RE: Used AutoCad
[quote]ORIGINAL: FlyerInOKC A question for the Draft Sight users: Will Draft Sight convert/save a DWF into a PDF for tile printing? What limitations are on the freeware version to get you to purchase Solidworks licensed products? Educate me please! [/quote] Draft Sight, TurboCad, and DesignCad are all "Dumb Vector" drawing programs like AutoCAD. SolidWorks is an entirely different animal. I doubt that you would be able to upgrade to SolidWorks from Draft Sight. AutoCAD, and programs like it, are basicaly 2D programs with third dimension capabilities. SolidWorks, is a Parametric Modeling software, in which you program 3D solids with clearly defined, and editable, parameters. The advantage of doing this as opposed to 3D AutoCAD, is that changes to the shape of your object can be made by editing the parameters. In AutoCAD you "edit" a 3Dsolid by continually adding, or subtracting more data, which is inefficient. Parametric modeling is an entirely different learning curve, but once you get the gist of it, you will not go back to dumb vector cad.
Posted on: 9/2/2012 4:52 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11214910

RE: Used AutoCad
[quote]ORIGINAL: And, be aware, that AutoCAD was primarily an Architectural tool, that was ''adapted'' for mechanical design; sort of like putting a bandage on an injury that should have had stitches. And I was using AutoCAD since somewhere in the region of Version 9??? Les [/quote] Pretty much true. When I started on v10, in 1990 there was a lot more AutoCAD used in manufacturing. Now it is almost non existent in that field. My career drifted from manufacturing into construction engineering due to having gotten too good at ACAD. [quote]ORIGINAL: acerc Ok guy's, I have been about eight hour's on this thing, the Draftsight. And to be quite honest, I don't think it's for me. Just to much for this old man to learn. I can draw on my table just fine. Thank's for the help and replies. My hat's off to those of you who are capable. [/quote] Nothing wrong with a pencil and straight edge. There is a learning curve to any cad system. It took me over a year before I could draw as fast on a computer as I could by hand. Once you get a good sized "toolbox" of computer techniques, you will be lightning fast. Spend a couple of hours a day.
Posted on: 8/25/2012 12:35 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11205675

RE: Used AutoCad
The problem with a lot of high end software like AutoCAD is what I call "forced obsolescence". There is currently a practice of releasing a new version of AutoCAD every year. I bought a legitimate version of ACAD 2000, and still use it today, but Windows 7 makes it crash frequently and it will not run without aftermarket patches. Autodesk will not support any of its products that are more than three years old. The big problem is that most of the changes from one version to the next are cosmetic, and just done to force people to buy the latest and "greatest". The latest version I used was 2009, and I thought it totally sucked. I will continue to use my copy of ACAD 2000 as long as possible, and I have a machine that still runs Win98. There was very little in ACAD 2009, that I could not have done faster in ACAD 2000. If you are not a CAD wiz, or a pretty decent hacker, used copies of ACAD are not for you, since there is a bit if trickery involved just to get then to work.
Posted on: 8/25/2012 6:34 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11205374

RE: Petition to save a flying field
Suggestion. If possible, have someone proofread and correct the numerous typos and grammatical errors in the statement. It will make the educational argument go over much better when it is turned in.
Posted on: 5/19/2012 8:07 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11086728

RE: Is Joe Bridi still around?
Update 2012 I just came across something on e-bay that was described as "coming from the collection of Joe Bridi" This caused me to start searching, and I came across this thread. I spoke to him last about 2002, I think. He was still flying, and using a Fut8ss "knobby". He said something at the time that makes me suspect that if he is still with us, he may be in failing health. Does anyone know more?
Posted on: 3/26/2012 8:01 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Classic RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11015510

