"Bubble Jet" .. its a hybrid 3D printed fuselage with foam wings and tail assembly

1200 wing span with KFm airfoil and a 50mm FMS EDF https://www.rc-castle.com/index.php?...h=50mm+fms+edf

Weight .. around 700grams with a 2200/3s battery

Lockey

Files and print specs:

I use Cura 4.0.0 for my slicer and have fairly consistent results

My printer is a Original Prusa i3 MK3 using eSUN PLA + filament

Print Temperature I used 225c for PLA+ .. for best results print each part separately (even the little servo plugs)

I use layer hight 0.2 for everything .. except for the "small nose" I used 0.1 layer hight for a nicer finish

For all formers, nose and EDF mount ... 0.4 wall thickness, 2 wall line count, 3 bottom layers and 3 top players and 15% infill with no supports

For all fuselage parts 0.6 wall thickness in spiral (vase) mode ... no infill and no supports .. I use "skirt"

Fuz 1 .. 0 x bottom layers ................. 2.02 mins to print .. times are approx
Fuz 3 .. 0 x bottom layers ................. 1.40 mins
Fuz 2 T .. 3 x bottom layers .............. 1.45 mins
Fuz 2 B .. 3 x bottom layers .............. 2.58 mins
Fuz 4 .. 3 x bottom layers .................. 1.13 mins
Battery box .. 3 x bottom layers ........ 1.30 mins
EDF Nacelle .. 3 x bottom layers ....... 1.09 mins
Servo plug LH .. 3 x bottom layers ..... 0.5 mins
Servo plug RH .. 3 x bottom layers ..... 0.5 mins

Nacelle Mount .................................... 0.54 mins
Undercarriage Former ........................ 2.30 mins
Wing Formers .................................... 1.16 mins
Nose .................................................. . 1.15 mins

Lockey

Only one condition for the free patterns and files is that you post pics and details of your build here on this thread so we can all see how other guys are managing their builds and any problems they might encounter .. and any mods or ideas they might want to throw into the mix

Tony has some innovative Fuse alignment and assembly techniques. IMHO

Can't wait for his video of this one.

Originally Posted by birdofplay

Tony has some innovative Fuse alignment and assembly techniques. IMHO

Can't wait for his video of this one.

Here's the video Bob, it was a bit too windy really but wanted to get it in the air .. build log tomorrow .. off to bed

Lockey

Bubble Jet EDF .. Maiden (4 min 6 sec)

Yep ! as I write this it's 1am in Perth AU !

Anyway ... there ya go !
A nice slide on ground Takeoff and landing YEAH !
But, ummm ???
Either the Takeoff was downwind
or the Landing was downwind
Or the wind switched while your were flying !

I Couldn't see the flexing in the vid.
However,
Good throttle management will keep those wings from OVER flexing ;^}

I'll put a 6mm spar in mine cuz I have a LEAD THUMB !

Originally Posted by birdofplay

Yep ! as I write this it's 1am in Perth AU !

Anyway ... there ya go !
A nice slide on ground Takeoff and landing YEAH !
But, ummm ???
Either the Takeoff was downwind
or the Landing was downwind
Or the wind switched while your were flying !

I Couldn't see the flexing in the vid.
However,
Good throttle management will keep those wings from OVER flexing ;^}

I'll put a 6mm spar in mine cuz I have a LEAD THUMB !

Bob, I actually went down the park to turn around and take off towards me (into wind) and it seemed like it wanted to lift off .. so I just let it .. and YES, I was down wind and it was probably around 15km and gusting to 20

Believe me Bob when I say the wings were flexing mate .. OMG, all I dared do was fly it as gentle as I could

Lockey

Here is the build

I print all my fuselage parts single wall (spiral mode) at 0.6 wall thickness with little or no internal infill except for the spar tube

After many hours of testing and trial and error, I have developed my own joining system with a 5mm carbon fiber spar running through the fuselage from front to back and the parts fit together really easy .. I use HK cheap CA glue and zapper to glue the parts together

Cheap and cheerfuller ... https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykin...oz-medium.html

