Steam vents question

[Timebender]

Hey all,
I downloaded Gary Weaver's PDF of all the sheet metal patterns, and had a question regarding the vents.
On the plans, he has two types, a long one and a short one, as well as the sides seem to be broken into 3 sections - a long, a mid, and a short.

So, I'm either going to assume you can do the long or short vents, OR both vents have a long and short side?

And why 3 sections per side when it seems it can be just one whole section vs. segmented.

Any input would be greatly appreciated as I plan on cutting mine out of 1/4 ABS on a laser.

Thanks!

Greg

[Mark D]

Hey all,
I downloaded Gary Weaver's PDF of all the sheet metal patterns, and had a question regarding the vents.
On the plans, he has two types, a long one and a short one, as well as the sides seem to be broken into 3 sections - a long, a mid, and a short.

So, I'm either going to assume you can do the long or short vents, OR both vents have a long and short side?

And why 3 sections per side when it seems it can be just one whole section vs. segmented.

Any input would be greatly appreciated as I plan on cutting mine out of 1/4 ABS on a laser.

Thanks!

Greg

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?11228-BTTF-Time-Machine-Build-Questions-Ask-Me-Anything&p=251681&viewfull=1#post251681

Here was my reply in the "ask me anything thread". I can't really comment on how weaver designed his parts, but I know past versions were intentionally not screen accurate so the lower sections could slide out and extend past the fascia so you wouldn't have to remove a any of the button head cap screws every time you wanted to access the engine. If you're using his plans I'd try to reach out to weaver on FB or something to see what his intent was with the design of his parts.

[petriomelony]

If you take a look at this image below, you can see why the design is the way it is.

61433
Source: https://petrolicious.com/articles/the-back-to-the-future-delorean-now-lives-at-the-petersen-museum

The outside sides of the vents are straight, and that is the one longer piece on Gary's file, I believe. The inside edges are angled to fit around the reactor chamber, and hence are broken into segments to achieve the angled shape.

Obviously Mark's team may have had a different design to Gary's, but I think Gary made modifications to his designs to be easier to fabricate/assemble, while sacrificing some minor screen accuracy like bolt placements and whatnot.

[Timebender]

Ohhhh.. that makes total sense!!
Thanks for the pics and info!