Better hopper thread! (not which is better kind)

[SlartyBartFast]

Soda cans are just a couple pennies apiece.

But how many MILLIONS and MILLIONS of cans are made each year? There's no where near that production level and I doubt you could justify the tooling costs.

As for deformable material >> Very bad idea. If the outside of the hopper can be deformed the paint inside might break.

[hitech]

Why not use the same nalgene material they use in sports bottles. That stuff is pretty much indestructable. Just make it a bit thicker to hold its shape better.

Nalgene is a brand name. They have bottles made from two different type of materials (that I have used anyway ), "soft" and "hard" plastic. The "hard" plastic is "lexan" and the "soft" is too flexible to protect the paint inside. I believe that Halo shells are made from "lexan".

I say carbon fiber. How expensive can it be? The stock auto/mini mag grip frame is made from it and it's not expensive.

[nt2004]

why not lexan like those indestructible bottles they sell. THey can take shotgun blasts without breaking. This idea was brought up about 4 months ago and i dont remeber why no one triedd it. Is lexan very expensive to make or something?

[1ofkind]

I'ed pay a extra 100 or maybe 200$ on a hopper that would never break. Really in the long run it all adds on parts for hoppers.

[Destructo6]

But how many MILLIONS and MILLIONS of cans are made each year? There's no where near that production level and I doubt you could justify the tooling costs.

Billions per plant, actually. The die would probably be very simple; like one operation.

As for deformable material >> Very bad idea. If the outside of the hopper can be deformed the paint inside might break.

I'm not talking about deforming significantly. Flexing a little would allow some deceleration, rather than transmitting the impact's full energy, either to the paint inside or the shell's stress points.