Any Laser cutting compianes?

[Tug Guy]

I would like to get some frames laser cut is there a company that is currently doing this work for modellers?

[Aerominded]

Watch the banner ads at the top of the page... there seem to be a couple of companies that advertise this service here... you may check Manzanolaser.com- It is run by a frequent contributer in the scale electric planes section... I think they do custom cutting if you have the right files/formats for your drawings.

What type of boat is your project? :)

[Kmot]

Here are a few sources:

http://www.gundersonaerodesign.com/services/lasercut/index.php

http://www.litkoaero.com/model_aircraft_cutting_indv.php

http://ak-models.com/economylasercutservices.htm

http://www.fxmodels.com/lasercutter.shtml

[Tug Guy]

Aerominded
I have several in mind One is the Hughie B. That Pat Tritle made.
Another is a stern dragging fishing boat the plans I got from Bill Northrop and the 36" Bunker boat plans I got from him also.
I thought if I could find a company that did the laser cutting it would make the build a bit easier.

Don

[wingnut163]

http://www.precisioncutkits.com/
http://www.mfgquote.com/process.cfm
http://www.howardmodels.com/Digital-Vehicles/laser.html
http://www.rtmodels.com/default.htm
http://www.architectural-models.com/details.html
don't know if i dupped kmots.
but if you google it there are 100's

[Tug Guy]

Kmot & Wingnut thanks for the links. I should be able to find a company I can work with out of this list. I didn't realize until I started searching Kmot's list that I needed to have the files on a certain format. The learning curve never ends.

Don

[wingnut163]

they say, try to learn one new thing a day.

[akflyer]

I have an outfit that I have do all my cutting a few blocks away from me. If needed, I can do the cad work so all they do is burn it and it saves lots of money.. All the cutting I had done on the 56" Minnow came to a total of 40.00 worth of laser time (it runs about a buck a minute). If they would have had to deal with the cad work, it would have been 200.00 more. Their table will cut 18" X 32". I noticed on a couple of the websites above, that they were limited to 1/8" lite ply. My guys can do 1/4" 5 ply aircraft. If you have corel draw, that is what they use. if not, you can do it in Auto cad, then import it into correl.

One issue you will have, is the notch cutouts. I had to make a few test cuts to get the dimensions exact so everything would jig up perfect.

Let me know if I can help in any way.

Leni

[Aerominded]

Sounds good Don! good luck and please let us know how it goes! :)

[Ron Olson]

www.welasercut.com used to be Climate Boatworks owned by Peter Richards in Canada.
If you have a .dwg file on disc, you might be able to find a laser cutter locally. My sister has one 12" x 24" cutter that has cut lite ply and decals for me.
Check the wattage of the laser cutter if you have someone locally do it as we had problems with 1/8" ply on 25 watts. Normal charges can vary greatly as most charge also for setup time. It doesn't take that long to cut the parts so if you have the wood it will save you some money as a local outfit won't have it in stock.

[Tug Guy]

It seems many of the companies ask for .dwg files to work from. Is Auto cad the only software that exports this type of file? One company states that they use 2002 auto cad and ask that you send them files that their specific program can use. It all makes sense if you already have such a program. At present I don't own any cad software and it is getting confusing which one to buy.
Leni's cost of $40 seems ideal. I am not as fortunate as he to have a company nearby to be able to work out problems such as notch sizes. This could be a big obstacle to doing business long distance.
For all the advantages this new technology offers, by the time you purchase the software and make up the files to export It almost seems cheaper to just buy the wood and cut your own like I always did.

[EMSPAUL]

you might want to try homeport models here is there link i have used the laser http://www.sputnikk.com/homeport/cuts there pretty easy for new guys

[LtDoc]

Don,
It all boils down to the kind of 'sweat' you can produce! Brain 'sweat', or muscle 'sweat'. Personally, I've found that my brain is susceptible to heat stroke before my muscles are. Being naturally lazy is also not a very useful talent. Ain't this stuff fun?
- 'Doc

[patmat2350]

Is Auto cad the only software that exports this type of file?

Most any CAD program will export to dxf, it's an open format.


Pat M

[Tug Guy]

Thanks Pat this is good to know.

Don


Most any CAD program will export to dxf, it's an open format.


Pat M

[Tug Guy]

EMSPaul
That link doesn't work for me.

I did get this one to work though
http://www.sputnikk.com/homeport/Laser-Main.html

you might want to try homeport models here is there link i have used the laser http://www.sputnikk.com/homeport/cuts there pretty easy for new guys

[akflyer]

Alot of companies can take the plans you have, and cut a kit for it. So if you have purchased a set of plans, then forward them to the company and they can cut a kit for you. It will cost more as they have to do the cad work. On one off kits, the cost is kind of prohibitive if you dont do most of the work yourself. I did it because I have alot of free time on my hands when I am at work, as I am 1000 miles from home and have nothing to do in the evenings...

I just had a 2 day battle with a CNC plasma cutter. I had drawn up some parts in cad but the cutter would not recognise either a .dwg or .dxf even though it says it will... after a lot of hair pulling, I figured out that this brand new (1 month old) CNC machine did not like Acad 2004. I saved it as an acad 2000 file and viola, perfect parts in seconds.

Also, the laser cutter I use, uses correl draw 11 for it's program. I played with correl draw, but I like Acad better. I ended up doing all my drawings in acad, then importing those into correl draw for the actual cutting. I can be a major pain at times, but I just go into the shop with my laptop, transfer to a jump drive, plug into their machine and cut, go back to the laptop, re-size and do it again...I have found that diffents manufactures of the wood actually put out different sizes. Say you grab a piece of 1/8" thick from midwest, and a piece from balsa usa, they will be different thickness's, so it is an advantage to be able to sit in with the cuter to get everything right.