What software

[MrBean]

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

Regards Terry.

[Evodyne]

Originally Posted by MrBean 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 ( ). It won't hurt much guys, we promise ( ). 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

[erase42]

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

[Evodyne]

Originally Posted by erase42 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.

[erase42]

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.

[GAWnCA]

Originally Posted by mvaughn 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.

[dimitar]

You can download a stl file for blade:
http://www.partenovcfd.com/software.html

[RCjunkie]

Hay Guys
I have a Foam Linx 29" machine I will sell for $700.00 with a Foam CNC board from dave with 80oz steppers.
I just re did a machine to cut 45" cores with 120oz steppers