I was looking at solutions to curved track and this seems perfect. Only it's 400 dollars for some rubber. I'm sure there's some rubber manufacturer that sells the same thing for much less, question is where? I'm not sure where to look so I'm here asking. Is there a cheaper alternative to the Flextrak and where would I get it?

I spoke to those folks a while back and they said that their track was made of a special mix of components to give it certain properties for its features. They also said they spent alot of time and money in R&D getting it to behave the way it does when rolled and in cold weather. So, you may not find something else too similar if theirs is in fact that unique with its properties.

I hate to burst Lomandy's bubble but their secret formula track is available from McMaster Carr. The cost to have this hose custom made would be cost prohibitive considering the limited market. It is basically a smooth cased fuel hose of the type used to transfer fuel oil. It stays very flexible in cold or hot weather. I believe the catalog number is
56315K13 for the 1 1/2" diameter hose. It is around $4.05 per foot if bought in 50-ft or more lengths. You can look it up at www.mcmaster.com and type in the catalog number in the search line.

BTW, This company is the God of parts for building your own equipment or finding hard to locate fastners or materials. Their service is great and I highly recommend them.

If anyone has any questions about materials or fabricating your own equipment let me know. I'm always willing to chime in.

David

Thanks so much David.

I didn't think that their track was hollow like a hose. Theirs looks solid. I'm just going by what they said about it taking a while to come up with the right formula to have those properties. I wouldn't be surprised if they did have a secret distributor/supplier though. I'm glad to find about that maker of hard to find custom parts as well.

James,

I seek to remember a plug? that goes into each end of the hose to keep it from crushing near the ends or to connect more than one hose together.

As far as "secret" formulas go, Most companies that purchase off the shelf products and then use them for applications that they wern't originally designed for will tell you it is a secret process that took lots of R & D.

I did practical effects in feature film for 20 years and I don't think we ever used anything like it was intended. Well... maybe fire hose to put out the fires we started. But otherwise..............

Regards,

David

I hear you and agree with you. It's all about marketing and protecting their interests. It is frustrating how you can go to Wal-Mart and see a product. Then a few days later you're in K-Mart and you see the same damn thing but in different packaging and maybe a little cheaper or a little more expensive and in little bitty print on the back it says made for whoever by such and such company. It makes you feel like a sheep or head of cattle. Baaaah.....moooo.

This is really good news to know!

I was thinking about the same thing and wondered about where to get this hose.

Thanks SO much for the info!

Just for the record, if anyone ever needs info on where to find weird, out of the ordinary, stuff or how to build almost anything, I can send shop drawings to you or point you in thhe right direction.

David Mesloh
Builder and designer of weird stuff and cool things
408-202-2214

David Mesloh

Hi David

I emailed you about your posting to help folks....we'll I might wanna try some self made stuff, can you help?

I own a set of Flextrak, and I can tell you that it is a solid diameter tubing with no plug at the end.

Charles, do you think you could measure (in mm) how thick the walls of the tube are?

Thanks Charles. I really thought it had to be solid too. There is just too much weight at each wheel on the dolly that would pinch or collapse a hollow hose as the dolly travels. I plugged that part number above in on that site and apparently that was discontinued and the pictures that are shown for it or its replacement show a hose that is spiral wrapped creating ribs for reinforement. Not a smooth ride.

Mmmm...

The product literature describes the track thus:

1.5 inch 85 durometer rubber

And again, it's solid, so it doesn't have walls. I guess I shouldn't refer to it as a tube.

OK.... now that Charles has completly debunked my theory, causing me to curl up in the fetal position in the corner of this thread...... I shall be vindicated. Acme Rubber, Inc. out of Arizona supplies solid rubber extrusions in various diameters, durometers, and materials. I am now thinking that this track is a silicone cord, 1.5" in diameter with an 85 shore. Their web site (www.acmerubber.com) shows a silicone cord with a 70 shore. I'll do more research so I can redeem my credibility.

Game on!!!

David

Well, I don't know what happened to the alternative flextrak alternatives, but I'm actually looking into some hydraulic hosing that although it isn't solid, it just might be heavy duty enough to handle the weight distributed across 16 wheels, and at 2.28 a foot would be an extremely reasonable cost. If not for supporting a human and camera, it might be fine for a tripos system:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=57009&item=7516765900&rd=1

or, for flat surfaces, there is the solid half-round stuff (also at http://www.acmerubber.com/round.htm as was mentioned for the 'cord' material), again, it might be sufficiently durable (not sure if it can be durometer/shore rated [as if I know how that translates to dolly requirements!]), but if it's solid enough it would be great for a flat surface!