Building Tips and technical articles. > 1/2 A building.
Doculam: This covering material has many uses and is cost friendly
Robert McHam:
First let me explain I am not an expert on this stuff but I will try to get you started in the right direction.
This film has more than one use. Besides using as a covering material it can also beused as a see-thru protector of your plans. Lay out your plans and lay a sheet of Doculam over it and start building!
Advantages of Doculam:
Low cost per Sq ft.
Light weight! about one third of opaque iron on coverings
Simply irons on like the other major coverings
You can paint it on either side
Use crayons on the underside for decorating it if you want
Use sharpies as well
It is fuelproof
For flat scale finishes paint it on the outside
I believe you can use a printer to print graphics on the adhesive side. This has been tried with limited success so far.
Here are some of sources:
http://www.laminatorwarehouse.com/laminating_film.shtml
http://www.schooloutfitters.com/catalog/product_info/cPath/CAT154_CAT161/pfam_id/PFAM949/products_id/PRO130
http://www.usi-laminate.com/store/wpbec_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?Level1=6&Level2=30
Now for some links to other theads with lots of info to share:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2859
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274520
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4561567/anchors_4585155/mpage_1/key_doculam/anchor/tm.htm#4585155
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4577137/anchors_4580388/mpage_1/key_doculam/anchor/tm.htm#4580388
Here is a link to a covering comparison chart:
http://lee.org/flying/tips/
Robert
dave siegler:
Just be careful, I see all kinds of comparisons between the real thin films and conventional materials. Just remember, the real thin stuff isn't as strong in tension as the thicker stuff. I works great on foam or sheet surfaces, but on open bays it isn't interchangeable with Monokote. Used it to recover a Russian F2d airplane and it felt too flex to fly.
I use a lot of it, I build combat. It is easy to use and cheap. I like it over foam
by far the best stuff is Phil's SLC covering material. A little more expensive but much stronger than doculam.
http://home.earthlink.net/~philcartier/webcat/catalog.html
Dave
Robert McHam:
Dave, thank you for sharing us with this information. This is the first mention I have heard from anyone that they thought Doculam might be an inferior covering material. especially on open bays or frames.
What mil is the Doculam you were having trouble with?
Here are a cople of pics of planes covered with Doculam.
Robert
dave siegler:
--- Quote from: Robert McHam on January 05, 2007, 04:14:36 PM ---Dave, thank you for sharing us with this information. This is the first mention I have heard from anyone that they thought Doculam might be an inferior covering material. especially on open bays or frames.
What mil is the Doculam you were having trouble with?
Here are a cople of pics of planes covered with Doculam.
Robert
--- End quote ---
Control line combat guys have been using clear mylar lamination film for a long time now.
I have either 1 or 1.5 mil right now. There are no issues, it just provides very little strength in tension compared to silkspan, monokote or the thicker Mylars. But you may not need it. No way I would even think of using it on large open bays in control line, or a 10 foot glider for that matter.
Some of the wing designs especially in controlline require some stiffness in the covering for structural integrity.
The lightly loaded electric planes you have shown will not have an issue. Most of the stiffness is in the structure the speeds are slow and the air loads are light. It is great for that application.
A control line combat (80-100mph) or stunt model may pull over 20g in a tight corner. The mylar used on an F2d airplane is much tougher than 1.5mil douclam for reason. The loads on a controlliner can be very high!
So it is good stuff, just use it for the proper application. It works great on foam, or sheet surfaces, and smaller ligher craft. Thicker or stronger formulations work just fine with all the advantages you listed. Just understand its limitations and the requirements.
Get a sample of the SLC covering and you will be impressed by how tough it is.
Dave
Robert McHam:
I have no doubt what you say is true, but please keep in mind that this thread was started begause someone was as Ray ( minnesotamodeler ) Asked what Doculam was and wanted to know more about it and I felt that because there was so much to tell about it that it would really sidtrack the "Re: CAUTION Flying 1/4A models" thread. So I started a new thread in reply.
I have never once said that Doculam ( or any other laminate brand covering is better ( in every way) than Phil's SLC covering material. I have never used SLC myself and should try it, but probably not for 1/4 A models. I would think that SLC would be much heavier ( grams per sq meter) than 1.5 mil Doculam.
Quote by dave siegler: "A little more expensive but much stronger than doculam."
Just out of curiosity how much is this SLC grams per sq meter? and what mil is it? what is the cost per sq meter?
1.5 mil Doculam if $24.00 per 27" wide by 500' long roll:
162,000 square inches. this would equal13,500 square feet convert to sqare meters equals 1254.15 square meters
take 24 dollars and divide by 1254.15 square meters equals $.019136466 per square meter or just over 19 cents per square meter!
I will accept that Doculam 1.0 or 1.5 mil is no good for combat and for F2d on your word. I have no experience in that are.
Nor am I an expert in all covering materials. Not even an expert on Doculam itself. I am merely quoting the info I have found.
Personally I have never covered the first control line plane with Doculam. I am new here on these forums. Been into R/C myself but want to come back to my roots a bit.
I was the one who first asked the question about using Doculam on the Queen bee in the "CAUTION Flying 1/4A models" thread.
I do not mean to step on anyone toes.
Robert
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