Thread: CNC Hotwire 4 axis foam cutter
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18-06-2015 #11
Arduino sounds pretty useful, but I think it might be one too many things to learn from scratch for this project. I'll see how expensive an appropriate power supply and heat controller are and then decide if I need to take the Arduino learning route.
Thanks againLearning, learning, learning! !!
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18-06-2015 #12
I'll be following this with interest as I want to build a cnc hot wire cutter to make my own wings...
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22-06-2015 #13
I've been playing with fusion360 and have come up with a bit of a design.
I've designed it so that when I'm not cutting cores I can utilise a flat surface for other projects so have gone a bit over the top with regards to the structure.
The idea is that the runners are interchangeable on the supported rails to enable some flexibility in the length of the cutting wire and it will be tensioned with a weight over a pulley.
The vertical axis will have a little bit of lateral force applied to them as the bases move independently. To deal with this, I am aiming to use hiwin rails for the vertical block.
There is hardly any force required to pass the wire through the foam, so I am planning on running belts and pulleys to control the axes (as per printer).
My drawing isn't very good and doesn't allow me to change and modify things (still learning CAD on the fly) but I am also aiming to do some epoxy levelling to the frame before mounting the rails and plates.
The way it is drawn at the moment gives a max effective cutting area of 2100mm long x 550 wide x 170mm high.
Just looked at the clock and I am about to be late for work! Gotta go! Sorry if it's a bit disjointed (The post) hopefully you get a little bit of an idea about my project.Learning, learning, learning! !!
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21-07-2015 #14
I've built a 4 axis hot wire machine you can see my build and plans at http://www.rckeith.co.uk and have used it to produce wings and fuselages. I don't really have a limit to the size of wing as the two towers can just be moved further apart. I usually secure them to a board to prevent them moving. I've found the best result are obtained with really thin wire( I think the size is on my website). If your wire is long then you may need to experiment with feeds and current as it may vibrate a little and give poorer results. The biggest challenge I've found is the software. Not much around for 4 axis hot wire so tends to be more expensive. I've spent more on software than hardware. I use Profili2 Pro and Dev Fus Foam but its a bit of a learning curve. Straight wings are fairly easy but tapered are bit more challenging. If you don't have positioned correctly in the machine according to the distance specified in the software the wing comes out larger or smaller. My first flying wing came out a bit smaller than I expected but it was a bonus because if flies absolutely fantastic. Hope that helps
Keith
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22-07-2015 #15
Thanks Keith. Things are a bit stop-start at the moment, with more stopping than starting.
This affects my focus and I find myself drifting off-target and 'considering' getting a cnc converted Mill (or converting one). Imaginations hey? Where would we be without one!Learning, learning, learning! !!
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22-07-2015 #16
550mm travel is a little tight imo ... when doing high taper cuts the one side can travel alot more than you think
just a thought :D
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29-07-2015 #17
Thanks for your inputs so far guys.
I have had a re-think and decided that I am not going to ruin my RC Hobby by trying to make any money out of it and therefore won't be needing to make large quantities of wing cores. So I won't waste my time, effort and money on building a CNC hotwire machine.
I will however, be building a CNC router although I think I need to build a shed/workshop first. Integral garage directly below my son's bedroom and attached to the living room will restrict the noises I can make.Learning, learning, learning! !!
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