The front section of the fuselage slides off to access the battery/electrics box and is held in place with a couple of magnets, wing is held in place with a couple of small bolts

1200 wing span with KFm airfoil and I used a 50mm FMS EDF https://www.rc-castle.com/index.php?...h=50mm+fms+edf

Weight is a tad over 700grams with a 2200/3s battery

I have been doing a few mods and tweaks and have included a very small undercarriage, Bob (birdofplay) and I have been doing lots of test prints of the new parts .. thank so much Bob for all your help

I am sure bob will be doing some sort of kit for this one https://hoosiercutoutservice.com/planes/lockey.htm and I will be looking at doing the plans and STL files at my end https://www.lockeysrcplans.com

If anyone is interested in this one, please contact ether Bob or myself, or please feel free to post any comments or constructive criticisms .. we are still learning

When printing in "spiral mode" it needs at least a 45 degree wall to climb so thats why the wing hold down part is that shape .. so a bit of carving of the foam needed on the wing in the centre

Lockey

I was asked how the EDF was held into the Nacelle

I simply nip off any mounting lugs on the EDF, wrap masking tape around the EDF and use hot glue and slide it into the nacelle .. this way when I want to reuse the EDF (when I've had a crash or don't want the model anymore) I simply break away whatever its in and I can remove the masking tape and I have a nice clean reusable EDF

By the way, I have designed nacelles for 50mm, 64mm and 70mm EDF's .. EDF nacelles have an inner and outer skin and are also printed in spiral mode with 0.6 wall thickness to keep things light

Lockey

Great start mate !

Keep up the good work !

Double post .. sorry

Here is a pic showing the small undercarriage

Oh ... and some of the test prints not sure why I got the Sh!tty brown colour, think it was for a WW1 plane I was looking at designing .. should be able to get one good set from that lot

Lockey

EDIT ... Thats right, I remember, it was the Bristol M1c WW1 monoplane .. must save some for this one

I got some of that eSun in tan and brown for Dessert color AC,
But, I ended up using it for a couple of Owl statuary's .
They are guarding my Patio just now. ;>}

Things are coming along well.

I just hope the Tips are going to be bendable "after" I've laminated them.

I put a 6mm CF tube main spar in the wing and two 3mm sq CF pieces stacked in the rear spar location.

With no square nuts in imperial or metric in house,
I decided to use long, shiny , sheet meal screws for the wing hold down.

I gotta say the magnet placement was a bit fussy to install correctly, but allz well that ends well.

More as the plot thickens

Bob

Tiz looking great Bob, not sure about the "wing tip bending" after lamination ?? let me know how that goes,

I rolled mine before lamination and it seemed to hold the rolled shape, I glued the 2 pieces together up to the last few inches at the tip and then used a little pattern to hold the roll shape whilst I glued the tips .. with hot glue of course

Sorry mate should have set you the little pattern for this

I like the idea of using self tapping screws for holding down the wing, maybe same on the undercarriage

What glue do you use Bob for gluing in the spars ? .. I always used to use 5 min epoxy but its very slow and messy so I now use hot glue and find it works very well .. and quick I first run a couple of beads all the way down the slot, push in the CF tube and hold it flat with a metal ruler (or similar) and then run a bead down the top of the spar and wipe off excess with a piece of scrap foam .. I find this works

Looking at your pics, it looks more like a submarine than an airplane

Lockey

Hey Bob .. have you noticed .. I think there are only the two of us playing in this sand pit

I see less and less guys building or getting involved these days .. maybe "scratch building" is a dying art, we seem to be in a minority these days ..

With the cheap foamies that can be bought ready to fly, no one is interested in building any more .. its a real shame, but I guess this is the way of the world

Lockey

That's why Kit sales and scratch building has pretty much run It's Course !

I'll wager that all the "Building" is being done by either
1. old dinos like ourselves who are schooled and steeped in Crafting our own toys.
2. Or by aspiring modelers with low budgets.

The real low end stuff has been HOGGED by the likes of FT
who I am convinced are well funded shills of the HK empire.

