Phantom V3 - DLG - Design Build

[bracesport]

The moulds are completed and joined ready to do some cleanup - I will probably just clear lacquer and sand till smooth - the wing joiner is also mostly complete with its sanding so I will add the braided sleeve next - one wing will probably get the joiner permanently attached to it.

 

[bracesport]

the wing joiner is looking good @ 10g - probably did not need the Carbon skin, but hey what the heck!

 

[McGoogle Industries]

so is there any plan to post-cure? I guess you'd demold and put stuff in the hotbox? I watched a video of a guy making some catamaran floats with 3d printed molds & he made the mistake of leaving them in the sun to post cure, and made a great mess as you would imagine.

 

[bracesport]

Today I drew up the half moulds for the tail feathers - like the wings the plan is to bag them onto these half moulds to get a nice clean top surface - I will probably had sand the foam cores - the tails are asymmetric so the moulds form the lift faces - I have also made a plug for a sleeve so the vertical stabiliser will push onto and self align on the elliptical boom.

 

[bracesport]

I let them cure for a few days at room temp..

so is there any plan to post-cure? I guess you'd demold and put stuff in the hotbox? I watched a video of a guy making some catamaran floats with 3d printed molds & he made the mistake of leaving them in the sun to post cure, and made a great mess as you would imagine.

 

[bracesport]

Some testing of paint finishes to build up for smooth sanding of the moulds - clear vs silver - looks like it will work with a couple of coats and some wet sanding in-between - I have masked of the TE section to compare (before/after).

 

[bracesport]

Speaking of hard knocks - I rushed my sample and suspect the PVA was not fully cured before adding the epoxy - so it all looks pretty yucky (have to show the good and the bad) - nevertheless, the hinge works really well - I will get some wax and do another test..

You win some and you lose some!

 

[bracesport]

On a positive note - the vertical stabiliser moulds look good - I have also made a former to over mould the boom sleeve section that will be integrated into the stabiliser

 

[bracesport]

The printing is done for the four panel wing foam - like last time I will add the foil tape to the top surface as a wire guide and heat buffer.

 

[bracesport]

I did not achieve too much this week - I did add the foil tape to the profiles which helps protect the 3D printed plastic and provides a smooth surface for the wire - I also started a second test with the moulds adding a couple layers of wax and painted a section of foam foil.