[BalsaDust]

Thats impressive your cutting 1/4 in two passes. I had heard the diode lasers would take a lot of passes when actually cutting.

 

[joebob]

Impressive indeed. Been thinking of adding a laser to my shop but have been hesitant to pull the trigger because I'm unsure of the performance. You can't find a video online showing the laser running at actual speed. They all speed up the video a lot. I'd like to see a video of one engraving a 4" image in real time.

Azter (sp?) just came out with a 30W actual power diode that looks pretty good. Maybe when I get my bonus next year I'll pick one up.

 

[A.D.3D]

I am pretty sure it could do 1/4" in a single pass if it had air assist, or at lease a functional air assist nozzle. It marks the backside of the sheet with a single pass. As far as engraving goes, I think that's really where these diode lasers shine. This one has a decent burn at 3000mm/s and nice deep dark burns at 1500mm/s. I suppose it all depends on the material you are engraving though. I'll take a video of it once I get around to learning a bit more in Lightburn

 

[A.D.3D]

Glass and carbon were ordered a few days ago, and should be here tomorrow. I settled on 5.7oz plain weave carbon, and 4oz glass. That glass might be a bit heavy but I need the glass only parts to have some righty. Will go with lighter if needed. The stab molds got 4 coats of wax and and they just need a coat of mold release before they are ready for resin.

Also started printing wing molds, its taking forever on an Ender 3, 13 hours per 1/6th of a wing half. Ran out of wood PLA early on and I've just been using up partial rolls that were laying around the shop until the next shipment arrives. It looks pretty goofy but it works. The machine is introducing some error and there are some pretty big gaps at some of the joints. I am not too concerned since those can be filled with bondo and faired out.

Also got some work done in Fusion. I wasn't planning on modeling the live hinge, but I am really glad I did. Its was a real challenge to get the hinge offset correct. Its still not perfect, but it shouldn't bind and will get 60 degrees of throw.

 

[Straightup]

Wow!! Looking great!!

 

[wyo69cowboy]

Nice work, AD! You are far above my skill level or even desire to do what you're doing, but I love watching these design/build threads. Keep it up

 

[wyo69cowboy]

Wow!! Looking great!!

Haha--just notices when my last post went up right under yours, that you are/were exactly 10,000 posts ahead of me! Keep it up, OG

 

[A.D.3D]

Took a little break for vacation and because it was too cold to play with resin.

The composite company accidently sent me 3 extra yards of carbon. Score!

Got the first part laid up and curing now, it is 1 layer glass, 1 layer carbon, 1 layer peel ply. It went on pretty smooth except the tip on the trailing edge. There is a pretty dramatic curve right there and the fabric wanted to lift. On the next one I will put down some carbon tow before the fabric to smooth out the curve a bit.

Tomorrow I will pull this part to inspect the surface finish and hopefully start the other half assuming it looks ok.

 

[A.D.3D]

The part came out nice, surface finish is very smooth. I will most likely keep these parts raw to show off the carbon

There is some PVA mold release on the surface which is making it look hazy, it should be nice and shiny once I wipe it off.

Going to mist the mold with some water and re-adhere the part, then use it as a jig for the internal structure, which I will start laser cutting tomorrow

 

[Straightup]

Nice work!! Those parts look amazing!!

 

[A.D.3D]

Thank you. That's actually only a single part from two angles.

I laid up the other half yesterday, almost forgot to put a strip of of kevlar in for the live hinge. Had to cut it in a hurry since I already had resin mixed. It looks horrible but no one will ever see it. Definitely need some dedicated kevlar scissors for future parts. I also laid in some carbon tow on the tip to help the fabric lay down smoother. I am leaving this part in the mold until the halves are joined.

 

[A.D.3D]

I also got some laser cutting done. Bit of a learning experience, accidently lit a piece of balsa on fire . Lucky it was raining outside, but it was a bit of a mad dash to the door.

Balsa needs to be cut fast with a lower laser power, noted.

Parts look nice once I got it figured out. The spars and root rib are cut from 3/32 bass, the rest are
3/32 balsa.

 

[A.D.3D]

Making some progress

 

[A.D.3D]

Inlaws are in town so haven't got much done, but I did join the halves. Turned out good. This has all been proof of concept so far but this part gives me the motivation to continue

I feel like it's a bit heavy, but it's by far the most rigid piece I have ever built. I think I can reduce the rib count on future parts like the wing and still have a very strong part with a bit less weight. We shall see...

 

[Straightup]

Maybe a built up balsa wing would be a few g lighter.. but no way would it have that cool factor!!!!!