[88rob88]

ah ha , found it, its under "quick links" "subscribed threads" That makes it easier !

[CarveOne]

Looks like fun. Next time take your go pro video camera!

Its been for ever that I've flown, sadly it will be a long time too. Hopefully I can start flying again when my son is out of school.

Any idea what engine and HP rating they use? Rotax or Jigbru I'd guess

They use an 80 hp Rotax. Empty weight is 692 pounds. Payload is 580 pounds. Two seat. 17 gallon tank, 500 mile range. 12:1 power off glide ratio. 75% power cruise speed is 120 mph, max cruise is 136mph.

I can arrange that sometime, but I want to get the new GoPro Hero2 first. My Hero camera only does wide angle and the Hero2 can do wide, medium, and narrow angle of view. It has higher resolutions and higher frame rates in some modes.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Enjoying the ride at the expense of my friend hard earned money is the second good news for me this year

Someday i will be there to meet my friend

Well, Khalid, that's the least I can do if you pay for the trip to get here for the airplane ride. That's a long trip.

CarveOne

[vtx1029]

They use an 80 hp Rotax. Empty weight is 692 pounds. Payload is 580 pounds. Two seat. 17 gallon tank, 500 mile range. 12:1 power off glide ratio. 75% power cruise speed is 120 mph, max cruise is 136mph.

I can arrange that sometime, but I want to get the new GoPro Hero2 first. My Hero camera only does wide angle and the Hero2 can do wide, medium, and narrow angle of view. It has higher resolutions and higher frame rates in some modes.

CarveOne

Wow pretty impressive specs. Cheap to operate as well.

[CarveOne]

Wow pretty impressive specs. Cheap to operate as well.

Take of distance is 300 feet. It can get over a 50 foot obstacle in 930 feet. With the Rotax 912S200 PH it can do it in 810 feet.

As soon as I win the State lottery I'll buy one.

The website url is in one of my older posts but it is offline right now being revamped. I verified that with the company owner yesterday.

CarveOne

[RomanLini]

What! Is that 'plane built out of steel channel... Or MDF?

Just kidding.

I'm also jealous, that looks like a real fun day out.

[CarveOne]

What! Is that 'plane built out of steel channel... Or MDF?

Just kidding.

I'm also jealous, that looks like a real fun day out.

This class of airplane is below the Cessna, Piper, and similar light plane licensing requirements, but requires at least a Light Sport Aircraft permit with associated training. All fiberglass/epoxy/fiberglass composite fuselage and fin, with aluminum wing, stabilizer/elevator, and rudder. The company has a pilot training center.

It's comfortable to sit in but you have to get into the door opening butt first and then work your legs into it. Lexan doors make it fully enclosed with heated cockpit. Getting out is a real challenge. An 82 year old lady got into it and went for a ride though. Being a lot smaller and more coordinated than me helps.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Over the weekend I started looking at some changes to this machine to correct some things that I am not very happy with.

1. With the spoil board down inside the machine's frame the dust shoe will run into the end of the frame and one side of the frame, which limits maximum travel.

2. It's also a pain to put the Z zero setter plate under the cutter because of very limited space to put my hand and the plate where it needs to be in order to zero the tool.

3. The bow in the frame can be corrected as part of this rework.

The solution for #1 and #2 is to raise the spoil board to the top of the frame, and raise the gantry accordingly. I have a piece of the 5/8" thick x 6" wide cold rolled flat bar stock left from the original build that is long enough to cut in half for the new gantry riser plates.

I purchased three each 0.120" x 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 72" long steel box tubing from the local Fastenal store on Monday and cut them to six each 32-7/8" lengths to fit inside the frame to support the table top and spoil board at the new height.

On Tuesday I disassembled the table top and spoil board and trimmed the table top to fit inside the frame. I re-installed an original 1" x 2" box tube support under each side of the frame for use in holding the 1-1/2" square tubing in the correct position for welding. These were painted yesterday and welded in place today. The frame had a little mid-span bow in the tubing that I was able to correct for during the installation of the 1-1/2" square tubing by making the tubing lengths a little bit longer at the middle of the frame so that the bow in the frame is pushed outward enough to straighten the frame. Most (if not all) of the shims between the rails and the frame can now be removed.

I removed one of the gantry riser plates and used it to transfer hole locations in a new, 3" longer plate which will be drilled tomorrow. The second plate will be made tomorrow also. Then they will be painted and installed.

I expect to still have the 3" clearance height as before, there will be no dust shoe interferences, and getting to the cutter will be no problem.

CarveOne

[LouF]

Very nice work looks great..

[louieatienza]

Over the weekend I started looking at some changes to this machine to correct some things that I am not very happy with.

1. With the spoil board down inside the machine's frame the dust shoe will run into the end of the frame and one side of the frame, which limits maximum travel.

2. It's also a pain to put the Z zero setter plate under the cutter because of very limited space to put my hand and the plate where it needs to be in order to zero the tool.

