PhlatPrinter: Update - Making Planes Now!

A couple of days ago, the Ruby-scripted Plug-In was released from The PhlatBoyz! This set of tools allows you t0 create gCode for your aircraft (or whatever else you would like to cut on your PhlatPrinter) that you have worked up in Google's SketchUp. Without this Plug-In, you are forced to work up your design in a commercial CAD application, save it as DXF, then import your DXF file into a commercial CAM program to create the gCode. While this is an effective workflow, the Google SketchUp workflow is much better, as SketchUp is free, the Plug-In is free, and if your design isn't too complex, you can even use the free demo version of Mach3! I like free! lol

After watching the tutorial for the Plug-In completely through, I gained enough knowledge of it's use to get started. I watched the tutorial a second time, only this time I went step by step, pausing the video several times along the way.

Since I already had a DXF file worked up for the parts for Tony65x55's BluBaby 24 airplane, I chose this to do the shakedown of the Plug-In. This proved to be a great file to use, since the parts for this airplane all required an "outside cut". After working the file up and saving out the gCode, I ended up with this little jewel!




Not bad, eh? Following my old workflow, it would have taken me at least two hours to get to this point with printing out tiled plans, putting the tiles together like a puzzle and taping them up, cutting out the templates for each part, using those paper part templates to get the foam pieces cut out, and then finally the build of the plane. Using my PhlatPrinter, it took 23 minutes to cut out the plane. The build time was only about 15 minutes, and the gCode preparation was only about 10 minutes. Result? I shaved off about an hour of time on this project using the PhlatPrinter and it's workflow. Not a big time savings, but when you factor in that the hour that I shaved off was the most frustrating part of any build - the cutting out of the foam parts using paper templates! Now, if I decide to build another for myself or a friend, it will take even less time to complete since I already have the gCode processed and saved! It's now just a matter of loading a sheet of foam in the PhlatPrinter, loading the gCode in Mach3, hitting the "print" button, and waiting 23 minutes for all the pieces of the next one!

My next project was an easy choice. Since the indoor flying season is fast approaching, I wanted to get another of SloperSteve's SloFly Micro 22's in the air. This was a great test for the Plug-In (and my skills with it!) since the parts required "inside cuts" and it allowed me to use the "fold" tool, which is where you set up the cut to be a percentage of the foam's thickness, rather than cutting completely through. Again, prep time of the file to get it ready to write the gCode out was less than 10 minutes! My hat goes off to Pete (the programmer of the script) for a tool package so simple that even I can get it figured out so quickly!

Because this is such a small airplane (only 22" wingspan), I was able to lay the parts out to utilize only a half sheet of FanFoldFoam (FFF). The cut time for this file was only 9:52 - less than 10 minutes to have all the pieces to one of the greatest indoor and backyard flyers in the world!

Rather than having the machine cut out the ailerons and elevator, I elected to only "score" those parts at 50% depth using the "fold" tool. The scores turned out great, giving me a guide to cut out those pieces by hand. All I can say here is WOW!



Since this is such a great little plane, and I figure everyone should own one, I wrote another gCode file out so that I can now cut the parts for TWO of these planes out of one sheet of foam. That way, I will have a spare plane next time I cut one out and can give it away to a friend!

Mere words cannot express my satisfaction with this purchase! The PhlatPrinter (www.phlatboyz.com) is truly the scratchbuilder's new best friend! Even if you don't like the designing aspect of flying foamie airplanes, you should consider building one of these machines. As the PhlatBoyz customer base grows, more and more free gCode files will become available. This means that there is going to be a large list of free gCodes for you to choose your next airplane from very soon!

If you are already a Google SketchUp user (or you just want to download the application and take a look at my files - hey the application is free, after all!), you can go to Google's 3D Warehouse and search for my files. You can download everything there for free and see how this stuff works! My files are uploaded under the name "Crash-Man", but if you do a search for "PhlatPrinter" you will find mine and others that have been set up for this process.

Fun stuff ahead!!!

PhlatPrinter! It's Here and It's Finished!

Rather than duplicating all of the information that I have already typed up in my review of this awesome machine, I am just gonna provide a link to the thread that I have started.

IT'S AWESOME!!!!

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=923747

My New Workbench

Well, Labor Day is here, but I am stuck at the house again. The wife got called away to work today so I won't be able to sneak out for some flying. This weekend, however, was quite fruitful as I finally took the time to build a new and much needed workbench! Below are a few pictures of it, as well as my work area for you all to enjoy.


For the last 7 years in this house, my workbench has consisted of two 55 gallon drums with a folded up 2' x 6' table on top with a 32" x 80" luan door on top of that! It provided a nice workspace for building, but looked quite "Mickey Mouse"! LOL

With the impending delivery of my new PhlatPrinter (from www.PhlatBoyz.com) CNC machine, I really needed that table to put the CNC machine and my computer on, so I decided that it was finally time to get that "real" workbench built!

