Is how the maltese write letters?

[KARLFOXMAN]

Santa Marija certainly do them well, I was fortunate enough to see them first hand at the firework festival. I have not seen other factories ones but im sure they are very good. Better than my ones :-(

Its unfortunate you cannot use these shells for your feast, they sound very good. I have seen many of the videos on your clubs website and all your stuff looks amazing. Love those colour shells with center multi-colour pistils.

I think I know of the factory you talk about, it was very unfortunate and I can understand the changes made to feast program. Only a few days till I test fire my shells...

 

[Tony]

[adminbreak]Is how the maltese write letters? Please keep to the discussion. Open a new thread for a other discussion![/adminbreak]

 

[propyro2]

We have been working and building these types of shells for a while with good success. Like they say, these are just pattern shells we use fairly small ones. Im sure some of you know how pattern shells are constructed, once you know this you can make them do what you like. I cannot give information out either, Im not Maltese but I have friends there and not even they tell me how to make certain items. Next time we test fire I will send the video link.

If it is as simple as making pattern shells like hearts and rings why dont the Chinese produce the entire alphabet. They would sell like hot cakes.

 

[reflections]

THat's because even though they are as "simple" as pattern shells.. Making them still envolves a lot of man power.. The theory is simple but the process in making pattern shells are not all equal. Atleast all chinese sells letter O hahahahaha!

 

[pyros]

Hi there!

I guess the only answer I would have to that is it is because generally the Chinese factories are learn-resistant. They could do a lot more what involves techniques in construction but they don't want to learn. At least this is the conclusion I came to with several years of contacts to companies there. I'm not saying the do a bad job, but they do it their way, the way they have always used and don't change their perspective on things...

bye!
Alex

 

[august15]

Our 1st letters were way back in 2001 . We wrote VSM. Later I ll post a photo of them.

Maybe Chinese sell Chinese ALphabet letters so We dont recognise them, if they are Chinses Alphabet Letters or Patterns hahahaha.

THat's because even though they are as "simple" as pattern shells.. Making them still envolves a lot of man power.. The theory is simple but the process in making pattern shells are not all equal. Atleast all chinese sells letter O hahahahaha!

 

[KARLFOXMAN]

I finally got around to testing the shells I made, here is the video.As you can see it worked. I will not give details away of construction, but if you have knowlage of pyrotechnic manufacture you can work it out.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej6hrwfqcXI

Sorry not great vid!

 

[KARLFOXMAN]

Slighty better test video, 28Meg.

http://www.pyrobin.com/files/projection shell 3.avi

 

[Remi-Pyro]

After I looked at your video’s I have drown my own conclusions and theory’s. I See you don’t use any mortar. Its seems that the shell is just hanging there or is fixed to the ground. I think if you fire it from a mortar and let it explode a few meters above it (like a flowerpot), the upward momentum of the shell tends to deform the effect. For example: when you see an ordinary peony flowerpot, the effect isn’t round anymore but looks more like a mine. So when fired like this, its very hard to maintain the shape of a letter. If you fire a normal pattern shell from a mortar, it is always a gamble in which direction the pattern will spread. This because the shell twists and turns in the air. If you look at the video’s of the Maltese letter shells you see there all precisely directed to the spectators. I assume they are fixed to a rigid position.

I think it is possible to use singe shots for shooting letter patterns, but that is harder than using shells. If I look at the Maltese letters I see that there is a break beneath the pattern. The letter rises from one position and spreads out from here. I can’t think of a way you can shoot single shot comets from one position and still let them create the shape of a letter. It would be possible if you use different lift charges for each comet, but that will not create a perfectly straight letter. (it is very hard to calculate the exact amount of lift powder). And I think you should shoot the comets from different positions accept for just one.

This is my theory of the Maltese letters. You can correct me if I’m thinking wrong. I think the letter pattern shells are brilliant and I can understand that the manufacturers don’t want to tell how they work because the are really something special.

Remi-Pyro.

 

[KARLFOXMAN]

Spot on!

This was fired as a pattern shell, but secured to the top of a stake. After looking also at the Maltese ones I tried it and it shows it works. I have seen it done with single shots but your right, not as good. Well through just simple video it looks like you did good examination of the effect. We make quite alot of these and I hope you can now see the theory, easy to make yet a very good effect.

I dont know exactly how the Maltese factories make them and fire them. This was a test we did a few times using our brains, this is by far the easy way and works very well everytime so long as the break charges are kept the same.

 

[Remi-Pyro]

I Also have a theory about how the interior of the pattern shell is constructed. I’m not a pyrotechnician but I do know how a shell is constructed. So this theory is based on my knowledge of the existing shells and how I think a letter can be created. (Doesn’t mean it will work in practice)

When a normal shell explodes in the air, the stars spread in 360degrees. They all travel an equal distance from the midpoint of the effect to create a nice spherical shape. It means that when it explodes on the ground, 50percent of the effect will not get airborne because its blown to the ground. It’s the same you see with water shells. The difference between the pattern shells in the air, and on the ground is that the shells on the ground only have the pattern shape in the top half of the shell. Because every star that is positioned under the centre of the burst charge is blown towards the ground. I think after doing do a few tests you know exactly how the stars behave and you can make a nearly perfect letter pattern (like the Maltese).

I hope my theory is right. If you don’t think it will work, I do want to know why.

Remi-Pyro!

 

[KARLFOXMAN]

Remi,

Yes your correct, I have made plenty of shell in my time. The pattern of stars is placed slighty below the break line in one of the hemispheres of the shell casing. Also what we call a passfire tube (the small tube inside the communicates the ignition flame) is placed at the correct height inside the shell, this can be changed to make the pattern project outwards more and be smaller or make the pattern larger but travel outwards less. Much like having a video projector nearer to its screen. The stars are arranged in the desired pattern and when the shell explodes they will hold their place and travel outwards from the center point of ignition. This depends on many factors, burst type and ammount, paste layers ect. The secret is putting the stars lower then the half point in the shell. I am doing about 8 of these shells during our November show so you will see them. We have a countdown of 3,2,1 and also the letters spelling AD2. You can see from my picture the inside of a shell we made.

I hope this information does not upset the Maltese clubs, but I have made these from my own ideas and not from any info from the Maltese clubs I know in Malta.

 

[reflections]

that looks cool.. are the stars glued on the paper? or that picture is just a sample of how it should look like inside the shell? If it's the real shell itself, it looks like you're using a cylindrical shell to do this.. is that right?

vander

 

[KARLFOXMAN]

No its a ball shell, thats just the top hemisphere, under that is some break charge. The paper is glued to some thin card and then the stars glued to the template. This stops them being able to move once the shell is packed with break charge. After that the shell is closed and pasted. That is the shell from the video, I did some pictures to show you how it looks. In this picture you see the shell closed and ready to paste, the marks on the case show me the orentaition of the pattern. The marks have to be redone as you paste each layer of paper, if you did not mark the shell you would not know how the pattern was sitting inside the casing. Note if this was fired from a mortar like a normal shell you would not need to mark it as the shell tumbles and you have minimal control over its orentation in the sky.