Quote:
Originally Posted by iCrash2
For the last 3 years I've been playing with XPS on my CNC before getting into EPP this year. Lowes insulation foam is XPS. Even though it is a lower quality and the standards are less than depron due to the primary use being foam insulation. It is Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) from what I read in multiple articles. The down side is due to the lower quality there can be air pockets and density changes in the foam. Usually a light sanding is required after a cut to make it more smooth.
My CNC can easily cut, both hot wire and mill, the Lowes green/blue insulation. If you had an under camber airfoil you had in mind, I could give it a try in a few weeks. Currently working through a bug in my plugin that generates g-code. Once I get that figured out, I can more accurately cut out wings for everyone. I can cut wings out now, but they will be .05" out of spec due to kerf. If that's not a problem, I might be able to cut stuff out in a timely manner.
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gonna have to check my notifications on RCG.. grrr...
about 3 weeks ago I got my hotwire working.. and cut out a set of UC forms ....found I needed to do a lot to make a decent set...(mostly due to not anywhere near enough tension on my longest hotwire bow and having power supply issues.)
It worked though and should work perfect when I get time to do it better the XPS cuts great and makes for a fairly stiff wing even with no covering applied yet.(which is the wings main stiffening element.)
...Now the interesting part
I just said heck, I'll do it with DT board and roll the UC into the board but instead of using ribs to hold the airfoil curve, I'll paper cover it using the male and female I cut for the XPS ailfoils as forms to hold the shape until the paper covering's glue impregnation dries..
Found it worked perfectly and the UC wing (5MM DT board original paper removed) turns out a killer stiff UC wing . Its also one of the lightest and toughest I have built. ...Am finishing a unique design plane for my little cousin for Christmas that looks like a Dove and is V-tailed. It s turning out to be extremely light and quite tough, can be sprayed with most any paints. Should be one of the slowest, most stable fliers I could imagine. Will try to get some completion shots of it soon On this thread.
