Curious why you can't cut G-10 on the laser? I have cut it many times on my laser up to 1/8" thick. looks like a good build

Originally Posted by rcpilot82

Curious why you can't cut G-10 on the laser? I have cut it many times on my laser up to 1/8" thick. looks like a good build

I could get it to cut, but there is so much resin in there that I am worried about fracturing and having them turn out brittle. Maybe it's the kind of material I got, but I could see slight fractures along the cut edge. If I cut them with a .062 bit on the CNC I don't have to worry about fractures and I assumed that's why the ARF's come with CNC cut horns.

Glad to hear someone else has done it though!!! Maybe I need to play a little more with frequency to see if I can get better results. Do you remember what frequency, cut speed and wattage you used??

Call me crazy, but isn't the 330SC a low wing airplane?

Originally Posted by BreadBowl

Call me crazy, but isn't the 330SC a low wing airplane?

I designed it for the way I fly which is a combo of down low rudder in the grass and maybe some smooth large maneuvers.......perfect scale outline was not the main objective. This is designed to be a quick building fun flying plane and I just prefer the mid-wing design.

Originally Posted by terryscustom

I could get it to cut, but there is so much resin in there that I am worried about fracturing and having them turn out brittle. Maybe it's the kind of material I got, but I could see slight fractures along the cut edge. If I cut them with a .062 bit on the CNC I don't have to worry about fractures and I assumed that's why the ARF's come with CNC cut horns.

Glad to hear someone else has done it though!!! Maybe I need to play a little more with frequency to see if I can get better results. Do you remember what frequency, cut speed and wattage you used??

I doubt my settings would be much help as our lasers are different. It takes a bit of messing around but you can do it.

http://www.extraaircraft.com/aerobatic/ex330sc.php For reference to the real one.

Originally Posted by rcpilot82

I doubt my settings would be much help as our lasers are different. It takes a bit of messing around but you can do it.

You are correct, mine is 120watt and I was running full power, maybe need to back that off a bit and find the right frequency. Thanks for the input, I'll give it a try.

Thanks for posting the vids, Terry. Can't wait to see both of your birds in there finished form.

Wow cool. I think I want a laser now.

Originally Posted by terryscustom

You are correct, mine is 120watt and I was running full power, maybe need to back that off a bit and find the right frequency. Thanks for the input, I'll give it a try.

YIKES!! I have 120 watt as well and only am using about 50% power. No wonder you are seeing cracks. me thinks you need to make major changes to your settings.....

Well, no glue yet (except to hold my 1/16" joints together), but I put it all together to check the fit of everything. Found that I need to move the engine mount up 1/4" and I added tube holder to run the tail servo wires through. So, I'll re-cut those couple of parts tonight and we'll be ready to rock. My headers will be here in the AM so I can check the fit of those.

Here are a few pics that give the idea of the fuse shape (not a constant taper). Once I get it together with all of the bottom stringers it should look pretty cool.

Pretty cool that with the interlocking parts, all it takes is a few pieces of tape to give it the strength to support that engine.

Looking awesome. Should go together really quick!

Nice, just curious when cutting with the laser, it seems to move from side to side rather than cut from one side to the other. Is this a heat thing? Does the program decide what to cut next or is that something you decide based on experience?

With the laser software I have it just pics what it wants, it somewhat coincides with the order that the objects were created, but not really. It also cuts internal items before cutting the outside. With the vector cutting on the laser there really is no "program" like on a CNC that you can select speeds / feeds etc. I'ts more like a WYSIWYG printer. On the CNC's we absolutely select the cutting order to ensure that inside profiles are cut first and in a certain order throughout the nest, we can also change the RPM, feed rate and other parameters on different cuts within the CNC program.

I was able to cut my G10 on the laser for control horns, but not happy with the amount of black on the edges.....even after cleaning it looks kinda tacky, so I'll be CNC'ing those and will post a video. Maybe get to that this weekend.

OK, it's go time. This time with GLUE!! Got the engine box assembled nice and square. Did a last call test-mount of the engine, headers and ProFlow's and cowl to verify everything before it's too late. Glued on the top basswood longeron onto the top plate, which is a bit of a PITA, but came out nice. Installed the middle longeron which is balsa (lower ones will be basswood and carbon fiber down the middle) Then installed one of the side panels. This actually is a little time-consuming and requires about every clamp that you can beg, borrow or steal. But, the rewards of the laser cut sides are a nice straight square fuse side.

Will glue on the other side tomorrow after work.