Laser Cutting

[Dick Pacini]

I have previously mentioned that I have been out of the CLPA hobby for almost 35 years and am in the process of returning to the fold.  The changes in technology during that time are astounding to me.

In particular are laser cut kits, which seem to be the most coveted.  I have heard that laser cut parts must have the laser marks sanded off the mating surfaces or the glue won't stick.  Is this true?

My other question is are laser cutting services available?  Could I submit plans and have laser cut parts made?  I imagine this would be expensive, but it might be worth it.

Finally, are laser cutting systems available for hobby use or are they only available to large companies.

Sorry for the basic questions.  It has been a long time.

[Mark Scarborough]

Dick
I will make some brief attempts to answer some of the questions based upon my experiences,,,
Laser cutting of course, by nature allows very accurate and repeatable parts to be made. A side advantage of this is that once the cutting files are generated they need not be redone, just load the wood and hit the start button,, ( well ok that's really oversimplified but you get the point) so this enables cottage laser kit cutters to not have to order a produce a preset minimum of kits. It also allows a more creative solution to framing up models since the accuracy afforded encourages tab and slot fitting of parts to help insure alignment. This feature isnt really as prevelant in Control line as it is in RC for some reason?
If the operator of the laser is knoweldgable, and pays attention, there is very little charred wood to remove, only a light browning of the wood occurs. Of course this varies since the density of the wood, or imperfections in grain can cause some areas to cut faster than others. I have glued parts together that did not need any sanding in fact I don't like to touch the surfaces since one of the benefits is the accurate fit of parts, ( assuming accurate thickness wood)
As for submitting plans, pencil plans require translation into CAD files in order to cut on a laser. There are a great number of plans already drawn in CAD so unless you are looking for something unique or designing your own plane, perhaps you could find what you are wanting available? I know that Pat Johnston has over 100 plans in CAD and he has a laser.
as for Hobby use, it depends upon what your threshhold for cost in your hobby is. Most of the lesser systems I have seen are over 10,000 dollars, so I guess thats pretty much out of the hobby class for most people.
There are less expensive CNC router tables though that will work though the same caveats apply for needing the files done in CAD format.
Hope this helps?

[John Miller]

What Mark said. He's covered it pretty well.

I would add that unless you are wanting an original design, your best, and most cost saving, way to go, is to enquire if the design you are interested is available as a CAD drawing, or a laser kit.

It takes a bit of time to make a copy in CAD from a hand drawing, and that can be a bit expensive, depending on the skill, and experience of the CAD draftsman. Some charge upwards of $40.00 an hour, and it isn't simply scanning in the hand drawing. The scan has to be converted from a rastor scan, which is what you get when scanning, to a Vector Scan, which is what a CAD, and a CNC file is.

They do make software that can do this, but unless it's a very high end software, it will have an extreem amount of errors. I've basically given up on this, except for the most basic work.

Instead, for the best accuracy, I've found it best to hand copy everything in. It can be time consuming.

In the end though, I believe it's worth it, as a CAD file can be manipulated in so many ways. Scaling, for instance, is only a few key strokes away.

[Bruce Shipp]

Hi John,

Check out Action Hobbies/Lazer works in the vendor's forum on this sight.  Eddie does very reasonable work.  He digitized the plans and cut a short kit for a 1/4 scale P-51 RC sport scale for me and I if I recall correctly it was around $70.  Call him to discuss prices.  He also did a kit of the old comet 54" Aeronca Chief that was very reasonable.  He did a fantastic acrylic sub-panel with inlaid reverse lettering for my Cessna 170 and charged me $29.  There are other vendors that do it I'm sure but the short answer is if you provide the plans, they can be digitized and cut for a reasonable cost.  If you provide cad plans it may even be cheaper by saving him work. Let us know what you find out.

Bruce

[Dick Pacini]

Hi John,

Check out Action Hobbies/Lazer works in the vendor's forum on this sight.  Eddie does very reasonable work.  He digitized the plans and cut a short kit for a 1/4 scale P-51 RC sport scale for me and I if I recall correctly it was around $70.  Call him to discuss prices.  He also did a kit of the old comet 54" Aeronca Chief that was very reasonable.  He did a fantastic acrylic sub-panel with inlaid reverse lettering for my Cessna 170 and charged me $29.  There are other vendors that do it I'm sure but the short answer is if you provide the plans, they can be digitized and cut for a reasonable cost.  If you provide cad plans it may even be cheaper by saving him work. Let us know what you find out.

Bruce

Thank you.  That is helpful information and the price is right.

[Randy Powell]

Dick,

You can also talk to Pat Johnston. He just got his laser set back up (after moving) and is pretty good guy.