Originally Posted by birdofplay

The real low end stuff has been HOGGED by the likes of FT
who I am convinced are well funded shills of the HK empire.

I hear on the grape vine that HK are in trouble financially and thats why almost everything you want to buy is out of stock

By the way .. and a little off topic ... I pulled this one back onto the drawing board the other day for another look .. its a fairly complicated one that I have been working on for a few months (on and off) and still can't decide if I should build the fuselage in foam or 3D print .. as you can see, I am working on both ... I even printed the nose section

Lockey

Off topic !
Off topic ?

You started this thread , sooooo
who's gonna complain, eh ?

My conclusion is that HK has thrown so much money at attempting to corner the
whole RC market that they've lost track of WHO IS HOBBYING !

And even WE can see that there is a mass abdication of participants.
Folks have gone BACK TO WORK and getting on with their REAL LIVES !

Only those folks who have the luxury of actual FREE TIME - AKA retired
are still doing any "hobbying" .
And they LIKE to build their own stuff.

Time will tell.

Oh ...
and YES I recall that design .
I think it could be a real winner, but , I'd back off on the NAZI logo stuff.
Spiff it up and make it look more modern, hip, cool, neato, snazzy , ya know.

Oh well Bob, back on topic ... here is my new build with the new mods and tweaks

First few pics are removing the spar from the wing and replacing it with a 6mm square CF tube .. after looking at it, it seemed like it would be quite easy to remove .. and it was

Lockey

Lockey,

Another cool design! I really like the pylon mounted EDF Sort of reminds me of the Heinkel He-162

I must admit - this is a well thought design that combines all the benefits of 3D printed structures and tries to eliminate all its weaknesses.

Hey Tony,

Check out this thread too...

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...-Time-to-scale

And this
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...her-crazy-idea

Thanks BB, yes it is similar eh

japim, your comments are appreciated .. and Bob, some great ideas there, love the leading edge for KF wings and I do like the Osprey .. that one is a bit small but neat

I almost gave up on EDF's as I wasn't having much luck at all until I was recommended Freewing EDFs and FMS Edfs and these seem to be pretty darn good for the price .. they have plenty of power and sound fantastic

Always looking for and trying new ideas AND I do believe that the future of aeromodelling is 3D Printing .. we just need .. faster, stronger, lighter filament .. but I am sure it will come eventually

Lockey

Tony,
Not True. There are still lots of people building your designs! I for one have done some. Just don't spend a lot of time lurking on this site like others. This without question one of your best designs. Since I have the CNC machine and my buddy just got a 3D PRINTER we will be building this one for SURE!!

I'm sure we will be tapping you with questions soon. Keep up the good work.
I understand about free time. I'm counting down 22 months to retirement and the building spree will begin. Yahoo

Steve in Maine

If anyone is interested in building this one, I am happy to provide the STL files (or G-codes) and foam cutting patterns free of charge ..

I am using Curs for my slicing and Bob uses Simplified 3D but sometimes his slicer software doesn't like the way I design my parts whereas .. Cura is quite happy with the designs

Only one condition for the free patterns and files is that you post pics and details of your build here on this thread so we can all see how other guys are managing their builds and any problems they might encounter .. and any mods or ideas they might want to throw into the mix

It all helps aeromodelling as a whole and we can all share our ideas to make for better .. newer ideas ..

For guys that still like the idea of actually building their own airplane but time is their enemy then 3D printed modeling might be the answer, but we still haven't quite got the right mix of materials

By the way, for this build I have used esun PLA+ .. https://www.cubictech.com.au/products/pla-filament-1-75 its supposed to be a lot stronger than std PLA and its no more expensive than the std PLA .. its the first time I have used it and I'm impressed

Lockey

Originally Posted by sunnybreeze

Tony,
Not True. There are still lots of people building your designs! I for one have done some. Just don't spend a lot of time lurking on this site like others. This without question one of your best designs. Since I have the CNC machine and my buddy just got a 3D PRINTER we will be building this one for SURE!!