RE: Vacuum form problem
In high volume production setups allowing the plastic to droop almost to the point of contact with a female mold is pretty standard. Female molds can be difficult to make for a home setup, especially if they are made from aluminum as ours are. The OP's machine which drops a male mold into drooping plastic is probably the second best way of doing it. I have found that the amount of "droop" (we call it drape) is fairly critical. Too little and the material can get stretch marks. To much and you can get wrinkles. If you go with minimal droop, then stretch the material over the mold, it will cool more quickly at the crown and stop stretching in the middle, and the bulk of the stretch will happen at the sides. This will give a pull that is thicker in the middle, and thinner around the edge. This may be OK for your canopy, depending on how big a difference. One thing cuwaert needs to take into account is that when [i][b]I[/b][/i] am doing this, the material droops away from the heat source, and the intensity of heat applied to the middle of the material drops off. The edges stay warmer. This gives us a situation where we have slightly thinner side of our parts. [i][b]You[/b][/i] will have the opposite situation, where you risk over heating the center of the sheet. I had a huge headache controlling thickness until we tried one of these heaters. http://www.infraredheaters.com/solar-f.html . You will need a power supply for it. We got one from here http://www.scrpower.com/ . They're not real cheep, the heater we got, 12"X18" was about $250US. I forgot how much the PS was, and you may not need such a nice one.
Posted on: 3/18/2012 2:12 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11005745

RE: Vacuum form problem
[quote]ORIGINAL: cuwaert Negative mold would include airdrainig holes at the bottom of the mold which will lead to visible dots at the top of the canopy if I got it right. I was thinking of making such holes at the top of the male mold. Perhaps I allso can play with the speed of vacuum suction. [/quote] You would not necessarily need suction holes at the bottom of a female mold cavity, though it would help. In the cases where we have them in that location we sometimes have a problem with a "fingerprint" like pattern forming around the suction holes. On smooth canopies like you show, suction holes would defiantly show. This wouldn't be a problem on a scale canopy where the holes can be hidden on the edge of "framing". Perhaps if you lowered the heaters a few inches and allow the plastic to drape far enough that when you drop the form into the plastic clamping frame there is no contact until the vacuum draws it up. As far as speed of applying suction, you can make the suction holes bigger, or put more of them. More holes is better, but more work too. We run a vacuum pump/receiver tank at about 20-25 inhg and a 1/2"NPT solenoid valve to apply suction.
Posted on: 3/17/2012 1:25 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11004258

RE: Vacuum form problem
The problem may be that the crown contacts the soft plastic before the vacuum seals. I do vacuum forming at work. We use female molds. We control the time the material drapes into the mold. By allowing the hot plastic to contact the cool mold before suction is applied you can trap air. Our molds are also aluminum that are heated to 90C. This may not be practical for a home set up, but going to a female mold may help.
Posted on: 3/14/2012 4:11 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11000233

RE: How much should I offset the engine mount
Install the engine to the motor mount. Measure from the spinner back plate to the back of the engine mount. Multiply this length by the sine of the offset angle, probably two or three degrees. Offset the bolt pattern on the firewall this distance from the center line. Works for me every time. "Do the math" Anonymous
Posted on: 3/1/2012 8:40 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10982912

RE: Where to buy PVA?
Most major metro areas have some place that sells it. I'm sure Austin is big enough. Google "composite supplies" and your zip code. [quote]ORIGINAL: bigtim BTW one little bottle goes a mile I still have a ton of it left over from my last molding project [/quote] Yes, and it can also be thinned with water (use de-ionized or distilled) for spraying. You can get rid of any orange peel texture from spraying by misting it with denatured alcohol from a squirt bottle. This helps break up tiny air bubbles too.
Posted on: 2/29/2012 10:52 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Composites Fabrication And Repair"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10981657

RE: templates material?
[quote]ORIGINAL: DaveFri The material i am talking about is used for making wood ribs and other parts in scratchbuilding.You could put this plastic material over your plans and trace out a rib and then transfer that to your balsa or whatever to  cut out a part.This way your plans are not destroyed.You could see thru the material even though it was frosted.     Now that i think about it...it may have called '' see temp'' or ''c-temp''                                                           thx        dave [/quote] Sounds a little like "drafting mylar"
Posted on: 2/20/2012 3:14 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10968044

RE: FOAM TEMPLATES
I am going to guess that by "vibration free" you mean material that the wire does not drag on. Formica sheet works well.
Posted on: 2/13/2012 8:00 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10957891

