do you use for CNC foam cutters?

I use software by Gilles Muller at

http://gm.cnc.free.fr/index_en.html.

But here are some other links

www.cenece.com Spanish s/w for cutting wings active forum

http://www.het-holland.nl/

http://www.step-four.at/e_index.html

Cheers
Fran

I use a Foam Linx
With Muller software.

While this topic is here.
What on earth do foam cutters make?
Is it just for planes or is there other uses?

Try this out

:D

Originally posted by ynneb
While this topic is here.
What on earth do foam cutters make?
Is it just for planes or is there other uses?

Planes seem to be the main function of these machines but you can also carve out simple parts for casting metal.

Here's a link to some parts made with a foam carver.
http://buildyouridea.com/cnc/hblb/phase3/phase3.html
http://buildyouridea.com/cnc/hblb/phase7/phase7.html
http://buildyouridea.com/cnc/hblb/hblb.html

sorry for hijacking the post.

I use mine for lost foam casting.I make small parts for motorcycles and old custom hot rods.

do you have fotos of your cnc foam cutter, and do you have plans on this machine. thanks if you can help (chair)

Try this out:D

Dang! If a guy wanted to make largish wind turbine blades (10') could this be used? Even if the blank needed both twist and taper? In other words how crazy can you get with a wing in terms of shape?

Are you using carbon fiber rods/strips in the grooves for stiffness?

And what are you skinning these with?

Thanks!

Evodyne

While this topic is here.
What on earth do foam cutters make?
Is it just for planes or is there other uses?

Some pictures of wire cut foam parts here:

http://www.astatue.com/astatue_001.htm

Fred Smith - IMService

twist and taper, pretty dang sure you can, ive cut stuff like that totaly by mistake on my 9 foot machine. email me each end shape, and how many degrees of twist you would like to see and ill see what my software comes up with.

erase42@aol.com

twist and taper, pretty dang sure you can, ive cut stuff like that totaly by mistake on my 9 foot machine. email me each end shape, and how many degrees of twist you would like to see and ill see what my software comes up with.

Well, what I meant to ask, and didn't do a good job of, is this: can a wing shape be cut with a non-linear taper? In other words, curved leading and/or trailing edges. The attached pic is typical of an efficient wind turbine blade.

Lance

Hey... It looks like this wind turbine thing is starting to spread.
Cut foam blades sounds like a good idea.

Regards Terry.

Hey... It looks like this wind turbine thing is starting to spread.
Cut foam blades sounds like a good idea.

Regards Terry.

I know! We need to pick the foamies brains ( :eek: ). It won't hurt much guys, we promise ( :devious: ). For those of you who know more about this than me (which would really be just about anyone, anywhere), what are the options for turning a blank into a finished product and the pros and cons of these approaches? A wind turbine, ideally, is low maintenance, so strength and durability are key. What advice can you guys offer?

Thanks in advance!

Lance

ooooohhhh, that is a different ball of wax. i think thats more than whats possible with most straight wire machines. HOWEVER,, if you were to turn the process sideways, with the cutting wire perpendicular to the length of the blade. If you could extract the "outline" or profile of your blade at each of perhaps 60 steps of a complete rotation around its long axis, you can cut,rotate,cut rotate etc, and get a nice quality cnc perfect balanced blade. All you would need is some light sanding to remove the facets that the straight wire would cause. go look at a sight, maybe www.chroma.com there is a sampe there where they cut a banana out of foam, and one where they cut a large cell phone. It used to illustrate the process in a little gif.
email me if you have question.. erase42@aol.com

ooooohhhh, that is a different ball of wax. i think thats more than whats possible with most straight wire machines. HOWEVER,, if you were to turn the process sideways, with the cutting wire perpendicular to the length of the blade. If you could extract the "outline" or profile of your blade at each of perhaps 60 steps of a complete rotation around its long axis, you can cut,rotate,cut rotate etc, and get a nice quality cnc perfect balanced blade. All you would need is some light sanding to remove the facets that the straight wire would cause. go look at a sight, maybe www.chroma.com there is a sampe there where they cut a banana out of foam, and one where they cut a large cell phone. It used to illustrate the process in a little gif.
email me if you have question.. erase42@aol.com

Thanks! I did try that link: it took me to a site for optical filters. Oops? I think your dead on as far as a solution to cutting the curved wind turbine blades. I'm going to start looking closer at these foam cutting machines in a little more detail. When I have an intelligent question I'll come back and ask!

Hmmm, if a guy had a mold, say a two piecer that could be fastened together, could any of the two-part foams be used to cast blades? Anyone ever try this? Just curious.

if this comes up twice sorry i tried to post it last night but i guess it didnt go thru.
this is the link i had intended you to see. http://www.foamcutter.com/turntable.htm

i cant remember what else i had said in the post but if it comes to me ill add it.

Planes seem to be the main function of these machines but you can also carve out simple parts for casting metal.

Here's a link to some parts made with a foam carver.
http://buildyouridea.com/cnc/hblb/phase3/phase3.html
http://buildyouridea.com/cnc/hblb/phase7/phase7.html
http://buildyouridea.com/cnc/hblb/hblb.html

sorry for hijacking the post.


Great web site and loits of information! Thanks for the hijacking.