Eclipson Model A (free version)

[Dudley1001]

The other half of the horn is on the elev1L and the one on the elev2r is glued to it to keep it thin where the pushrod attaches.

 

[ChuckyPilotAus]

The other half of the horn is on the elev1L and the one on the elev2r is glued to it to keep it thin where the pushrod attaches.

Ah yes, I get it now having just printed the other part of the elevator. Thanks.

 

[Snorkan]

This is my first RC build, printed it in regular PLA and i just finished assembly and installation of the electronics. I was planning on flying this on a 1500mah 3s battery. But i realized that the model was tail-heavy with that setup. Decided to change for a 2200mah 3s to get the CoG right, but it is still a little tail heavy (5-6mm aft CoG mark).
The total weight of the model was about 760g with the 1500mah battery and 800 with the 2200mah.
I am affraid that it will become to heavy if add more weight in the nose, or what do you guys think? will it fly even though it weighs more thatn 800g? :S
Any ideas on how to get the CoG correct?

 

[BayDesigns]

This is my first RC build, printed it in regular PLA and i just finished assembly and installation of the electronics. I was planning on flying this on a 1500mah 3s battery. But i realized that the model was tail-heavy with that setup. Decided to change for a 2200mah 3s to get the CoG right, but it is still a little tail heavy (5-6mm aft CoG mark).
The total weight of the model was about 760g with the 1500mah battery and 800 with the 2200mah.
I am affraid that it will become to heavy if add more weight in the nose, or what do you guys think? will it fly even though it weighs more thatn 800g? :S
Any ideas on how to get the CoG correct?

You could try moving the electronics around if there’s space, but that can only do so much. Is the battery absolutely as far forward as possible?

 

[Snorkan]

You could try moving the electronics around if there’s space, but that can only do so much. Is the battery absolutely as far forward as possible?

I have tried to move everything towards the nose and the battery is actually touchinf the motormount. I could possibly move the ESC a bit further to see if there is any difference.

Any idea on the maximum flying weight on this model?

 

[BayDesigns]

Unfortunately I don't know the max weight. I haven't built mine yet due to school, but I'm planning on building mine in PLA as well. I'm a little nervous about weight myself since I'm going to put FPV gear in it, so I'll be watching further developments in this thread closely.

 

[jglerner]

Sorry for the nooby question, I'm struggling with the curaprofiles in the 4.9.1 version. Can someone point me from where can I import proven profiles? I tried several times reading all this thread but I'm confused, frankly speaking. Thanks for the comprehension and please, understand that this plane will be my first one. I tried several times but I assure you none were ok as the first pieces were very heavy compared with the gcode provided by Eclipson. I printed two pieces and they were very different from the provided. NB. My printer is a Creality Ender 5 plus and the pieces came off-center. That's why I want new curaprofiles to have my printing centered. Sorry about my English as that's not my primary language.

 

[Spitfire76]

Sorry for the nooby question, I'm struggling with the curaprofiles in the 4.9.1 version. Can someone point me from where can I import proven profiles? I tried several times reading all this thread but I'm confused, frankly speaking. Thanks for the comprehension and please, understand that this plane will be my first one. I tried several times but I assure you none were ok as the first pieces were very heavy compared with the gcode provided by Eclipson. I printed two pieces and they were very different from the provided. NB. My printer is a Creality Ender 5 plus and the pieces came off-center. That's why I want new curaprofiles to have my printing centered. Sorry about my English as that's not my primary language.

The way that I created my profiles was to obtain them from the Eclipson g-codes. Under manage profiles I imported a g-code file and this extracted the print settings and names the new profile with the same name as the g-code file. This is a good starting point but you may need further changes. For example I had to make several changes as instead of PLA I am using PETG for the "C" profile parts. Also I just printed my first part using the LW-PLA and using the settings from the Wing3L gcode I am getting a lot of stringing in the inside of the wing tip. It looks like the upper half of this part uses retraction so i may need to adjust those settings.

When you say "off center" do you mean the part came off the bed?.

 

[jglerner]

The way that I created my profiles was to obtain them from the Eclipson g-codes. Under manage profiles I imported a g-code file and this extracted the print settings and names the new profile with the same name as the g-code file. This is a good starting point but you may need further changes. For example I had to make several changes as instead of PLA I am using PETG for the "C" profile parts. Also I just printed my first part using the LW-PLA and using the settings from the Wing3L gcode I am getting a lot of stringing in the inside of the wing tip. It looks like the upper half of this part uses retraction so i may need to adjust those settings.

When you say "off center" do you mean the part came off the bed?.

I say off-center because my Ender 5 Plus has 350x350mm and the gcode is meant for a smaller printer bed (Ender 3 or alike) so every single print comes on the front left side of the bed of my printer.

 

[Spitfire76]

I say off-center because my Ender 5 Plus has 350x350mm and the gcode is meant for a smaller printer bed (Ender 3 or alike) so every single print comes on the front left side of the bed of my printer.