RE: Ability to draw plans?
[quote]ORIGINAL: Villa I recommend you look into taking a basic drafting course at a community college. [/quote] I second that, and must add that you will learn it as well at a public community college as you will at some private "technical institute", and it will cost you (and the taxpayers) a lot less. I learned drafting, with pencils and a drawing board, at a public CC, and went to a State U. Then I taught, briefly, at said "technical institute". Ignore the massive advertising campaigns. Those places have the best reputation money can buy, which by the way, is where a huge chunk of the money you pay goes.
Posted on: 2/9/2012 8:25 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10951278

RE: Ability to draw plans?
[quote]ORIGINAL: ChinookRC I'm just a couple weeks into using AutoCAD and am making progress rough tracing scanned parts.  I love those 3D callouts Chad!  Great inspiration to keep working at this. Thanks for the link Bob.  There don't seem to be many model-specific CAD resources, and it's hard to frame questions clearly in a post. [/quote] AutoCAD is a good program. I would make two suggestions, both involve going to the TOOLS>OPTIONS pulldown, then picking the "Display" tab. (I am doing this from my copy of 2000, so yours may vary, but not much. From what I have seen ACAD peaked with the 2000 release, and [b]most[/b] "improvements" since have been cosmetic.) 1. Loose the scroll bars. If you have the wheel mouse, rolling the wheel zooms you in and out, pressing on the wheel while moving the mouse pans you around. The scroll bars are redundant, and take up space. 2. Prior to ACAD 2000, the cursor crosshairs went all the way across the screen. Now the default is set to something like 5%. Set it to 100%. This helps a lot when tracing.
Posted on: 2/8/2012 7:09 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10949561

RE: Ability to draw plans?
I concede victory to Chad. Here's a work in progress. (ACAD 2000)
Posted on: 2/7/2012 8:11 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10949060

RE: Epoxy CA hinges in place?
[quote]ORIGINAL: EHFAI I find Radio South Pro hinges always pass this test and hold up for thousands of flights in both glow & E powered pattern airplanes. [/quote] I have used these and the quality is quite good.
Posted on: 2/4/2012 8:10 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10944324

RE: epoxy mixing containers
I use the smallest plastic "Solo" cups from the grocery store. I don't eat enough yogurt to get a good supply of those.
Posted on: 2/1/2012 12:59 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Composites Fabrication And Repair"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10938859

RE: Epoxy CA hinges in place?
I agree with the others that CA works much better for this than epoxy does. Another thing I have to add is advice to avoid a common beginners mistake. (one I admit I used to do). It is tempting to glue the hinge into one surface so that it is easier to insert in to the other. The problem with this is that some CA will wick into the exposed hinge material and seal it, making it not adhere to the other surface well. I never had a failure from this, but admit I was pretty lucky. What I do is put a straight pin through the hinge in the middle then insert it into one surface. Then I position both surfaces, CA them, then pull out the pins.
Posted on: 1/31/2012 7:14 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10936699

RE: glass cloth question
In the case of most glass. carbon, or other reinforcing fibers, there is usually very slight differences in strength fo a given direction of weave. Some fabrics are engineered to have a larger difference in strength for a given direction, but I have not seen this in any thing lighter than about a 3.6 oz. The biggest difference for the process of model building is that these fabrics tend to follow curves better in the "weaker" direction.
Posted on: 1/26/2012 7:31 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Composites Fabrication And Repair"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10928600

RE: Bogie
I came across this while going through old posts. Roy sold it to Ralph DePalma, who in turn sold it to me. I flew it at a contest in Las Vegas in '03 or '04, running a Webra 1.45. Lost it in practice a couple of months later [:(]
Posted on: 1/20/2012 2:09 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10918979

RE: Fiberglassing questions: Why Bondo Specifically and Regarding Seams and now, more
I concur on using a scale. When I started using West System I got the pumps. They work well, but on a lot of little jobs I wound up wasting a lot. The scales let me get a precise mix ratio at much smaller volumes than the pumps deliver.
Posted on: 1/16/2012 5:48 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Composites Fabrication And Repair"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10911242

