Rascal CNC

[TB RC]

I just finished building my Rascal. It works great! I put a Makita RT0701C on it instead of the stock spindle because I wanted to do some faster and harder work with wood. The build guide is not finished yet but it gets you past some major hurdles. I was able to finish but it does require some basic soldering and Arduino skills and time to get it done. For what it gives you, it is still one of the most cost effective hobby grade CNC machine out there. I honestly haven’t used this for cutting out a foam board plane yet but it seems to cut foam well. If you’re a perfectionist, the edges might need a little sanding or clean up but otherwise its great.

Also I can cut out a couple of the wood kits if anyone still needs them. Just contact me through the forum.
Thanks

 

[SlingShot]

+1
@SP0NZ

Any update on kits?

 

[Fidget]

I just finished building my Rascal. It works great!

What did you do for the wood pieces that have to be cut out for the build? Did you make them yourself? I bought many of the parts hut stopped when @blackkrystal73 moved & wasn't able to make those parts.

 

[TB RC]

What did you do for the wood pieces that have to be cut out for the build?

I tiled and printed out the plans at 100% as sugested in the podcast and then cut them out of some old scrap wood with a scroll saw and drill press. Now that I have the machine running I can cut out a nicer set and rebuild.

 

[nerdnic]

Oh wow, that’s the first hand cut pieces I’ve heard of, great work!

I am still making the build content. It’s taking me longer than I want due to life getting in the way. I do have a mostly complete build video I can share with anyone who is ready to start building.

I am still looking for options on how to get more kits cut for everyone who wants one. So if you know anyone who can cut a few dozen kits, I want their number

 

[datamichael]

Oh wow, that’s the first hand cut pieces I’ve heard of, great work!

I am still making the build content. It’s taking me longer than I want due to life getting in the way. I do have a mostly complete build video I can share with anyone who is ready to start building.

I am still looking for options on how to get more kits cut for everyone who wants one. So if you know anyone who can cut a few dozen kits, I want their number

Have you considered getting a local company to make a bunch of kits and crowdfunding it? There's quite a few places near Austin that do CNC routing. I'd purchase an all-inclusive kit immediately and I am sure there's many others that would as well.

 

[skymaster]

so what software would you guys recommend for the rascal?

 

[TB RC]

so what software would you guys recommend for the rascal?

I use Universal Gcode Sender (UGS) and Fusion 360. UGS has worked very well for me and is very easy to install and use. I did try bcnc but it was harder to install and I had trouble changing units. I use Fusion 360 because I like all that you can do with it. It does have a bit steeper learning curve than things like Sketch-U-Cam but if you have the time, I highly recommend it.

Hope this helps

 

[TB RC]

Rascal Short Kits now Available

I just finished cutting out my first Rascal kit on the Rascal CNC. If anyone wants one just contact me through the forum.

$40 + shipping for the unsanded kit
$60 + shipping for the sanded, finished and painted kit

(BTW I did correct the all-right-leg problem you see in the image)

(painted version)

 

[Fidget]

I finally started my build. Currently in daily Amazon Prime purchasing mode ordering connectors, etc to implement ideas I've collected from YouTube. I started a new thread as sort of a personal organizer and blog. Thanks to @TB RC for making the wood kit!

 

[nerdnic]

Rascal Short Kits now Available

I just finished cutting out my first Rascal kit on the Rascal CNC. If anyone wants one just contact me through the forum.

$40 + shipping for the unsanded kit
$60 + shipping for the sanded, finished and painted kit
View attachment 136948
(BTW I did correct the all-right-leg problem you see in the image)
View attachment 138770
(painted version)

Thanks for offering up kits! What bit and settings are you using to cut them?

 

[TB RC]

Thanks for offering up kits! What bit and settings are you using to cut them?

I cut the kits with an 1/8th inch spiral upcut at 30-40 ipm and about 20,000rpm. My stepdown is 1/16in I use a makita router instead of the stock spindle because I wanted more power for cutting wood faster and the machine handles it perfectly. I am experimenting with cutting wings out of Foamular from home depot as a substitute for hotwiring. I'll post about how it goes.

 

[TB RC]

Does anyone have dxf or dwg formats of the plans for the ft simple scout. I recall from the podcast that they would be made available in cnc friendly format and I was wondering if this has happened yet. Any help is appreciated.

 

[nerdnic]

I don't have the scout. I have a few other FT planes that I need to create a shared folder for.

 

[nerdnic]

I cut the kits with an 1/8th inch spiral upcut at 30-40 ipm and about 20,000rpm. My stepdown is 1/16in I use a makita router instead of the stock spindle because I wanted more power for cutting wood faster and the machine handles it perfectly. I am experimenting with cutting wings out of Foamular from home depot as a substitute for hotwiring. I'll post about how it goes.

This is great to know, thanks!

 

[aerojunkie]

Does anyone have dxf or dwg formats of the plans for the ft simple scout. I recall from the podcast that they would be made available in cnc friendly format and I was wondering if this has happened yet. Any help is appreciated.

I would suggest downloading inkscape. Its free and once you get the hang of it works extremely well. The FT pdfs load without issue into it, remove what you don't need, rearrange as needed, then save as a dxf.

https://inkscape.org/

 

[kilroy07]

Does anyone have dxf or dwg formats of the plans for the ft simple scout. I recall from the podcast that they would be made available in cnc friendly format and I was wondering if this has happened yet. Any help is appreciated.

I "might" know a guy...
These are formatted for my laser (700x500mm) but I'm sure you will be able to make them work.

 

[jhitesma]

I have the simple scout setup for cutting on my MPCNC with needle, all the files are here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5JVPXZ3vDfBWEJqMEkzak05LW8

There are .dxf and .svg files for the sheets as well as .e10 estlcam project files (and the original FT PDF, and some photos from cutting mine...which I still haven't finished assembling even though I cut it almost 2 years ago...doh!)

Also have the mini-scout here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UQuZCEmwicXYVHV_ysPGQXBhrIcyNlzI

Same thing but I also have some old gcode for that one there.

I may not have setup the motor pod's in those files...I tend to skip those since I make them separately from the planes.

Love my mini-scouts - so relaxing to toss it in the sky and putt around with it. Have even put an API FPV cam on it and done some barnstorming under the picnic pavilions at a few local parks with it Really need to finish the big scout but I just don't get much time to fly anymore

 

[TB RC]

Hey guys,
Thanks for all the help!!! Inkscape worked great but there is a lot of stuff to take out. The laser cut dxf plans are also perfect for cnc cutting.

Does anyone know what feeds and speeds work for the stock 0.8mm endmills?

 

[AIRFORGE]

I have a modded X-Carve that I set at:
3000 mm/min feed (4000 mm when cold in the shop)
4000 mm/min plunge
5.2 mm depth
I run a Dewalt 611 at roughly 16k rpm.

I always use another sheet of foam board as waste board, without paper on the top side, for safe cut-through.

Hey guys,
Thanks for all the help!!! Inkscape worked great but there is a lot of stuff to take out. The laser cut dxf plans are also perfect for cnc cutting.

Does anyone know what feeds and speeds work for the stock 0.8mm endmills?