Hello,

I recently flew a scale depron RC aircraft for the first time after spending nearly a year designing and building it. I have had several inquiries about plans, and even some about kits. I began considering making my model into a kit, but this would only be possible if I had access to a CNC or laser cutting machine.

So my question is; what am I getting myself into here? Will it be more efficient for me to use a service or purchase my own machine? Can I cut small pieces of 2mm depron without spending thousands of dollars? I know very little about this topic and any info, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jim

Hey Jim,

You might be able to get a small Chinese built laser relatively cheap. However, you might just end up getting what you pay for. There are also some (e.g. FSL) that are sort of American companies but most of the parts are sourced from china.

I built my laser as a DIY project based on the 2.x laser design at buildlog.net. I've had a great experience building and using mine! If you like this type of project I would highly recommend this laser. You should be able to get one of these built for under $2k. If you're very frugal you could probably get it done much cheaper.

With that said shoot me a pm or email and I can get you an estimate for cutting costs.

Regards,
Brian

CNC is a lot of fun, and a Hobbycnc hot wire setup could be built for a few hundred dollars, but that is a build project in itself... are you sure that you couldn't manage using templates and a vertical hot wire (even if you have to pay for the templates). Then your project could be the planes rather than the machine.

Jim,
I would definetly go with a laser setup for the type of cuts you are looking for in foam a CNC machine is nice but to get the fine detail cuts you will need will not be able to be done easily with a CNC machine setup.
Here is link to a company out of Las Vegas that has the machine that is built in China and is cleaned up here in the States, ships from the states and has it's warranties in the states. All for less than 2k. http://fslaser.com/40wbasic
DT

I'm cutting Depron with a CNC router. Since the foam is so soft you can use a very small bit and get nice tight corners.

A laser will give you better cuts no doubt. The router is also useful for lots of other materials and can carve in 3D.

Designed it myself. Happy to let you have the plans if you are interested.

mravell,
I have a DIY CNC machine also and I can do some really fine cuts with small 1mm bits but I always have to slightly enlarge the inside holes/slots to correctly fit the parts without binding. I am not saying it is impossible but it does take a little more fore thought when laying out the design.
My current machine cuts an area of 16" x 30" x 6" and I have cut foam, CF, G10 and many different woods from soft to hard.
I am toying with the idea of getting a laser cutter after I finish my new larger CNC machine which will be able to mill ferrous and non-ferrous metals as well as the material mentioned above.
DT

Originally Posted by DeadTom

mravell,
I have a DIY CNC machine also and I can do some really fine cuts with small 1mm bits but I always have to slightly enlarge the inside holes/slots to correctly fit the parts without binding. I am not saying it is impossible but it does take a little more fore thought when laying out the design.
My current machine cuts an area of 16" x 30" x 6" and I have cut foam, CF, G10 and many different woods from soft to hard.
I am toying with the idea of getting a laser cutter after I finish my new larger CNC machine which will be able to mill ferrous and non-ferrous metals as well as the material mentioned above.
DT

If you're ever in the Cameron Park area look me up and I give you a tour of my DIY laser cutter.

Brian

Originally Posted by cpdude

If you're ever in the Cameron Park area look me up and I give you a tour of my DIY laser cutter.

Brian

Brian,
Thank you, I might just do that one day as my wife and I are always down in El Dorado County buying wine. We usually stay in the Best Western off of Missouri Flat Rd.
I will extend an invite to you if you ever come up to Reno I will show you my CNC machine. I am currently setup in the garage but I got the OK from the wife to build a shop in the back yard near my other large shed and dog run. After I get the new shop built I can then finish my larger CNC machine and get the rest of my tools setup in a more permanent setting.
Tom

Might want to consider a CNC mill for cutting Depron. Much better cuts with a router than with a laser on Depron.

Jimmy

Thanks for all the help, guys.

I appreciate the thoughts and input. I know about 10X more than I did just two days ago. The real problem I have is that I would be starting a business by doing this, and therefore I would need to at least break even if I invest in my own machine. The trouble is, I don't think I will be able to break even by selling depron kits for a long time if I invest in a $2,000 USD machine...

I think I am going to start this thing off with a cutting service, simply because I don't want to pay for a new machine and not sell many planes. However, if there is enough interest and I think I can break even (which is very possible), then I may invest in my own cutting device.

On that note, does anyone have any idea on what it will cost to cut a certain number of 2mm depron pieces. Again, I am looking for the lowest possible cost while still providing quality pieces.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

Originally Posted by jtprouty

Might want to consider a CNC mill for cutting Depron. Much better cuts with a router than with a laser on Depron.

Jimmy

I disagree with this statement, I have a router and a laser and have cut foamies on both. If you are pocket milling the foamy than that is an obvious job for the router, however, for outline cuts 6mm and under in thickness a laser is the way to go. I have made many kits both ways and prefer the laser over the router any day.

Originally Posted by FPV_Habu_Flyer

Thanks for all the help, guys.

I appreciate the thoughts and input. I know about 10X more than I did just two days ago. The real problem I have is that I would be starting a business by doing this, and therefore I would need to at least break even if I invest in my own machine. The trouble is, I don't think I will be able to break even by selling depron kits for a long time if I invest in a $2,000 USD machine...

I think I am going to start this thing off with a cutting service, simply because I don't want to pay for a new machine and not sell many planes. However, if there is enough interest and I think I can break even (which is very possible), then I may invest in my own cutting device.

On that note, does anyone have any idea on what it will cost to cut a certain number of 2mm depron pieces. Again, I am looking for the lowest possible cost while still providing quality pieces.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

2k will not get you far in a laser. look at the work table size vs material size. I built my router to handle full sheets of depron and when I purchased my laser I got a 36x48 cutting area for the same reason. It is an investment that far exceeds 2k. If your intent is to open a buisness than look into it, for a run of kits or something small, just source it.

IMO I would not do buisness with FSE. you can read about them on other forums if you would like.

If you would like me to quote your parts I would be happy to do so, just PM me.

i built a cnc router for about 200 dollars. not a very pretty machine.

Thanks for the responses, guys.

To narrow down the search, I am looking for a CNC machine that has about a 24 inch x 12 inch bed (anything smaller will not work), and I would like to do this for under $2,000. Even if it is used. It doesn't need to be able to cut 3D, it doesn't need to have fancy buttons or a cup holder. It just needs to be capable of safely cutting depron and light balsa. That's it. Surely a such product must exist.

If anyone sees something that fits this description, then please, don't hesitate to let me know.

Thanks,
Jim

How about this?:

http://www.carving-cnc.com/cnc6040-s...g-machine.html

It's $1500 USD and has a 58 cm x 40 cm bed, which, although is not huge, should be large enough for my project. Does it look like it is of reasonable quality? It comes from Hong Kong, but the website seems very thorough and professional.

Thanks,
Jim

That doesn't seem like too bad of a machine.

Did you check out the $400 + for shipping? You're going to need a controller program and at least an older(ish) desktop pc. Emc2 is free and it'll work if you're okay with Linux. Mach3 is about $170 for Windows (32 bit only). There may be others, however,I haven't kept track of them.

You're also going to need a CAM program like CamBam. This will take your CAD files and generate g-code which is executed by the controller program. I think CamBam is in the $150 range. Again there are other programs and some of them might be free.

Finally, you need to buy some end-mills. These are sort of like drill bits but they can cut sideways.

I'm not trying to discourage you! I just want you to be aware of the costs.

By the way, In general these costs are pretty much the same for a laser cutter.

Regards,
Brian