3. The bow in the frame can be corrected as part of this rework.

The solution for #1 and #2 is to raise the spoil board to the top of the frame, and raise the gantry accordingly. I have a piece of the 5/8" thick x 6" wide cold rolled flat bar stock left from the original build that is long enough to cut in half for the new gantry riser plates.

I purchased three each 0.120" x 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 72" long steel box tubing from the local Fastenal store on Monday and cut them to six each 32-7/8" lengths to fit inside the frame to support the table top and spoil board at the new height.

On Tuesday I disassembled the table top and spoil board and trimmed the table top to fit inside the frame. I re-installed an original 1" x 2" box tube support under each side of the frame for use in holding the 1-1/2" square tubing in the correct position for welding. These were painted yesterday and welded in place today. The frame had a little mid-span bow in the tubing that I was able to correct for during the installation of the 1-1/2" square tubing by making the tubing lengths a little bit longer at the middle of the frame so that the bow in the frame is pushed outward enough to straighten the frame. Most (if not all) of the shims between the rails and the frame can now be removed.

I removed one of the gantry riser plates and used it to transfer hole locations in a new, 3" longer plate which will be drilled tomorrow. The second plate will be made tomorrow also. Then they will be painted and installed.

I expect to still have the 3" clearance height as before, there will be no dust shoe interferences, and getting to the cutter will be no problem.

CarveOne

Definitely better, and beefier than before...

[CarveOne]

Thanks guys. The spoil board isn't on it in the last photo. The gantry has to be raised before that can be re-installed. The top of the spoil board will be about 0.050" above the frame. It will be easier to complete the 2010 screen-set Z zero plate installation now. This re-build work should be completed tomorrow or Friday and I'll resurface plane the spoil board.

The only other thing to do is find a way to find a way to keep swarf off of the rails when cutting aluminum.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

So, here it is with the new riser plates installed, and the table top/spoil board layers installed. I'm going to like this a lot better.

I can make an effective debris shield to cover the carriages, rails, and lead screw from 1-1/2" x 48" thin wall aluminum angle.

Because I had cut away parts of the lower edge of the gantry rail I had to rework the hard stops to allow the Z axis to move as close to the notches as it could go without running off-track. It has still increased the Y axis travel from 28-1/4" to 30 inches. If the notches were not there it would have 33" of travel and could cut edge to edge of the spoil board with a 1/4" diameter cutter. (Now that was dumb wasn't it (chair))

The riser plates need to be removed for painting. There are four holes to drill into the edges of the riser plates to mount lead nut brackets and to install set screws to adjust the lower carriage up against the rails.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

I ordered four of these cutters primarily for this machine and they arrived after my previous post. They have a very sharp point and cutting edges. 7/32" cutting depth isn't much but they should be useful. $13.13 usd each. Description is on the package.

When I ordered them the photo showed what looked like a 1/2" diameter V-bit with 1/4" shank. Later I realized that this p/n is really a 1/4" diameter V-bit with 1/4" shank. Still good to have though.

CarveOne

[Jason Marsha]

Good choice of brand. All my spirals are from Whiteside and I have never been disappointed.

[CarveOne]

Good choice of brand. All my spirals are from Whiteside and I have never been disappointed.

Thanks for the vote of confidence in Whiteside. These folks are generally well recommended in woodworking circles and are even located at the other end of the state that I live in. I felt obligated to try some of their products for CNC uses. I will be buying more cutters from Whiteside and other vendors this year to build up my collection. I have too few choices at the moment. Mostly some Bosch router bits from the home center and some low cost import router bit sets.

CarveOne

[88rob88]

Whiteside are great :-)

[CarveOne]

Thanks 88rob88 for another good opinion of the Whiteside cutters.

The gantry riser plates are fully machined now, and I applied a coat of Rustoleum truck bed liner paint. One even coat is all that is needed with this stuff. They are outside drying for a few hours before I re-install them for the final time. They don't look very black in the photo because the overcast sky makes glare from every angle I tried to take the photo from.

These changes make the machine look a lot less cluttered than the open frame did.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

The machine is operational again, and was able to traverse the full X axis range. It can go out past the end of the frame now, so I will need to re-install the hard stops to prevent a 3/4" diameter cutter from cutting into the steel frame. (I'll eventually use a 3/4" cutter to surface plane the spoil board again.)

Tomorrow I plan to remove the X axis lead screws and manually roll the gantry to adjust the rail to frame shims to remove any tight places along the rails. The pre-load adjustment set screws on the carriages will be adjusted before adjusting the shims.

CarveOne

[LouF]

I ordered four of these cutters primarily for this machine and they arrived after my previous post. They have a very sharp point and cutting edges. 7/32" cutting depth isn't much but they should be useful. $13.13 usd each. Description is on the package.

When I ordered them the photo showed what looked like a 1/2" diameter V-bit with 1/4" shank. Later I realized that this p/n is really a 1/4" diameter V-bit with 1/4" shank. Still good to have though.

CarveOne

I have the same bit and few more white side bits there good cutters..

Lou

[PaulRowntree]

It can go out past the end of the frame now, ...

CarveOne

It is hard to tell from pic#3 : can you extend far enough over the frame to do end-work on vertically clamped pieces?