K40 Laser

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Dear All

Like many members with poor health I have locked myself away in an attempt to avoid this terrible virus.

Given that I could be isolated for many months I have decided to build a model that I have wanted for a very long time, a ¼ scale WW2 Hawker Typhoon, yes I know its not a boat but the Typhoon is one of my bucket list builds along with a Mosquito and Seafire.

To help with cutting out all the bits I have abandoned the bandsaw and invested in a 40w laser.

For the thick end of £300 it is a considered purchase which bumps up by another £200 when you buy the ancillary bits but it is the most amazing machine and cuts to a tolerance of +/- .01mm.

Instead of hours of back breaking work on the bandsaw I just press the button and drink coffee whilst the machine does all of the work.

Yes I still have to work up the drawings on CAD but instead of printing out templates I simply convert the drawings into SVG and send them to the laser cutter.

I will post some photos tomorrow.

Paul

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Hmm…could do with one for my saucer (death Ray)…

Look forward to seeing this Paul. Bit of a game changer in the cutting stakes. Presumably cuts Acrylic and so on?

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Paul,

I will follow with interest, being a life long aeromodeller, the tech has moved on, a friend has printed me a Spitfire 67" span made of 50 modules beautifully 3D printed its a work of art, but it's really a massive Airfix kit. Electric powered.

Will the Typhoon be a flying model?

Regards Ray

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hi Ashley

Yes it cuts Acrylic like a knife through butter.

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Paul……..Long time no talk?

I'm really impressed with your latest hi tech adventures of late

I also like the Hawker Typhoon. A lovely powerful design that proved it's worth towards the end of the war

Looking forward to the build very much. Like Ray, I am an RC enthusiast, having built dozens of planes. The most memorable one was a 1/4 scale piper Cub with an OS four stroke that swung a 20" prop

It was easy to fly. I was a privileged member of the Woodford Model Flying club and it was exciting flying on the AVRO airfield……..In the footsteps of the Lancaster and Vulcan etc

Anyway, please show us what you are up to please

All the very best, old man

Bob

[redpmgParticipant @redpmg]

Just be careful with it and protect your eyesight – Laser Radiation is not good for you or your sight – presume at the price it is an enclosed unit. . The eye surgeons use lasers which use limited power and a strictly controlled beam . A flash off something from 40w is enough to blind you for good and do further damage – can also cut a finger off if you are really careless or casual about safety . (has happened – but not to me) – So treat the Laser with respect.

Have owned and used a large commercial laser for over 10 years now – better half has owned one since the early 90/s. So not trying to be a scaremonger – just trying to give a bit of advice.

They are so useful when making things – but you also have to put in a lot of effort drawing items to suit. – always laugh when i hear – oh that's easy – you just put it in and the machine does the work – without any idea of the work behind the drawing for "it"

One small tip – if you are cutting something very narrow – say 1 or 1.5mm / (1/16 strip) don't forget to add the width of your laser beam or it will be clearly undersized – on ours I add between .3 and..5mm depending on the size and material being cut . When cutting balsa strips at a fairly fast speed I use .3 added ie 1.5 use 1.8 , 6mm use 6.3 etc for the true size when cut.. Components are not a problem since they are designed to fit together – and all of them loose the .15mm or so beam cutting width..

Good luck and enjoy your machine – it is a real step up.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Hi Paul

Good to hear from you again.

Interesting that you have bought a laser. Something new to get to grips with.

Doubt I will be getting one (I've only got a scroll saw so far) but how big are they and can you do laser etching for e.g. deck planking.

Chris

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

A few photos

Ray: I tried 3D printing but the parts were to heavy plus the fact that my 3Dprinter is quite small so I couldn't print the larger pieces. Yes it will be a flying model but not sure if it will be electric of petrol, electric will be easier but have limited flight time, petrol will sound better and have a longer flight time but the bits of engine sticking out of the body can ruin the look of the model.

Captain Bob: The Typhoon and Tempest were very impressive aircraft and, for me better than the Spitfire, the laser will let me cut out all of the parts but I don't know where I will keep the plane when it is built, at 1/4 scale I will need a hanger. Photos of Spitfire and Seafire for you and Ray.

Red: I researched this for a long time before buying it, I also bought a good pair of laser goggles at the right frequency for the 40w laser. Thanks for the cutting tip.

Chris: You can get a good idea of size from the photos but the actual cutting area is only 300mm x 200mm , it etches very well and is ideal for etching complicated deck planking.

The laser itself is a decent piece of kit for the money but the 'support kit' that comes with it is cheap and best replaced with better equipment.

For example the supplied fume extract is a cheap fan and a paper hose, I replaced them with a good 'inline' fan and steel hose.

The laser has to be water cooled and the supplied equipment is a small fountain pump that you are advised to place in a bucket of water and hope that it cools the tube, I replaced it with a sealed chiller filled with distilled water.

Last of all I added an 'air assist' which blows air over the cutting point and really helps with a decent cut, for my first attempt I used an airbrush compressor but this overheated so I replaced it with a large air pump, usually used with large fish tanks.

