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  1. #1
    Mike Phillips
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    Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy


    As you walk into the main entrance of the Rupes Corporate Office you are greeted first by Giulia who besides being the receptionist is also in charge of all travel arrangements for Rupes staff and family. So here's a shout-out to Giulia as our air line flight, hotel and all travel arrangements were 5-START all the way!

    Giulia - Rupes Receptionist and Travel Coordinator




    Then the next sight you see are some glass display cases showcasing the various types of tools Rupes manufactures for a variety of industries. These tools include orbital sanders, orbital polishers, rotary buffers and complete vacuum extraction systems for their sanders.








    Would anyone like to guess what type of tool this is?




    Next to the entrance lobby is room filled with tools spanning the history of the Rupes company starting in the early 1950's.


    This is a two speed sander/polisher which uses an ingenious gear drive mechanism. To use a slower or faster speed you simply turn the the tool over and use the spindle for the speed required for the task at hand.






    The 1955 Wander Sander/Polisher



    This is another dual speed sander/polisher



    The 1962 Marten



    The 1976 Lar 23 Sander/Grinder



    The 1962 Super 12000 Orbital Sander



    The 1952 Stork 123 Orbital Sander



    The 1959 SS 7000 Orbital Sander



    The 1970 SS 7000 AI Orbital Sander with Vacuum Attachment



    The 1960 RIK 12000 Sander/Grinder




    Orbital Sander/Grinder



    The Super Stork Orbital Sander




    This is a gage for measuring concentric accuracy it's sitting on an original wooden Rupes used by the founder of the Rupes company.






    Rupes tools specially made for Rupes manufacturing



    Decibel Reader




    Antique picture showing tooling manufactured by Rupes






    I met the current Presidente of Rupes, his name is Guido Valentini just as you see on the machine in these pictures.





    Italian currency over the time span of the Rupes company...




    So there's a portion of the history and evolution of the Rupes family of tools taken while I was at the Rupes plant.


    Enjoy!



  2. #2
    Super Member Kamakaz1961's Avatar
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Way cool!!

  3. #3
    Super Member Paul A.'s Avatar
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Wonderful pictorial history. Thanks Mike. They made quite a jump in the machine design in 7 years 1955-1962.

  4. #4
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Quote Originally Posted by Kamakaz1961 View Post
    Way cool!!
    I agree. It's really cool when a company preserves their history to share with future generations.


    Quote Originally Posted by Puckman View Post

    Wonderful pictorial history. Thanks Mike.

    They made quite a jump in the machine design in 7 years 1955-1962.
    I agree and even more dramatic changes from 1962 to the present!




  5. #5
    Super Member Tato's Avatar
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Great picture selection Mike, it's noticeable all the technology and (specially) knowhow involved in the tools they produce today.

    Thanks for sharing.
    “Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy”

    ― Isaac Newton

  6. #6
    Super Member Todd@RUPES's Avatar
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Great pictures Mike!

    In the picture you asked "can you guess what that is"... that is the first gear-driven "forced rotation" orbital polisher/sander on the market (to our knowledge). I believe the original design is upwards of 20 years old. The tool is still sold in Europe as a bodyshop grinder to strip paint from body material.

    I have many pictures that I will try to load in a separate thread, but my favorite tool is the 1961 drill that (to our knowledge) was the first power tool to use a composite body.

    Thanks for sharing.

  7. #7
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Quote Originally Posted by Todd@RUPES View Post

    Great pictures Mike!
    Thanks Todd!


    Quote Originally Posted by Todd@RUPES View Post


    In the picture you asked "can you guess what that is"...


    that is the first gear-driven "forced rotation" orbital polisher/sander on the market (to our knowledge).


    Ding ding ding ding!


    Give the man a prize!


    I posted this thread over a year ago after returning from my visit to RUPES and not a single person even tried to guess what the tool is.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Phillips



    Would anyone like to guess what type of tool this is?




    It's the RUPES version of the Flex 3401 before Flex invented the Flex 3401.



    Thanks Todd for providing the answer and sharing some RUPES history and firsts to the market.



  8. #8
    Super Member haris300's Avatar
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Wow I never knew Rupes made a forced rotation orbital polisher. Perhaps we'll see a production model in the future to take on the 3401

  9. #9
    Super Member Todd@RUPES's Avatar
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Quote Originally Posted by haris300 View Post
    Wow I never knew Rupes made a forced rotation orbital polisher. Perhaps we'll see a production model in the future to take on the 3401

    Yes, RUPES created the first gear-driven orbital polisher (to our knowledge). However, our corporate personality is certainly on the random orbital technology front. BigFoot was actually designed to replace this technology and in our opinion, offers several significant advantages.

  10. #10
    Newbie Member Alturki's Avatar
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    Re: Rupes Bigfoot Orbital Polishers Virtual Museum Tour - Milan, Italy

    Great

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