[Quicker]

OK, this thread is to discuss the new Tufflite foam from TBM. I just got 3 boxes of the stuff in because I wanted yellow foam for my Kirby Chambliss Edge 540's I'mtrying to sell to support the addiction. I was sick of painting foam so I thought I'd give this a shot.

I was expecting depron like foam that was tinted yellow. What I got is something like foam core you get at the art and craft store. It's white core with a colored covering. It's not paper, but some type of tinted plastic coating. I'm not unhappy with it, just surprised. My scale is not digital, so to get a comparison weight, I am going to build one of my Edges and weigh it when finished and compare it to the 12 oz I got when it was built with bluecore.

Actually, I think the foam core of this stuff is the same foam that is the core of the art and craft foam core with the paper covering.

Here are some pics. I made them 800x600 so you get a better look:

 

[Gordo]

That picture looks pretty orange on my computer but it really is very yellow. My question is how to glue it. I got a buch of samples to test and haven't got to it. I wanted a CA foam like Depron, but these prices on this TBM looked a lot better.

I'll experiment with my samples and we'll see....

 

[Gordo]

My CA tests failed totaly. This foam will not take the Faom Safe CA I use on Depron. I feel like hotglue is heavy, so what other options are there?

 

[Quicker]

I've never weighed epoxy vs hot glue. Are they about the same? My preference is still hot glue because it gives in a crash. I've also thought about rubber cement and Goop.

 

[Alfster]

Rubber cement, contact cement, hot glue, goop, etc. will all work, but add a significant amount of weight.

It just depends on how weight conscience you are. Personally, I have built far too many HEAVY foam planes, so weight is the primary concern while I'm building them now.

I use a tip suggested by GW, the designer of the "GW YAK 54", that is my current favorite foam plane. I use 3M spray adhesive, either Super77, or Super90. Just get a small, disposable cup, spray a tiny bit in the cup, and it will remain in a very thin liquid, almost like cloudy water, for a few minutes. Take a very tiny paint brush....I use the small ones sold in packages of 20 or more for a buck....."paint" on a very thin layer of the glue to both mating surfaces. At this point the glue goes on like water, very hard to see, so don't use too much. Wait 45 seconds to a minute, then mate the parts together........Quick, easy, and light-weight.....just like my second wife !

While this method does take a bit more work, and take some practice so you don't make a mess, the outcome is WELL worth the effort I think. What you end up with is a very strong glue joint, that adds practically no weight.

And since it is basically a thinned contact glue, it will work on practically ANY material. I even use it to mount my servos on the planes. Just wrap a thin strip of glass tape around the servo, paint a dab of glue on the tape, and the foam, wait a few seconds, them press in place. Within 2 minutes the servo won't budge, but you can easily remove it by prying it up with a small screwdriver. Again, no weight gain that you would have with hot glue, goop, etc.........

Just my methods......may not be for everyone, but they work great for me.

 

[Quicker]

I like this idea and will try it on my next plane. Thanks

I have a major build project (balsa profile 3D bipe) underway right now, so I won't get any foamies built out of this foam until sometime next week.

 

[Quicker]

OK, got the plane built out of this yellow stuff. You can see the pics in the original build thread here:

http://theprofilebrotherhood.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=408&start=30

In short: this stuff is heavy. It added about 4 ounces to my plane by building it with this foam. Also, I cut my spar slots and hing lines with a router bit in my dremel tool. This works great on the bluecore, but I had problems with this stuff. It didn't matter if I went fast or slow, but the colored coating gets hot, melts, balls up and melts through the other side as you can see in this pic of my aileron hing line from the top:

I think if I scaled the plane down from a 36 inch span to a 32 inch span it might be OK, but I don't want to do that and get a higher wing loading. I like the bigger plane because it handles wind very well. I don't fly indoors, so a smaller plane is not for me. I'm flying it on a GWS motor, so if you have a brushless it still might be OK for you, but I'd rather have a light plane.

My plans are to use up my stock of this on some planes I'm going to sell on ebay to get rid of it, then go back to bluecore or depron...probably bluecore because it's readily available and light enough for me.

It's too bad because I really like the looks of this stuff.

 

[Gordo]

Yep, thise stuff is looser for me too. Sorry you ended up with so much.....

 

[Quicker]

Well, I was going on some positive reviews I got from people on rcgroups. Oh, well. It's OK, just not "high performance". I'm not worried. I'll be able to get rid of it.

 

[adrenalnjunky]

What about this stuff?

http://www.nyblimp.com/zepron.htm

Seems to be a cross between depron and bluecor?

 

[Gordo]

The Sheet sizes on the Zepron make it pretty useless. Unless I don't get something, it only comes 12" x 24".

 

[adrenalnjunky]

ahh I didnt even think about that

I was just looking for some carbon rods, and noticed this stuff on their site

Why can't Depron just be easy to find in the US? We're better than most of the world at anythng, but making nice lightweight foam for 3D profile electric planes - what gives?

 

[ChuckAuger]

Depron is easy to find in the US if you know where to look!

There is a guy selling (14) 13.5 X 39 sheets of 6mm White on RCGroups for $75 shipped. It has a slight amount of shipping damage...

Depron is a under-floor insulation in Europe. It has not passed all the safety tests in the US so it is not able to be sold as a home building material that you could buy at Home Depot....you have to buy it from somebody who imports it and re-sizes it for hobby use AFAIK

 

[Quicker]

I took some scraps of this stuff and tried some regular spray paint and it took it, even in heavy coats just fine. I guess the plastic covering protects the foam core. Too bad this stuff is heavier than I thought. I think on a brushless system it would be fine. I was hovering fine with my GWS motor, but I was using more throttle than I wanted.