Paul

 

Edited By Paul T on 24/03/2020 12:25:42

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

All very impressive Paul, do keep us posted on progress.

And keep safe.

Colin

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hi Paul

Sounds like you've made a rod for your own back?

Didn't realise you had made these large planes?

Looking forward to the Typhoon build, a small model could be electric powered, but a 1/4 scale sounds a bit iffy?

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Thank you Colin, I will post some updates when I have finished working up the drawings and actually start cutting.

Captain Bob, Cutting with a laser makes life so much easier, I know that cutting with the bandsaw is part of the building process but does get boring when you have 40 identical ribs to cut, plus the fact that the laser will cut out all 40 whilst you are still cutting the first one on the saw.

Large planes and helicopters were a hobby that ran hand in hand with boats, after my heart attack the insurance company wouldn't cover me for helicopters so I sold off those models but even though I didn't fly anymore I still kept on with building planes. Now I build heavy lift drones for filming and so I have got back into flying and help ex service people pass their CAA drone / fixed wing licence.

Regarding electric power I have some drone motors that will lift 12kg, but the motor isn't the problem as I would need a very big LIPO battery, I have a few of these but they are like bricks and just as heavy.

Paul

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Thanks for the info. Paul.

Like others I will watch with interest.

Chris

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Dear All

The first setback:

I was over confident about being able to build the Typhoon at 1/4 scale because after working up some of the larger parts I found they wouldn't fit inside the laser.

So the scale is being reduced to 1/6 which will produce a 73in (1850mm) wingspan instead of 130in (3160mm)

I should have bought the bigger laser.

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Or you should have gone to Spec Savers?

Only joking

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

You are right Bob as I should have looked at the larger parts before committing to 1/4 scale, still thinking about it and might trade the laser for a larger model.

Such is life.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hi Paul

You will be pleased to read that I have decided to have a go at building the Ferret

Mainly because it`s a Club project and will be of unusual construction

Joyce is delighted

Bob

[redpmgParticipant @redpmg]

Hi Paul

ours is a nominal 600×900 – in reality we use 845 x 545 boards max. . Sometimes even that is a bit small – but the bigger lasers like ours have a front door and a rear slot the width of the cutting bed – so you can actually work on much larger pieces as long as the width does not exceed 845mm. Obviously parts have to be drawn on separate files and its not always easy to line it up properly as you push the board through – easier if you make locating marks .

If you do go for a bigger Laser you should also go for higher power – ours was a 60w which has been upgraded to an 80w (limited by HV power supply). The 60w was a problem over such a large cutting area . So if you do upgrade suggest you go for nothing less than 80w – or you will find that parts will not be cut properly at times. Going for a second pass is not really acceptable when making model parts.- tends to take more off the part where it has already cut through. There is also usually an option for raising or lowering the cutting bed – so you can engrave or mark bulky objects – more expense but useful at times. We also have a rotary attachment for engraving on round objects but if we have used that twice in 10years its a lot. Also if you have the typical glass tube laser itself from China – they are usually over rated in terms of power . Our 80w is probably the equivalent of the 60 w Aluminium tubed one from Universal Laser in the US . They produced the very first commercial Laser in the early 90s – a Russian emigre and his American partner and are still renowned for their quality – unfortunately the price reflects that – and not many can afford them . Our early one was the 200th one they made – in a different class to our current Chinese one – unfortunately it died of old age as they no longer supported that old model from 93.

Also don't let anybody kid you – all the glass tube laser tubes are made in China as are most of the components – no matter what the label says.

Nice to hear you are going to build a Ferret – Ray must be pleased

Edited By redpmg on 26/03/2020 10:09:40

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Bob

Good news, I bet Joyce will be glad to get you from under her feet and I look forward to seeing your concrete Ferret.

Red

Thank you for the advice as it is really very helpful, as you might guess mine is a glass tube laser that is rated at 40w but I doubt it actually produces that much, still it has been a great introduction to lasers and I will play with it over summer then raid the pension pot and invest in an 80w

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Update

I am busy converting the paper drawings into CAD which will then be saved in SVG format for the laser, meanwhile I have ordered a huge amount of wood / balsa in preparation for the Typhoon build.

Paul

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Update

A very nice chap has supplied me with a set of laser cutting files for a 1/5 scale ME109, so now I have lots to keep me busy whilst being locked in.

Now I am hunting for cowl, canopy, retracts etc.

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Sounds very interesting

Keep us informed

I like aer`os!

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Captain Bob

It will be interesting as the laser is cutting through some chunky bits of ply so it will be running at full power with a very slow cutting speed, at least the extract unit will keep the fumes away from me.

Paul

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Just for Captain Bob

The wagon has just delivered the timber and bits for the Typhoon

Just one of the balsa packs, engine cowl, spinner and canopy.

The ply and other balsa is still on the pallet.

Should keep me busy over the bank holiday weekend.

Paul

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Paul,

Who's design of Typhoon are you building ?

I just love building Brian Taylor's models, but hardly ever get to finish one

Regards Ray

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