Please see the order information page, located Here.
Simple question, not so simple answer;
All Animal Motor Works 75mm reload kits are compatible with Kosdon East 75mm hardware. The 54mm 1750 reloads are also compatible with 54mm 1750 hardware by Kosdon East. Hardware manufactured by Kosdon Enterprises may be compatible, but due to lack of manufacturing standardization by Kosdon Enterprises, AMW can not guarantee the reloads will work. If you have old Kosdon Enterprises hardware and are unsure have it checked by an authorized dealer, or AMW at the next launch. Kosdon by Aerotech™ has never produced the current AMW certified hardware, and therefore reloads are not compatible. Animal Motor Works reloads are NOT compatible with any hardware that screws together. AMW provides no warranty of any kind for reloads used in non AMW or Kosdon East hardware. (Sorry, The lawyers made me type the last sentence.)
No, Not at this time. But, The zoo keepers have plans to certify the reloads with the California State Fire Marshal and achieve CSFM certification. Unfortunately, the date this will occur is TBD. We need to clear up some of the current Homeland Security Act issues first. AMW will make a public announcement when we succeed with CSFM certification. Please stay tuned to the AMW channel.
No, Not at this time. But, The zoo keepers have plans to file for classification in Canada right after getting the CSFM certifications completed. Unfortunately, the date this will occur is TBD. We hope to complete this sometime in 2004. AMW will make a public announcement when we succeed with additional country certifications. If you are a dealer outside of North America and can assist with certification in your local country, please email us @ sales@animalmotorworks.com.
AMW has plans to release 38mm hardware/reloads and maybe more small 54mm reloads in the near future. Sorry, the release date is to be determined. It is like giving birth to a baby elephant, it comes out when it is ready and not before.
A high performance and specialty high power rocket motor manufacturer has been in the works for well over 7 years prior to introduction. The original plan was to release the reload kits in conjunction with Kosdon East Incorporated, taking advantage of the well known Kosdon/Kosdon East alliance. During off-on negotiations with Dr. Frank Kosdon PhD of Kosdon Enterprises, Dr. Kosdon decided to exclusively license his products to a well known competitor, Aerotech. This killed any chance of utilizing the Kosdon alliance. In the legal entanglement, Kosdon East became only a distributor for Kosdon by Aerotech. So, The best solution was spin off an new company, we decided to call Animal Motor Works. Animal Motor Works was incorporated in 2000. After 2 years of wrestling with the government recognized competent authorities in hazardous materials, passing many pounds of paper to the DOT, and getting motors certified by Tripoli and NAR, Animal Motor Works hatchlings were officially released to the general public @ NYPOWER and LDRS 21 in July of 2002. Please send lots of money to the Zoo keepers, rewarding them for the effort.
Animal Motor Works is incorporated in Florida with DOT recognized manufacturing in both Florida and New Hampshire. For the proper contact information, please see our contact page - Here.
Why can't zoo visitors give the new born animals time to grow up before pestering them? Don't you know that for proper growth, most animals need to be sheltered till officially certified by one of the testing authorities (Tripoli, NAR, or CAR)? Let's make a deal, if you can find the super secret new born zoo cage link (hint: it's on the reload page), you *MIGHT* see a potential list of upcoming reload certifications. Don't hurt your mouse finger looking for it, why not just wait in suspense like the rest.....
The present list of authorized dealers is located on the order information page. Since Animal Motor Works reloads can be shipped via FEDEX, 1 dealer anywhere should be enough, right? Ok, Ok....do not send the hate mail yet.. Currently we have dealers in the eastern, mid-west, central, and western US areas. In an effort to keep customers and dealers happy (and well supplied), Animal Motor Works will be adding more dealers. BUT this will only be done as production capacity allows. Even with 2 people in AMW, we can only eat that elephant a little at a time. Interested dealers should email sales@animalmotorworks.com for information on the requirements to become another gate keeper for the Zoo. Please note - Having customers send dealer requests directly to AMW doesn't help the dealer. Customers should insist their favorite dealer contact AMW so the dealer can accurately gauge local sales demand. Until an authorized dealer is established near you, please patronize the already established dealers. Animal Motor Works and it's authorized dealers appreciate your consideration on this topic as we grow.
