Broke the machine AGAIN

 Broke the weld on the coupler first board on Wednesday..  Repaired that and we used up all the dry plastic we had in stock.

Thursday I dug out 2 injection mold machines from inventory that has been there for 2+ years.  This is why I do not keep much machinery in stock, as when I build it, it just sits there, like bad luck.  Like the one brand new extrusion machine I have in stock right now.

I finally found a AI bot to take over social media girl position.  It is 40 USD a month, and it trained in half a day, what took me a month to train the social media girl on.  It had a conversation with a inquiry and the person literally could not tell that they was talking to a bot.

I basically pointed it to my past social media conversations, my instructional stuff, some websites, and youtube videos relating to my project and it did the rest.  

It still needs some fine tuning but that is simply a matter of adding in instructions in plain language to a text box on the control panel.

Meanwhile today I have a couple 55 gallon drums of mostly dry shred plastic that will get turned into lumber and fence posts.

Wednesday, I had the car get more work.  Front end got aligned the old fashioned way.  I had taken it to a place with the laser alignment and they charge 18 bucks.  But they tried to tell me that they could not do the alignment without replacing my supposedly bad bearings.  

Except I just replaced the bearings on both front wheels less than 2 weeks ago.    Hence me calling up my mechanic next door and doing the alignment with a carpenter level, and tape measure.  

With the new 15 inch tires, the car really drives nice.  It did not change the appearance much, as the original steel tires with hubcaps look kinda similar to the alum ford rims minus the center cap.  I have also noticed multiple cars in my neighborhood that are damn near exactly the same as mine.  Color, model etc.  Now I just need to replace the AC compressor so I can drive anonymously with the tinted windows closed.  I am going the exact opposite of showy and flash with this thing.  I want anonymous and forgettable, yet at the same time very dependable, and economical.  

In other commentary, if you have been following the news.  The Mr. Beast Saga keeps getting more spicy.  A few hours ago, this dumbass, announces he is hiring the full DEI package.  Ghey struggle sessions, snitching system, and the usual woke nonsense.  All this because he is so full of price to say that his wierdo buddy was a bad man.  This is the biblical PRIDE that is in the deadly sin list.  Gay pride... ahem...  

In another hot take... what if this lack of attack by Iran on Israel has to do with the fact that the writing is on the wall with the USA?

What if this meme is more accurate than we like to admit?

Meanwhile over here, This is a picture from a Manila river.  This was just cleaned a few weeks ago, and this is what came back already.  

You could look at it as either a unlimited supply of trash, or as a unlimited supply of material.  At the minimum it has calories that can be burned to make electricity or cement.  Using gasification plastic can be burned cleanly.  

Production study today in the shop and the WW3

 Nothing I can contribute here about the current situation that has not been in the other places we read online.

Extrusion machine broke a second time after lunch.  This time it blew out 2 pillow block bearings.  I thought it was the excessive pressure of the plastic and the extrusion screw pushing the screw backwards out the machine.  Which was that, but also I discovered my former fabricator half assed the stopper that stopped the shafting from moving.  

The stopper had machined part of the cast iron block holding the bearing.  Because it was put in stupidly and without care.

Had a emergency run to the bearing shop and we got a couple boards made by the end of the day.  I was seeing run times of 6 to 7 min per board.  I will be doing a full production run this morning.  I have to see exactly how many I can make in a day, and I need to use that data to calculate labor costs.

I had a interesting chat online with someone in Peru who is doing what I am, but he has built a much larger factory.  He processes over 10 tons a day.  His fence posts that are 3.5x3.5 inches and 6 feet long are selling for 7 bucks.  Each post weighs 12 kilos so he is roughly making 5800usd per day in gross product.  

My setup is only going to make around 300usd daily net.  Assuming I can sell everything I produce.  But still, that is nothing to complain about.  As long as it is in the positive every day bringing in the daily bread.  

The Hyundai got more upgrade yesterday.  I swapped out the 15 inch tires on the Ford with the Hyundai 14 inch steel rims.  

There is a noticeable improvement in ride and handling but I desperately need a alignment.  

Re the AI, I just need it to answer questions, and engage customers, For what I need it to do, it will, based on the AI bot I created previously.  I have to do the work all over again to train the new bot, However based on the salary I paid the social media girl, vs the cost of a bot, the bot is cheaper and works 24/7.  

I have the AI running now. It cost 40 dollars per month.  Which is the same as it cost the social media girl to work for 3 days.  

Aaand the machine broke

 Yesterday morning the auger on the feed hopper of the extrusion machine broke.  the half ass method they had it connected to the gearbox was not sufficient.  

Lacking a lathe in the shop, I grabbed some other steel bits including a bearing.  It all came together to mate the screw to the gearbox fairly well.

We got 223 feet of 2x2 boards and a couple pieces of 1x2 boards made.

I wanted to try boosting production so the last board of the day I added in pure granulated bubble wrap.  It is quite dense and a bit sticky from the tape adhesive.  We was a couple inches from a full mold and the shaft on the auger broke.  It was cheap chinese tubing so there is that.  

So today instead of trying to get a full production run, Two guys and myself will be attempting to repair the auger, or worst case I will have to buy another auger screw.

-----------update----------------

I found additional spare parts from some broken bearings that I can use to repair the shaft.  the shafting fits inside the bearing inner ring of a spare bearing so it is basically a sleeve to join the parts together straight using some farmer engineering.

pictured below the auger in action.  I also added in much better fume extraction.  The smoke and steam from the cooked off foods mixed with the plastic was getting to me.  

I have another exhaust fan to add in at the other end of the machine to catch the big puff of smoke that happens when we change molds.  I am tired of going home smelling like burned peanuts.

I have the old man shredding bubble wrap in the meantime to keep him busy and get my moneys worth.

I continue the search for a good AI chatbot to manage the FB and instagram business page inbox.  I have a trained ChatGPT bot but I can not connect it to my Facebook inbox, so it is a bit useless.

I have been exploring other options, to use a different AI bot to connect to the page.  I have been without a social media person to answer calls and messages since March and my sales are suffering for it.  

I have a call with a Brit company tomorrow about using a service, so we shall see.  The service is cheaper than even hiring a Filipino and it works 24/7  And I will not have to constantly remind it to do its job or re-train it cause it does stupid stuff.

Meanwhile today in between rain showers I am gonna try to grab the 15 inch alum wheels from my Ford and swap with the 14 inch steel tires on the Hyundai.  The Hyundai tires are quite worn and I would like some good meat on my primary vehicle.  My Ford has been relegated to backup vehicle.  It stands by with a full tank of gas and not much use as the rear end is smashed in.  It is drivable, but I risk getting a dilapidated vehicle traffic violation if I drive it a lot.  It simply is not worth the couple thousand dollars to fix all the body work at this point.