Eric Robson Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 That's first class modelling Dirk ,you looked very calm breaking out the mould. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 Change of plans ! Instead of making the thrust tube plug the traditional way (foam and ply ) I asked our friend Andy Meade -3d print specialist-to print the tube and to use it as a plug. I'm very pleased he took on the challenge !! This will sure speed things up ! this gives me the chance to start the next thing on the long list of things to do ! So , the canope it is ! The moulds for this 95 cm long canope made for the PSS fouga , sadly did no survive the first pull !The reason is that the gel coat i used in 2016 came loose from the mould... Thank God the plug is still in perfect condition ! This is the reason i don't use gelcoat anymore ! To much work is lost this way ! As it's not a complex shape , i'll have a new one in a week or so . Are you joining ?? Let's go ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted November 27, 2020 Author Share Posted November 27, 2020 Hi all ! The first step in the canope story is prepairing the plug to make the moulds. I decided to make it in four pieces : an upper and a bottom half. Both pieces are going to be split in the middle (lenghtwise)for easy demoulding. I screwed a base to the bottom of the plug and made it follow the bottom curvature Added the marbels for a exact line-up. Six in total. At the back side , i need to place a wedge to make demoulding more simple. Without it , it would be impossible to remove the moulds . This little piece is going to covered with some epoxy to get a glossy surface. I also prepaired the parting board to split the upper mould. The rest is for tomorrow ! See you !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted November 28, 2020 Author Share Posted November 28, 2020 Not much building time as my tow-truck needed the radiator replaced ! Just fixated the upper parting board with epoxy and some scrap foam blocks. At the same time, I tryed some alternative to fill the gap this time . I covered the edge of the parting board with a fillet of car body filler , but mixed with a small amount of harder so that it cured much slower than normal. While slowly drying , i removed the filler that was sqeezed from between plug and parting board with a putty knife. Works fine !!The advantage here (relative to the plasticine method ) is that you don't push the plasticine deeper while waxing , so cleener edges on the mould ! Ready to wax and PVA !! Cheers , Dirk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Tubes modelled, and print started off. I've given it a light infill (3%) to make things a bit more sturdy for your mould making Dirk. Printing underway - about 42 hours to go! Edited By Andy Meade on 30/11/2020 14:22:51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 That's looking good Andy ! This would take at least a few weeks to make it the traditional way ! Even then , getting the two sides identical , wich is crucial , would be very dificult ! Thank U very much for the effort ! Just a little note : The 14 mm dimention , that is the offset between the two diameters , right ? Cheers , Dirk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Hi Dirk, yes it's the offset measured from the plan you sent 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 A quick check on the webcam to see progress (upside down, wrong way round etc). 37% of the way through! Dirk can you also check your emails please, ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 2, 2020 Author Share Posted December 2, 2020 Thanks a lot Andy , this is going to save me lots of time ! While the thrust tube is being printed som 500miles away from me , i made some progress on the canope .After the waxing and pva it's time for the first layer of the mould : the black moulding resin applied with a brush. Second layer is 50gr cloth , then 100 gr and then 6 layers of 200gr. It's a very time consuming job and after the 4th layer of 200 gr it was way over midnight and called it a day . To get the following layer adhere to the last (wich will dry overnight )i sprinkled cloth snippers over the wet resin. The last two layers are a fact now and everything is left to dry overnight. Tomorrow i can hopefully clean up the edges and remove the top parting board , clean up the other half and start waxing ! No time to waste ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Garsden Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 Just stumbled across this by chance Dirk. Great work - very impressed. I remember you saying this model was in the planning stage. Glad to see it come to fruition. Will follow and catch up from the beginning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Stainforth Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Andy, Dirk, I am very interested in this process of making plugs for molds using 3D printing. I am wondering how you are going to fill, seal and prepare the surface of the 3D print before making the mold? Will heat from the curing resin cause any problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 A couple of coats of plastic primer will seal it fine, heat not an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 Hi John ! The heat generated from epoxy resin curing is minimal so that won't be a problem For the sanding and sealing i'll do some testing as soon as i have the tube . Cheers , Dirk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 Hi peter , glad i cought your interest ! The epoxy cured well overnight so i could remove the overhang and clean up the edges with a disc grinder. I carefully cutted between the new mould and the upper parting board , removing the last .No problems ! This makes the other half ready to wax and to cover with pva . Another long night ahead ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 A labour of love Dirk, hats off to you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 Thanks Phil ! These building evenings became indispensable to me ,after a hard days work .It's like relaxation ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Jennings 1 Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 Great work Dirk, your shed time is amazing. Maintaining the drive to get it done is impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Meade Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 So, printing was progressing well, and with about 9 hours to go I get up in the morning to see this! Disaster! I thought maybe the filament had jammed or something else horrible. Turns out, the X carriage stepper motor wire had caught around the leg of the control box, then unplugged itself as the Z axis pulled it up. oops. To the CAD machine, Batman! A quick measure from the print bed told me how high the print had failed, so I cut the model and exported 2 noggins as shown above to fix the intake mould. A quick print of two of those, stick on with thick cyano, rub some red spot in, sandy sandy sandy, and it's nearly ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 nicely rescued Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 ... indeed, very nicely saved, Mr Batman... Dirk will be well chuffed with your intake for sure. Cheers & stay careful, Andy Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 Brilliant work Andy, very impressive Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 Don't worry about the seam Andy ! The printed tube is only the plug , right . Once it is primered and painted , it will all be forgotten. Lucky you didn't have to print it all over ! It looks like the surface is much better than most prints i've seen ! Less work for me ! I'm overall impressed !! Greetz , Dirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 Posted by Bob Jennings 1 on 04/12/2020 09:09:05: Great work Dirk, your shed time is amazing. Maintaining the drive to get it done is impressive. Thanks Bob ! I DO feel blessed about my building possibilities like building time ,a nice warm shed , the tools , and a wife who let's me work on planes all these evenings ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 6, 2020 Author Share Posted December 6, 2020 Hi all ! My last post ,the second half of the canope plug was ready to mould just up to the pva . As you guy's know by now ,the following step is the black moulding resin applied with a brush. I forgot to take a picture but you all seen that more than once , right ? With the resin still sticky it was time for the first layer of glass cloth , however , first i fill the sharp corners with thickened resin (cotton flakes applied with a candy bag with the tip cut off ) Next is the first layer of 50gr glass and the second layer of 100gr the following 6 layers are 200 gr glass , all with a brush and spunge roller laminated. zzzzzzzzzzzz... x x x x x x x x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted December 6, 2020 Author Share Posted December 6, 2020 Turned upside down it lookes like this : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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