R1 - Extra 'Hole' in Nose Bridge

[Crash84]

I was looking at my R1s today and I noticed that on the left side of the nose bridge where the metal part sticks in, theres an extra hole. The right side is perfectly fine though. Its pretty hard to describe but check out the pictures. The last two pictures are of the right side.



Can anyone tell me wats up with this...Oakley early manufacturing quirk or a defect? I`m pretty sure the frame is authentic and the 'hole' doesn't affect the function of the frame.

Update: Anyways, I checked out another different R1 that I had, with a later serial. AND...it likewise has an extra 'hole' on the left orbital. Check out the newly uploaded picture below. This time its not perfectly cast, but more like a bubble. Seems like there were really quite a few imperfections by Oakley with the R1s.

 

[OakleyGuru379]

Weird....

 

[OakleyGuru379]

It's def real. Must just be a casting defect. oakley had to have seen it in the X ray, so they must have deemed it strong enough to pass qc even with the hole. There is no way they wouldve missed that.

 

[Rustpot]

There was probably an extra plug on the wax mold. Is it a perfectly formed hole, or more of a bubble?

 

[OakleyGuru379]

X metals are full of imperfections, a testament to their strength. I have a pair of Carbon Juliets with a hole that runs from the threads on the orbital straight through to the lens groove.

 

[Rustpot]

I wouldn't attribute that to their strength. It's more indicative of the manufacturing processes used. Casting is a dirty, nasty process. Poured metal castings have a ton of variables that contribute to final part dimension and tolerance, surface finish, internal structure, etc. and just as many that can lead to imperfections such as voids, porosity, shrinkage, swell, etc.

With the given web thickness aluminum would likely stand up just as well to a void like that. Aluminum is a poor choice for the frames because it work hardens, is very brittle, and is a very volatile metal to cast.

 

[OakleyGuru379]

I wouldn't attribute that to their strength. It's more indicative of the manufacturing processes used. Casting is a dirty, nasty process. Poured metal castings have a ton of variables that contribute to final part dimension and tolerance, surface finish, internal structure, etc. and just as many that can lead to imperfections such as voids, porosity, shrinkage, swell, etc.

With the given web thickness aluminum would likely stand up just as well to a void like that. Aluminum is a poor choice for the frames because it work hardens, is very brittle, and is a very volatile metal to cast.

why is it dirty? Does it produce a lot of waste?

 

[Crash84]

Bummer..i was hoping to use this as a brand new display piece. Yeah I gather that x-metals have a fair bit of imperfections, just surprised that Oakley would let this even pass through their QC.

Rustpot - Its a perfectly cast hole, exactly liek the one where the said metal part inserts in when you connect the nose bridge with the lens/arms.

 

[OakleyGuru379]

Bummer..i was hoping to use this as a brand new display piece. Yeah I gather that x-metals have a fair bit of imperfections, just surprised that Oakley would let this even pass through their QC.

Rustpot - Its a perfectly cast hole, exactly liek the one where the said metal part inserts in when you connect the nose bridge with the lens/arms.

Why are you bummed? They are still extremely functional

 

[Rustpot]

why is it dirty? Does it produce a lot of waste?

Dirt, oils, slag, gasses produced in the pour, gasses produced in the burn, over pour, grinding swarf, cutting/grinding media, mold materials, burn soot. And probably a bunch of other stuff. If you ever go into a foundry everything just has a black coating to it. Sodium lights are used more often than not.

Take a chunk of metal. There's dirt and grime on it, even if it looks perfectly virgin. There are imperfections in the metal. Steel even more so than other metals. Oxides form when the metal touches air or the water in the air. When you melt that metal it all burns off. Dirt and dust in the air burns when it touches the metal. When you pull molten metal from a kiln it will typically have a flame to it, but the metal itself isn't on fire.

It's just dirty as all getout.