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    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
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Build Your Own Vacuum Tubes

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My friend Bruce came over last week and tried his hand at assembling the parts that I've pre-made to ease and simplify the construction of the WE 101D type triode. The assembly went well, but there were some shortcomings in the processing. More work has to be done to improve the sealing process, but I'm pleased with how the assembly and welding part has improved.

Here's a link to Bruce's report: Triode build : Vacuum Tube Designs and Builds
 
"Short distance C-G improves gm and ra; have you experimented with that?"
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"Peter, George is only trying to reproduce a WE-101D tube."
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Could take the tube of your choice, remove the guts and re-seal it in a WE-101 type bulb. :) My father put a 6L6 into a Mason jar with feed-thru's once. With a small Bell jar you could put multiple tube sections onto the metal base (& feed-thru's), with a valved pump down port below. Would look like some huge tube.

The higher power tubes would need special high temp glass that would be hard to work with for glass sealing. But I think you can get Pyrex Bell jars fairly readily. Tri-clamp sight glasses too.

How about a 36,000 gm WE101? (12GN7) :D or double that up for 72,000 gm, might look more classical with two at least. Put enough sections in there and you could have an "IC" for your whole amplifier.
 

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GE and a lot of other companies have picked up the scent of the hobbyists in 3D printing with scintered metals. If you dare to crack open a precious ECC83 and subject it to a FARO laser measurement system you may be able to clone a 1950's classic with the resulting diagrams. Good things are in store, ladies and gentlemen!
 
Was not aware that GE was interested in anything related to vacuum tubes or related technology. GE rebranded lots of vacuum tubes made by other manufacturers. GE was a big corporate behomoth before Dr. Welch became CEO and took GE out of unprofitable businesses. Sylvania had tube factories in NW Pennsylvania (at St. Marys and Emporium). It would be nice to see some special purpose tubes (like Telefunken's AC701 and others) manufactured to Telefunken's original specs today. The Telefunken EF86's, ECC81, ECC82, and ECC83 were good tubes. The best tubes were built before the EPA and similar regulatory agencies overseas wrecked manufacturing in the free world....
 
GE is making a push into 3D printing of metals--it's been all over the press. Perhaps they have interest in turbine blades or something similar. At present, the technology is pretty slow, but it is also invaluable for protos and molds.

Sylvania was part of GT&E, not GE.

If one could crack the envelope of those much beloved RCA 12AX7's, you could use the FARO laser scanner to make precise engineering drawings to replicate the innards.

Jay Leno has a great video in which he employs a FARO scanner and 3D printing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3SVTBrKyZke

Was not aware that GE was interested in anything related to vacuum tubes or related technology. GE rebranded lots of vacuum tubes made by other manufacturers. GE was a big corporate behomoth before Dr. Welch became CEO and took GE out of unprofitable businesses. Sylvania had tube factories in NW Pennsylvania (at St. Marys and Emporium). It would be nice to see some special purpose tubes (like Telefunken's AC701 and others) manufactured to Telefunken's original specs today. The Telefunken EF86's, ECC81, ECC82, and ECC83 were good tubes. The best tubes were built before the EPA and similar regulatory agencies overseas wrecked manufacturing in the free world....
 
Check this out.. :)

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/161252-how-about-making-your-own-tubes.html

Found two wonderful videos on YouTube which has to be seen by any tube-lover I would like to share with you, an old man from France who makes his own tubes. His homepage is: F2FO
(If the links below gets obfuscated by YouTube then go to the home channel of these videos: YouTube - mikeymike4g63's Channel )

hand making vacuum tubes Part 1
hand making vacuum tubes Part 2

While on the subject here are couple of old video recordings from Philips-Mullard.
(If the links below gets obfuscated by YouTube then go to the home channel of these videos: YouTube - philipsmuseum's Channel )

1 The making of radiovalves
2 The making of radiovalves
3 The making of radiovalves

Enjoy!

Cheers Michael

PS: Please rate this thread if you liked it!
 
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GE was one of the big vacuum tube manufacturers at one time. Tube plant in Lexington, Ky.

A GE 6L6 and 6CA7 production line that Groove Tubes bought, then sold, when they started just importing Chinese tubes:

General electric - Vacuum Tube Factory for sale! - Page 1

Pics:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/Images/audio/2012/tube-factory.pdf

Some prior discussion on 3D printing tubes:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/184691-building-better-power-triode-5.html#post2500116

And you don't need a heater or thermionic cathode these days. Thin film, room temperature electron emitters were solved back in 2000:
(so a triode can have just 3 wires now)

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tube...idea-dont-say-i-didnt-warn-2.html#post2354828

..
 
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Interesting stuff. GE owns what was Smiths Industries over here. I did my apprenticeship there back in the Smiths days. They do all sorts of military/commercial avionics. GE is a very big player in the aeronautics industry so 3D printing gas turbine parts must be of interest to them.

Cheers
Matt
 
Looks like Pratt & Whitney has been making 3D printed parts like stator blades and fuel assemblies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ4Jpd62fXo

Pratt & Whitney uses 3D printing for aero engine parts

Rotating blades are single crystal for high strength, will be a while for those to be 3D printed I think.

The auto manufacturers are interested in 3D printing too. Titanium powder is cheap and printable, could make a super car. (titanium parts were expensive before due to their difficult manufacturability, not the material cost)

Titanium tubes? (bounce off the floor)
Printed diamond or sapphire tubes? (so the infrared heat radiates through them, un-like glass)

..
 
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All of the Philips/Mullard links don't work...

I believe it was this one, all 3 parts joined into one video, I just watched and enjoyed it.

The Manufacture of Radio Valves - Presented by Mullard
Published on Apr 2, 2013
This is a precious documentary made by Mullard in 1948. It shows in great detail the construction of thermionic radio valves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwKNEJY4yAw
 
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