[ELECTRON] New Member

Thu Jun 4 04:17:09 BST 2015

Hi Nathan,

The Foamies project is just about to go live.  I don’t have the exact date but it has been “within the next week or so” for about a month :-)

We have built a 3-axis A1 cutter for doing it.  Full featchured tull chain for efficient production control.  Single interface for reading SVG drawings, managing the relationship between drawn lines and actions (library of “black for cut, red for score, blue for engrave” etc and how to interpret that in foam, flat card, corrugate, plywood etc).  We understand containment (so the toolchain spots that curve A is inside curve B and cut A first, so that materials that warp or fall out during the cut don’t cause problems).  The G-code generation is very efficient to minimise head travel time.  We map the power delivery in different parts of the board and modify cutting speeds to compensate.  We can deal with anisotropic materials (like corrugated board) that require different cutting speeds in different directions.  I think “fully featured laser cutter” if a fair description :-)

Our starting range will be the the freely available Tiny Trainer, Funjet, Speedster and Scout from the good folk at FlightTest.  Indeed it was the thing that kicked off the whole project was the fact that if you want to build a FT kit in the UK, you end up giving more money to the postie than to FT..

The kits are re-constructed fro their plans.  We change the layout so that the sheets can be cut from European A1 size sheets and cut them up so that we stay within a 61cm maximum dimension in order that we don’t get gouged by the post office.  We cut our own custom packaging for the foam and the various “bits” (pushrods, bbq skewers, velcro etc.  We include a 3D printed scraper for helping to scrape foam out from channels during the build.

Our foamboard is a lot better quality than the FT stuff and there is a weight penalty to pay for this, so our prop/motor specs are beefed up a little to compensate.

So, i have been all over the technology end of manufacturing the things, but the actual flying and testing of them has been by my co-designer, Damian, down in Swindon.  I have been working flat out on getting the production running sweetly while he has been doing all the actual testing and flying.  I don’t even have a transmitter.  Once we actualy get into production and I can breath a little, I guess that will chage pretty quickly.

All that stands in the way of project launch is fitting of the new laser (today I hope, but it will probably take all weekend...) and some final tweaks to the web site...

Andrew

> On 3 Jun 2015, at 22:17, Nathan Collins <mr.nathan.collins at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Andrew,
> I'm an RC flying machine enthusiast and could help but have my interest
> piqued by this thread. What foamies do you build/deliver? It would be great
> to hear more from you. Do you fly locally?
> 
> Nathan
> 
> On 3 June 2015 at 19:49, Andrew Beattie <andrew at tug.com> wrote:
> 
>> It is a while since I saw a Stratoscoop in the air…
>> 
>> The laser is not delivering the 25W that it is meant to today.
>> 
>> I have a higher quality 40w tube on the desk ready for installation but I
>> am waiting for a microammeter panel display that I want to install at the
>> same time that is due to be delivered tomorrow.  Then I’ll find out if it
>> actualy fits in the space :-)
>> 
>> It is primarily going to be for cutting foamies (ultralight model
>> aircraft).
>> 
>> But I also cut:
>> Plywood (control horns and firewalls for the foamies)
>> Cardboard (we make our own packaging for the foamies, carefuly designed to
>> give the right protection and fit within UK postage rules)
>> Kite fabric (to make “feathers” that kite fliers tie to their hats)
>> Hardboard (I am re-cladding the laser-cutter in hardboard as we speak)
>> Andrew
>> 
>>> On 3 Jun 2015, at 19:02, Rob Spencer <spencer.rob at slvi.co.uk> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Welcome Andrew,
>>> 
>>> Love the kites! My dad still has a huge Stratoscope that we used to get
>> pulled on the beach with.
>>> 
>>> What power is the lazer cutter? Is it for acrylic or will it so metal
>> aswell? I've been thinking about hooking up a lazer head to my cnc.
>>> 
>>> Cheers
>>> 
>>> Rob
>>> 
>>>> On 3 Jun 2015, at 16:36, Martin McGrath <mcgrath.martin at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Welcome Andrew Beattie:
>>>> 
>>>> "Hi, I guess that in this context, You would probably get a good idea
>>>> of who I am if I list my favourite toys: 1) Kites. Big ones. Words
>>>> don't do justice, so have a quick look at http://tug.com/kites/ 2)
>>>> Computers. A passion in my younger years. My living later but now
>>>> mostly just a tool for getting stuff done. I am on the Unix side of
>>>> the divide and OS X as a result. 3) Photography. Lets just say 85mm
>>>> f1.2, 200mm f2, 800mm f5.6 on the front of my 1DsIII 4) Sewing.
>>>> Specialist, straight stitch only Industrial machine which is happiest
>>>> sewing through 2 tonne Spectra. 5) Kossel. 6) A1 scratch built laser
>>>> cutter. (designed and built by a friend in Swindon hackspace) 7) Van.
>>>> 3 ton worm drive winch fitted with 120m of 8mm Dynex for kite flying.
>>>> 8) One of the worst internet connections in the developed world :-(
>>>> Every day I look at
>>>> 
>> http://www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when/default.aspx?pc=pa17%205da
>>>> to see if the cabinet at the end of the road is ready yet. Until then
>>>> I live off a horribly congested 3G tower. Since moving (back to) to
>>>> Scotland a few years ago, my face-to-face contact with technical folk
>>>> has been severely limited. I'm looking for the opportunity for both
>>>> online and meatspace interaction with local(ish) people."
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Andrew, you can check out future events in the calendar, we're also on
>> IRC:
>>>> 
>>>> http://www.electronclub.org/calendar/
>>>> 
>>>> http://www.electronclub.org/doku.php?id=howto:irc
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks
>>>> 
>>>> Martin
>>>> 
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