronic components. I started with the understanding that there were 3 LED displays which needed to be controlled by a main power switch.

Instructables-Drift Bike

Apr 14, 2021

Marc Tobel

I’ve been wanting to build a drift trike for a while now as a personal project and finally got the chance at my internship with Boca Bearings.

Instructables-Pinball Machine

Apr 12, 2021

James Laumeyer

Congratulations, you have decided to make a Pinball machine based off the Boca Bearing Design! Now before you get into this project an important thing to note is that our machine has a material cost of about $7-800, pinball electronics are expensive.

3D Sets Model 7 Buggy Project

Apr 06, 2021

Michael Rudinsky

This project is a 3D printed model Volkswagen Beetle. The download from the 3D Sets website includes an easy to follow assembly guide and a list of all non-printed parts. This model requires about 3kg of filament, PLA is recommended

Teddy Celebrates 22 years with BB

Mar 30, 2021

Boca Bearings

Teddy Mullins one of Boca Bearings longest-term team member joined the company some 22 years ago! He heard about Boca Bearings through an agency. He was told the company was family-owned by some kind-hearted people.

Skee-Ball Machine

Feb 02, 2021

James Laumeyer

Keeping up with the arcade theme, my next project is a Skee-ball machine

PinBall Machine 2.0/8

Jan 13, 2021

James Laumeyer

These past couple weeks I all but finished up the pinball machine, completing the ball return system, tuning the launchers and finishing the wiring. This leaves the only things left being to install the legs and cover glass.

Drift Trike Part 5

Jan 06, 2021

Marc Tobel

Got the PVC sleeves on the rear tires but it took a lot more effort than I thought it would. In order to get them to slide on I had to grease up the tires and deflate them, cut the pvc to the correct width and begin sliding them over the rear tires of the trike

PinBall Machine 2.0/7

Dec 08, 2020

James Laumeyer

This week I have been working on getting the wiring taken care of and dealing with some of the problems in the design of the pinball machine. And while I can see the end in sight the last few problems are making it a slower finish that I would like.

PinBall Machine 2.0/6

Nov 16, 2020

James Laumeyer

The last couple weeks a lot of progress has been made on the pinball machine and the home stretch is very near. Notably in my last report I showed the wooden box was completely built. Since that update the box has been stained black and then lacquered to give it a nice shine.

PinBall Machine 2.0/5

Oct 27, 2020

James Laumeyer

Over the last couple weeks I have been working to meet the deadline of the end of October to have this thing finished and although I have made tons of progress I have hit some setbacks that will inevitably push the finish date closer to the end of November.

Drfit Trike Part 4

Oct 21, 2020

Marc Tobel

After sourcing the bike that I wanted for the front end of the trike, I began to cut the frame of the bike to fit onto the rear trike frame. I also wanted to remove most of the paint that was originally on the bike so I could weld supports in. Sanding off the paint also leaves room down the road to put a fresh coat of paint on it, which I plan on doing

PinBall Machine 2.0/4

Oct 06, 2020

James Laumeyer

This week I finished up the CAD designs for the entire machine, and while there are a couple of minor parts that I the gears are going to take about 32 hours to print all five of them so hopefully, they don’t fail mid-print

PinBall Machine 2.0/3

Sep 25, 2020

James Laumeyer

This week I worked on finishing up the play field designs. To finish off the play field I added the guides for the ball return system, designed the caps for the slingshots, laying out a twin tunnel obstacle to score points in, and designed a spinning pillar obstacle that uses a gear box and one motor to spin five pillars and fling the pinball all over the board.

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