The whole thing cost me only $40 to build and I was able to recess in the door that I already had. I designed it to fit nicely with the pegboard that I already installed on the walls to hold all of my junk. If you've been in search of a nice and flat building surface to construct your planes on, consider getting a luan door like the one that I use. It is cheap (only $18) and provides the flattest surface for the least amount of dough. You may also be able to see the piece of tempered glass that I have on the bench. I have it taped off with black duct tape around the edges because the piece that I have has sharp edges and the tape helps to keep the cut fongers at bay. I have been building on glass for years because it protect your bench from glue build up and when you do get glue all over it, you can just take a razor and scrape it all off and it's like new again.

The lighting in this corner of my garage is quite scarce, so I went in search of some good, cheap lighting to make this space more usable. I ended up getting a garage-style drop light from the local Dollar General store for only $4. It's all plastic and really not what I would consider a good drop light for garage use, but I removed the cage over the light and installed a 100 watt florescent bulb and hung the light directly over the bench. Now light is no problem and the bulb doesn't build up very much heat at all, not to mention energy usage! My wife and I have been working really hard to make our home more "green" with exclusive use of the florescent bulbs as well as recycling everything we can. The use of these bulbs, which I'd like to note are dropping in price nicely, have helped us to drop our electric bill by $50 to $75 per month! Furthermore, the incandescent bulbs that we used to use were going out every 3 - 6 months (power surges??) and I'm happy to report that I have not had to replace a single florescent bulb in the last 16 months since we changed to these!

In one of the pictures, you can see my table o' power tools. I don't use them on this table, though. I have a WorkMate table and when I need one of my tools, I pick it up from the table and put it on the WorkMate for use. When I'm done, I put it back on the table and grab the next tool. I am really thinking of getting another workmate so that I can use two tools at a time!

Anyway, I hope you've enjoy a little glimpse into my building world. I have been trying to post at least once a week to this blog, but with the PhlatPrinter Premium kit to arrive this week, I will be spending alot of time in this area with many posts and pics in this blog to cover the entire build process!

Stay Tuned!

What?? Rained Out??

Yep, you read that right! We are having some rather unseasonal weather here in Waco, Texas.

Normally, this time of year yields 100+ degree days with absolutely no end in sight to the heat. However, it's actually 73 degrees here right now (a temperature that we see if we're extremely LUCKY as the day's low) and raining buckets!

Although yesterday would have been a nice day to get some flying in, I had some family responsibilities that had to take the front seat (buying school clothes and supplies and such to get ready for some First Grade action) to my enjoyment. I figured, what the heck! The wife doesn't work this Monday, so I'll get to go out then...

Well, my next opportunity will be Thursday. If not then, I can get some time next weekend.

Rain is forecast right now through Saturday! Who'd have thunk it!?

Blu Baby 33: Progress Report

Man, it's been a hectic week! Family responsibilities have kept me from getting my "fix", but I was able to make a little progress on my AP plane. I thought I'd post a few pics to let you guys know what progress I've made thus far.

I got a motor in! I got a custom wound Blue Wonder from timocharis at RCGroups. Wow! This guy can wind a motor! It should provide plenty of power for this airplane, yet with the proper prop selection (I'm thinking a 7x3.5 GWS) it should have a very low amp draw meaning long flight times!

I decided to pull out the old Zagi tape and dress the plane up a bit, as you can see. I have various colors of the tape, but decided that blue kinda kept with the plane's name.

Unfortunately, I am kind of at a stand still with this plane for now, as I am in need of some light 1.5" wheels as well as push-rod stock. The wife is in the middle of an 11 day stint at the hospital, so I'm pretty much stuck in the house until next Saturday with this kids (I DON'T take them to the hobby ship with me! lol). I could "make" some wheels out of some 12mm EPP that I have, but I think I'll just wait. I expect my local hobby shop to have some nice wheels to choose from, and since I hafta make a trip anyway....

I've pretty much decided to go ahead and mount the servos externally. The area in the fuselage is ample, but really too tight for my big old hands. I am thinking that if I mount them on the outside, I can put my battery on the inside where the servos would normally go. This will leave the battery compartment on the bottom open, and a great place to put in my FlyCamOne keeping it fully protected in case the landing gear decides to go south on a less than perfect landing! It is also conducive to the camera shooting straight down, which is the angle I want for AP (don't you just hate seeing the propellor "bands" that show up when you get the prop in the frame?).

A few weeks ago I put the "sitemeter" tag on this blog to see how many people are following me. From the stats that I've been seeing, it appears that I have a pretty good following, so I am gonna try to post a little more often so that I don't dissapoint!

Thanks to all for following my little adventures in this hobby. I am hoping to have some fair AP footage for you all to see very soon!

Until next time!

