Keep going Schafe!! Your project is starting to take off
For info, I used some acetone on a carbon fibre piece and it left the surface quite messy. Didn't interfere with the strength of the part so much, but it didn't look pretty. My kit building skills may of been the major culprit though!
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schafe 3
Good news, bad news.
Good:
- Today I traced a bulkhead I had printed onto 1/8 inch hobby plywood and cut it out. (1/8 plywood is the standard material for creating bulkheads in large RC planes.) The plywood measures 3.1mm thick. The part I printed measures 2.6mm. (I chose 2.6 because it seemed "about right.") The printed bulkhead was in ABS and weighed 9.78g. The plywood weighed 14.69g. Converting the weight of ABS to PLA gives 11.64g for PLA. The printed part has .4mm top/bottom thickness, .8mm shell thickness and 20% infill. The printed part is not nearly as strong as the plywood, but a bulkhead's function is to create the shape for gluing balsa to, not providing strength. This is good since I am very concerned about the finished weight of the plane.
- I had previously machined the main landing gear out of aluminum. I have redesigned the LG to be incorporated into the printed sections of the plane. This results in less overall material, and that material is lighter.
- I am almost finished printing parts for the plane.
Bad:
- Today I traced a wing rib I had printed onto 1/8 inch balsa wood and cut it out. (1/8 balsa is the standard material for creating ribs in RC planes.) The balsa measures 3.3mm thick. The rib I printed is also 2.6mm. The printed rib was in PLA and weighed 9.63g. The balsa weighed 1.4g. Converting the weight of PLA to ABS gives 8.1g for ABS. The printed part has the same top/bottom, shell and infill values. The printed part is about as strong as the balsa. This is VERY bad since I am concerned about the finished weight of the plane.
- Although I am almost finished printing parts, I am no where near finished with the entire plane.
- I had to modify a part I had already printed and glued in place. Stay tuned to see if acetone works well for dissolving CA glue and to find out if it attacks carbon fiber. (A quick internet search gives mixed opinions on acetone vs carbon fiber)
I will have to make the majority of the wing ribs out of balsa to save weight. This project isn't turning out the way I originally intended - a 100% printed RC plane. I don't think it will be magazine worthy. No island for me.
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