I'm sure we will be tapping you with questions soon. Keep up the good work.
I understand about free time. I'm counting down 22 months to retirement and the building spree will begin. Yahoo

Steve in Maine

Good on yea Steve, 22 months eh, MAN you will be amazed .. you will say "how did I find the time to go to work" its fantastic being able to get up every day and say "" wonder what I might do today" if you are lucky enough to have good health and a good mind .. I am (so far) one of the lucky ones

What printer has your buddy got? when you are ready I will send you the files you need to start building

By the way, I decided (as it was already cut out) I would put together the smaller wing and see what the difference is in the way it flies .. and .. I have already made mods to the fuselage for an alternative real airfoil .. foam wings and 3D printed wing tips

Lockey

I use Cura 4.0.0 for my slicer and have fairly consistent results

My printer is a Original Prusa i3 MK3 using eSUN PLA + filament

Print Temperature I used 225c for PLA+ .. for best results print each part separately (even the little servo plugs)

I use layer hight 0.2 for everything .. except for the "small nose" I used 0.1 layer hight for a nicer finish

For all formers, nose and EDF mount ... 0.4 wall thickness, 2 wall line count, 3 bottom layers and 3 top players and 15% infill with no supports

For all fuselage parts 0.6 wall thickness in spiral (vase) mode ... no infill and no supports .. I use "skirt"

BJ Fuz 1 .. 0 x bottom layers
BJ Fuz 3 .. 0 x bottom layers
BJ Fuz 2 T .. 3 x bottom layers
BJ Fuz 2 B .. 3 x bottom layers
BJ Fuz 4 .. 3 x bottom layers
BJ Battery box .. 3 x bottom layers
BJ EDF Nacelle .. 3 x bottom layers
BJ Servo plugs .. 3 x bottom layers

Lockey

Have cut a foam wing for Lockey's next version of the Bubble Jet, it will be interesting to see what the difference in flight will be.

Originally Posted by Loco1

Have cut a foam wing for Lockey's next version of the Bubble Jet, it will be interesting to see what the difference in flight will be.

Thanks Kev, that looks like a really nice wing, Have to get printing again maybe a nicer colour this time

Lockey

Originally Posted by Lockey

.............. snip.............

By the way, for this build I have used esun PLA+ .. https://www.cubictech.com.au/products/pla-filament-1-75 its supposed to be a lot stronger than std PLA and its no more expensive than the std PLA .. its the first time I have used it and I'm impressed

Lockey

You'll grow to love eSUN PLA Plus, also known as PLA Pro. I use it almost exclusively. For most parts I print at 235f. For thin single wall prints like airplane wings, I use 245f. That seems high but it helps layer-to-layer adhesion. I find 50f works well for bed heat. I print it on a glass bed with hairspray.

It's priced right and gets to my house in 2 days via Amazon. There are plenty of colors and unless I need/want a transparent color, I stick with eSUN Pla +. Some colors are now available as filament only at a reduced price. You disassemble an existing empty reel, slip on the roll new filament, bolt the two halves back together, snip the tie wraps, and you're good to go.

I too have been fooling around with hybrid designs including 3d printed fuselages with foam wings as well as foam fuselages with "old school" Monokote covered wings featuring 3D printed ribs. I build a lot of FT style foam board planes and almost always print the nose and/or forward fuselage on my 3D printer as well as things like landing gear mounts, etc.

I'd say anyone who builds RC planes should consider a 3D printer, even if it's a really small cheap one just for printing small components to compliment a build process which is not purely 3D printed. 3D printers are also good for replacing damaged components like cowlings, canopies, and wheel pants on ready-to-fly airplanes. I also print things like landing gear stiffeners or reinforcing pads to add to the typical wire gear found on factory foam airplanes. All these components can be printed on the smallest 3D printer which now are surprisingly cheap.

How can I access your STL files?

Totally agree with your comments Mozella, I think serious modelers are getting on the 3D Printer wagon .. and if not .. as you suggested .. they should really consider one

Lockey

I for one would love to get into 3d printing. And since the shop is not heated, the winter has pretty much killed any building time. But still here with plenty of plans for the future. Just can't see me buying any of the arfs anytime soon!