What you can do since you already are using CAD is grab the calipers and model up your own replacments. Sure it takes time but you can add your own flair to it and possibly have a side hustle supplying your parts to retrofit the paragon frame end.
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Do you have a post on prototyping and having send cut send make your yolk? Iād love to learn about it.
Sorry, I donāt have a detailed walk through. I designed it with another builder for a project that heās doing, so Iām not ready to share here. I can share some more details in a new thread when the project is public.
This video (by forum member Benjamin Land) is a very good start. I basically started by modeling that in Fusion. Send Cut Send has specific bending parameters (especially bend radius) that are important to follow. Iām pretty sure my Fusion model is far from optimal because it was the first time that I used their sheet metal tools.
Once I created the model it was pretty easy to get it produced. I found that making 2 or 3 at a time is about the same price as making 1. The first one of course gave us a lot of ideas of how to improve it ā like putting tabs on the bridge that fit into slots on the yoke so that it is self-jigging.
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quDdoVD8ZO4
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Seems like it would be harder for a machine shop to set up new procedures to implement what Paragon was already doing quickly with their setups already dialed in for the machines they had in Richmond, CA. Any business generally tends towards an efficient state using the machines they have and over time their processes evolve to become faster and more cost efficient. I think itās noble that some other machining companies willing to to step up and make certain Paragon products that builders need for aftermarket customer support (ie. Derailleur hangers, rocker dropouts, BB inserts, etc). But it would seem that those machining companies would be undertaking a huge task at a lower expected efficiency than Paragon, in which case prices for the same products would have to rise to compensate.
Paragon apparently owns the property, all machinery, everything. Wouldnāt it be way easier for a company or group to buy all of Paragon if keeping the thing going is the main goal? Why wouldnāt Thomson or Paul components or someone that has the means just buy Paragon? Seems like that would be a lot easier. Then you keep all the equipment, systems, and e-commerce protocols in place. I wouldnāt have a clue how much it would be to buy all a company like Paragon. There is no equivalent machining company in America specializing in this niche area (framebuilding). Doing an evaluation of how much such a unicorn company is worth would be difficult. This isnāt an industry I know about. I did, however, see online that there is a machine shop for sale in Orange County for $600k.
Without people and their knowledge - its just a building, a few machines and some documentation. Would need a huge effort and money to be running again.
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