This is a common question. Update 11/11/2002 - Bob @ Aero Pack Int. has informed the zoo keepers that he released a 54mm motor retention system to be compatible with Animal Motor Works hardware. Contact Aero Pack Int. for more information. The incompatibility of the older motor retainers came as a result of the Zoo keepers decision to change to a stronger version of the original Kosdon East external thrust ring design.
If you have Aero Pack Int. manufactured prior to November, we've had other animal lovers report a fix. If you grind off ~0.010" from the outside, the54mm hardware external thrust ring it will fit inside the older Aero Pack motor retainer. There have been no reports of any failures modifying the external thrust ring. Regardless, Animal Motor Works does not provide any warranty for any hardware modification, so please don't ask us.
Also, Please read this caution:
We have had several mechanically inclined zoo lovers, look at the SlimLine fit problem. Several have proclaimed, "The casing looks like a new external snap ring groove location, and a smaller diameter thrust ring will fix it! What is so hard?" Well, since you asked;
1) Changing the external thrust ring location: Moving the external thrust ring forward to fit Slimline, will put the external groove very near and in some casings directly on top of the internal snap ring groove. Since both snap ring grooves are cut to ~1/2 the casing wall thickness, the new external ring location will severely reduce or eliminate the casing's ability to hold pressure. There are minimum requirements for "edge margins" of solid metal between snap rings (and other machined features), minimum groove depths/tolerances, and the required safety margins that prevent a simple casing modification to correct the Slimline retainer fit problem. Modifying your AMW hardware in an attempt to fix it, not only violates the warranty, but almost guarantees casing failure under pressure. If the casing doesn't fail the 1st time, it will most likely stretch a snap ring groove, reduce the metal thickness, and then fail on a later use. We have seen one attempt where the motor become permanently stuck inside the retainer, due to the expansion of the modified, stretched snap ring groove. Of course, this will damage the retainer and rocket when it fails.
2) We have also investigated a smaller diameter, external thrust ring to fit the SlimLine and older AeroPack retainer systems. The Slimline retainers investigated, could not handle the extra casing length below the snap ring with only a thrust ring diameter change. So this did not entirely "fix" the Slim line problem. A "Standard Duty" ring with an acceptable smaller diameter is available, but it is also weaker. We tested the "Standard duty" for 2+ years prior to deciding a "Heavy Duty", stronger, external thrust ring was needed. The "Standard Duty" ring did not have the reliability zoo lovers expect. Investigation of keeping the smaller external diameter with "Heavy Duty" capability, was a custom part. This proved too costly in tooling and lot charges. AMW settled on a standard diameter, "Heavy Duty" ring as a compromise.
Discussions continue in this area. If the situation changes, we will post it here.
Are Animal Motor Works hardware sets compatible with Loki Research reloads?
Upon 1st appearances, it looks like Loki Hardware is identical to Animal Motor works hardware. Loki even claims to produce some AMW "compatible" hardware sets, and reloads. We have even learned that customers are being told that the use of these clone hardware sets is approved by the zoo keepers. Sorry, AMW reloads are not recommended, nor warranted if used in any hardware except genuine Animal Motor Works hardware. No AMW hardware is known to work with Loki reloads without modifications to the hardware. It is true that at one time, AMW contracted with Loki to produce some limited runs of hardware. Loki has received AMW copyrighted drawings and information in this interchange. However; due to numerous quality issues, most of this hardware was scrapped, or sold as seconds. Also, We no longer use Loki's manufacturing services for any AMW hardware. If any AMW customer purchases AMW packaged hardware from a non-AMW authorized dealer, please let us know. OuR quality reputation is at stake.
Animal Motor works is part time business. The owners have additional responsibilities besides AMW. Animal Motor Works in not presently staffed to handle a large number of direct consumer phone calls, Sorry. Your 1st contact is an authorized dealer found on the order information page. The dealers can and know how to contact Animal Motor Works personnel if the situation requires emergency action. Any product inquires are best sent to the sales email address on the contact page. Thanks for your cooperation on this topic.
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Last Update 01/22/2007