Blu Baby 33: Adventures in AP

And now for something completely different! Well, for me, that is. On RCFlightCast (episode #16), we spoke to a gent from Canada that told us all about the Blu Baby Primary Trainer that was designed and shared by a friend of his named Tony65x55 on RCGroups. His name is Jim, and he goes by the screen name of Laserman on RCG. If you haven't listened to this episode, and you are endeavoring to get into the fascinating sport of RC Flying, listen to this episode! This is an inexpensively built aircraft that really suits newb-pilots, and with careful research on the forums ( www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=681556 ), you should be able to break into this great hobby on the cheap and with success!

As a seasoned pilot, I have to say that I have no interest whatsoever in "trainer" aircraft. Since I graduated from my trainer about a bazillion years ago, I have never looked back at these RET (Rudder, Elevator, Throttle) designs. I favor go-where-you-point-it performance! Trainer aircraft, while necessary for learning the coordination for RC flight, are sluggish and offer very little in the aerobatics department. Quite frankly, they make me nervous when flying them, as the reaction is too slow for a stick-banger like myself.

Anyway, since I bought a FlyCamOne, I have yet to use it for it's intended purpose - Aerial Photography. I have used it a few times for ground to air video, but I think the performance of the cam is really not sufficient for this kind of photography, so now I am on a quest to get a new cam for that and utilize the FlyCamOne for it's intended purpose. The problem is that I really don't have a slow, stable, smooth flying plane to put the cam on.

Enter the Blu Baby Primary Trainer.

I downloaded, printed, and tiled the plans for the plane on Wednesday evening (instead of getting my World Of Warcraft fix for the week). I pulled out a sheet and a half of Fan Fold Foam (FFF) and cut out all of the parts on Thursday afternoon, and after about an hour of building Thursday night, I had what you see in the pic above! The build is very simple. What you see in the pic is a completed airframe minus all electronics and landing gear and it all weighs only 4.75 ounces! I opted to build the KF airfoil wing, rather than the undercambered wing that seems best suited for beginners.

Unfortunately, I have depleted my stockpile of small, brushless outrunner motors that would be best for this plane, so I will be ordering another Blue Wonder 1100kv, 24 gram motor, as that seems to be the motor of choice by the builders in the RCG thread that I linked earlier. I intend to put a GWS 8x4 slowflier prop on it and use another 10 am PowerUp ESC along with a 3S 500 LoongMax Battery. Servos will probably be the 9 gram Hextronics HXT900's (I'll be using only two), and I'll probably use one of my small JR 72mhz receivers since I have a few that are just sitting around.

The goal here is to build a plane with an all up weight (AUW) of less than 12 ounces that will offer smooth flight with a decent flight duration. I plan to put the FlyCamOne on the belly of the plane to get decent air to ground video. I think I'm on the right track!

It may be a bit before this one is completed since I have to order some parts, but I hope to have it in the air within the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

X-20: Maidened!

I got to sneak out for a quick first flight on the new X-20.

OH MY GAAAAAWD!!

With the LoongMax 3s 500 sitting pretty far forward in the nose, the CG came in right within the range as called out in the building instructions. As usual, I had the rates set WAY too high and the flight was a roller coaster (ok, need a little right trim - will compensate on the sticks until I get some altitude. Whoa! Way too much compensation!! Now a little left. Whoa! Too much left!! You get the picture... :D ) I'm glad I forgot to charge the FlyCam to get video of this nonsense as the distraction of it stuffed into my hatband would have probably been too much and I might have destroyed the plane! I needed full focus to keep up with it!

I was able to get it down safely and then proceeded to dial in some low rates - I ended up setting it to 40% of normal and threw it in the air again. MUCH BETTER! This plane performs AWESOME but is certainly not for the weak of heart. Blipping back and forth from low rates to "super" high rates was a ball because the high rates make the little booger roll like MAD!

Half throttle flying was great, as there is still greater than 1:1 thrust to weight ratio and with a little wind, I could probably just kite it all around at around 1/4 throttle.

I estimate about a 5 minute total flight time and the battery was only slightly warm (but hey, this is Texas, so I consider that to be alright). Torque from the prop wasn't too bad, but was present. Had I not been warned to expect it, I'm certain the result would have been carnage! I'm gonna try to steal away tomorrow and fly it some more and also try out a 7x5 "speed" prop.

Final flying weight - 6.2 ounces (177 grams)
Motor: 1700kv Blue Wonder from HeadsUpRC
ESC: 10 amp PowerUP from same supplier
Prop: GWS 7x3.5 DD
Servos: 2x TowerPro SG50 same supplier (you see who I like to deal with, huh?)
Battery: 3s 500 LoongMax from HobbyCity
Construction Material: Foam safe CA, 6mm Depron, Zagi tape for color
Rx: Spektrum AR6100
Tx: "Spektrumized" JR 8103
Plans: www.rcpowers.com

Jason, thanks again for a fantastic design! I'm glad I took good care of my templates. I'll be building a back-up soon 'cause I'm gonna be thrashing the heck outta this plane alot!!