Billet this and billet that

Originally Posted by Dr Rich

Me too

Keith, this one I inadvertantly put to death a few days ok should tickle your fancy

http://forums.sv650.org/viewtopic.php?t=46166

my christ!!

thats an absolute beauty

*note to self, next time i can't sleep.....*

I must be selective in my geekery, as that other thread bored the tits off me too

I guess the marketing peeps prey on the ignorance of the masses (including me). Words like "machined" and "billet" sound impressive, and the product is usually shiny, so people go "ooh!"

I for one won't be buying any load bearing "billet" components... does a tax disc holder count?

Thanks for the thread guys

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/billet says:

Billet is a term used in manufacturing to refer to a cast product. A cast product is defined as either as ingot or a billet, depending on whether the cross-sectional diameter is greater than, or less than approximately 200 mm, respectively. A billet is typically cast to a geometry compatible with secondary processing, e.g. forging. An ingot is typically cast to a convenient geometry for further primary processing, e.g. heat treatment (Schey, 1999). Ingots and billets are collectively known as barstock.

So yes, most definitely both mis-used and meaninless in the context of "Billet alluminium brake reservoir cap" or "Billet dog-bone".

Generally I see things described as machined from billet aluminium, which would still mean something (not much, admittedly)

Originally Posted by Carsick

Generally I see things described as machined from billet aluminium, which would still mean something (not much, admittedly)

I was using this as a reference, which says:

3-piece billet aluminum set includes front brake reservoir cap, rear brake reservoir cap and oil filler cap, all black anodized with high impact graphic.

I guess as you say "Machined from Aluminium Billet" would make more sense (as im "More tea, Alice?" "How can i have more when i havent had any?"...)

I thought a billet was what you slept in in the forces!!!

[northwind]

I bought a billet Brembo m/c a while back. Before that I had a forged one. It was just described as "forged", which tells you no more than billet- should it say "cold forged from XXX alloy"? The SV has a cast frame- is it relevant that it's sand-cast not rubber cast?

[21QUEST]

Originally Posted by northwind

I bought a billet Brembo m/c a while back. Before that I had a forged one. It was just described as "forged", which tells you no more than billet- should it say "cold forged from XXX alloy"? The SV has a cast frame- is it relevant that it's sand-cast not rubber cast?

Ping! Dang!!!! Topman


Cheers
Ben

[DavieSV]

as you say
forgings are the strongest as the grain follows the profile
machined from billet cuts trough the grain
most components that are machined from billet are to replace components that have been cast, either sand casting or die casting normally, casting is a cheap way of mass producing components to a fairly tight tolerance, but still need slight machining, drilled and tapped holes, mating faces etc,
due to the casting process, the material is very brittle, it shatters on impact, billet material is softer, and will disform on impact, eg, if you drop the bike, you will probably hole the engine casings, with billet casings you have a better chance of just denting them, allthough they can still break,
I'll go for machined from billet, better than a casting, not as expensive as a forging