RE: How many years do you stay at each class and why
About one year at novice/sportsman. Going on ten years in and out of intermediate. Without life getting in the way, I probably would be at least advanced by now, maybe masters. There are several I know who started after me that are masters now. I moved from sportsman after my first and only win, mostly because I felt the routine wasn't challenging enough. My last contest I almost stepped back down to sportsman because I had been out for a few years, but toughed it out. I finished last out of five, but it was a solid group and no normalized scores under 3600, so I considered it a success.
Posted on: 1/5/2012 7:40 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10892772

RE: What is YOUR 2012 New-Year's Pattern Resolution?
The Nats are out for yet another year[:@]
Posted on: 1/5/2012 7:33 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10892762

RE: What is YOUR 2012 New-Year's Pattern Resolution?
To get the honeydo list cut down to a point where I can get something-almost [i][b]anything[/b][/i]-in the air for at least one contest this season.
Posted on: 1/5/2012 7:30 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10892757

RE: Fiberglassing questions: Why Bondo Specifically and Regarding Seams and now, more
You can mean two things when you say Bondo. First, it is a brand name, and is the brand I see most on polyester resins sold at home improvement stores. Second is a polyester based filler putty, often sold by Bondo. If you want light weight, and good sandability in a bondo (note the lack of capitalization), a company named Evercoat make some good polyester based fillers. These are used to fill bubbles and seams on layed up fiberglass parts like fuselages. Epoxy resins do not smell as strong as polyester, and this leads many to believe they are less harmful. They are capable of producing allergic reactions in some people, so gloves and good ventilation are recommended. [quote]ORIGINAL: kenh3497 I add a bit of denatured alcohol to my epoxy mix to thin it a bit. This makes the epoxy a bit thinner and squeegees better. Use the above technique but look carefully at the surface. If the surface is shiny and looks ''wet'' you have to much resin. If a spot looks ''dry'' you need a bit more. If I have excess I try to squeegee it off the trailing edge if possible to get rid of it. I can't remember if I have ever soaked up excess with a paper towel like some do, but that's just my technique. Good Luck on your project.[sm=thumbs_up.gif] Ken [/quote] Adding alcohol is a common practice for thinning epoxy, but if you use a high quality, lower viscosity resin like West System, it isn't necessary, and can weaken the layup. Polyester can be thinned with acetone. I always keep a can of denatured alcohol handy because it works great for cleaning up un-cured epoxy messes.
Posted on: 1/5/2012 7:25 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Composites Fabrication And Repair"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10892748

RE: Mark's Models 'History' and Welcome Mark
When I was first learning at Torrey Pines back in the seventies, Mark, only a few years older than me, was one of the several people who helped me get started. The guy was a true class act.
Posted on: 12/27/2011 5:41 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10878739

RE: How the
[quote]ORIGINAL: cmoulder [quote]if you want to level the field, I suggest you spend more time at the field. [/quote] Instant classic, dude.[;)] [/quote] +1 There is already a mechanism in place for "leveling". My level is "intermediate".
Posted on: 12/21/2011 11:25 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10870032

RE: Could our hobby be considered a Sport?
Sport, yes. But [b]physical education[/b] it is not. Ride a bike to school.
Posted on: 12/16/2011 1:38 PM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10862721

RE: Building a built-up pattern stab and wing
I've been following this with a lot of interest. Looks real good. I did something similar last year and am getting some good ideas in here for v2.0.
Posted on: 12/15/2011 9:45 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10860865

RE: How many pattern planes can you fit in a Prius V?
[quote]ORIGINAL: VerneK With a Chrysler Town & Country with Stow and Go, you can fit two planes without taking off the stabs and an American gets to keep his job for another day. Verne [/quote] My Pontiac Vibe was built at a plant that was run jointly by GM and Toyota in Fremont CA. They built Corollas, and the old GEO Prism there in addition to the Vibe. They all used the same drive train. Sadly the plant was closed two years ago, and the Vibe went away with it. You can still get a Toyota Matrix, if you are willing to settle for Canadian made.
Posted on: 11/27/2011 5:24 AM by Author "dreadnaut" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10830879