So rather than using their g-codes to print you could use them as I did to create a profile then open the stl file and splice to a new gcode file which would of course be using the bed size of your printer and so the part should now be in the center.

 

[Spitfire76]

On my second build of this plane. After several very good flights my first one hit the deck after a hand launch (I put it down to pilot error). This time using LW-PLA. A little surprised though at the recommended battery of only 2s 500mAh. I know this plane is light but what sort of flight time can be expected with such a small battery. I typically use 3s 1300 or 2200mAh batteries for my foam board planes so was hoping to at least be able to use some of those. Also may purchase the files this time as the landing gear may have saved my previous build as I would have taken off from the runway instead of hand launching.

 

[Spitfire76]

Printed several Wing3L and Wing3R STLs to see if my Cura Profile settings are correct. I started with the A-LW profile from Eclispon (extracted from their g-code file) but found that there was a lot of stringing inside the wing tip. By using the preview in Cura I saw that from layer 225 upwards each layer had a lot of travel movement. I understand that you can't really eliminate stringing with LW-PLA which I believe is why Eclipson attempts to print with little or no retraction/travel. I was able to completly eliminate the retraction/travel by changing the "Z-seam Position" in the "Walls" section from "front" to "back". This places the Z-seam, which is the position of the layer change, from the trailing edge to the leading edge of the wing. Alternatively I could have rotated the model so that the leading edge was facing the front of the build plate. Result was no more stringing.

 

[Spitfire76]

With LW-PLA I found that removing the brim is not as easy as regular PLA and it leaves a jagged edge so I am now printing with a skirt. I am also using painter's tape for bed adhesion as I found that LW-PLA does not stick to my glass bed as much as regular PLA and as I switched to a skirt from a brim its even more important. To compensate for the painter's tape I changed the initial layer height from 0.2 to 0.3 mm.

 

[jglerner]

With LW-PLA I found that removing the brim is not as easy as regular PLA and it leaves a jagged edge so I am now printing with a skirt. I am also using painter's tape for bed adhesion as I found that LW-PLA does not stick to my glass bed as much as regular PLA and as I switched to a skirt from a brim its even more important. To compensate for the painter's tape I changed the initial layer height from 0.2 to 0.3 mm.

Hard to learn all pitfalls, isn’t it?
I started trying printing some pieces with transparent PLA to gain some experience on slicing and printing. As per my tests my wing tips show small stringing which is good. I’ll try to print one of the middle sections of one of the wings to have a look how stringing goes.
After that, I’ll start printing. Just one last word, transparent PLA turned beautifully. Maybe I come with it… Accidentally but maybe a good (no)color plane.

 

[Spitfire76]

Almost finished printing the parts for my second build of this plane, this time with LW-PLA. Here is a summary of how I created a new A-LW profile. Firstly I loaded Eclipson's settings from one of their g-code files. I choose the Wing_C g-code file and imported it from the manage profile menu and renamed it My_A_LW. I activated it and made the following modifications

Quality
Compensates for painters tape
* Initial Layer Height 0.2 to 0.3 mm
Walls
The location of the Z-Seam seems to affect the amount of travel needed and less travel means less stringing.
* Z-Seam Position - Front to Back
Alternatively you can rotate the part.
I found for the wing having the Z-seam on the leading edge worked better.
For the fuselage I positioned it on the bottom but mainly for looks.
Infill
No change
Top/bottom
Layer count may change per part - check drawing
Material
No change
Speed
No change
Travel
* Retraction Distance - 1mm to 2mm
Cooling
No change
Support
No change
Build Plate Adhesion (I am using painter's tape)
Brim to Skirt with following settings
* Skirt Line Count = 2
* Skirt Distance = 3mm
* Skirt/Brim Minimum Length = 50 (was 250)


So far I am getting really good results, very little internal stringing and a nice clean edge where the part was on the bed.

 

[BayDesigns]

People who've flown this in normal PLA, what were your flight times?

 

[Spitfire76]

I reported in an earlier post that there is a difference for the amount of top and bottom layers between the drawing and what the provided g-codes that use the "C" profile. The g-codes will use 4 top and 6 bottom whereas the drawing is the opposite with 6 top and 4 bottom. As I now have the paid version of the Model A I was able to contact Eclipson to check what they intended and they said that 6 top and 4 bottom is better and the g-codes are an error on their side although it not so critical they will still work.

 

[Spitfire76]

I saw on one of Troy's videos that the decals don't stick too well to LW-PLA. Anyone had this issue ?

 

[jglerner]

I'm just finishing the PLA stuff. Now I realized there's no wires/rods specifications. SO which diameters and lengths I should buy of Carbon Fiber and steel so I can mount the plane?
Sorry, if this has been asked before. I did read and don't want to miss any information.
Thanks!

 

[BayDesigns]

If you scroll to the bottom of the Model A page (https://www.eclipson-airplanes.com/modela) there's a part list.