Great job. Just a suggestion: cut cooler, it should indeed melt in front of the wire, but still draw hairs on the foam. Cutting tapered wings with foam templates, I had better accuracy tapering the hot wire and use the thin end on the long cord. Easy and fast to do, if you glue the wire to the table and solve the glue when finished.
Michel Driessen thanks for the advice. With the tapered wing I couldn’t get a feed/heat combo that would cut both sides perfectly. The smaller side of the taper would be too slow and the large side of the taper would be too fast. It sounds like you’ve come up with a solution if I understand correctly. Are you saying you taper the wire? Like stretching it to make it thinner?
@@JasonScottHamilton I had the same problem. Thus I stretched a wire over the table, glued it with cellulose glue scraped of the glue on the top and then passed sand paper over - for example - 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 several times until it became linearly tapered. Since you are burning in front of the wire, there is no stress other than the tension. To release and clean the wire, take acetone or thinner.
Michel Driessen that sounds like an amazing solution. It’s almost as the glue acts like insulation, if I understand correctly. Did you come up with that yourself?
@@JasonScottHamilton No, the glue is only to fix the wire to the table, to be able to sand it down. Afterwards you clean it off. Alternatively you can keep the wire strung between the poles and pass sand paper along to taper it. The result is a a wire that gets finer from one end to the other, gets higher electrical resistance, gets hotter and passes through the foam easier, with more or less the same kerf at a higher speed. Thus the main effect is a variable electrical resistance along the wire.
@@JasonScottHamilton If I cut profile of fuselage and draw it in one continuous line it might be just awquard wing foil naca xx22 :D then it will cut it.
Great work Jason will be taking a look at that software you've written. Can it generate G93 feed speeds. I found an issue with LinuxCNC when cutting a very swept wing. One side works fine and then when you cut the other wing it speeds up. I posted on the LinuxCNC forum and a clever guy there added a work around using a filter. I've now built a USB version running a 4 axis version of GRBL which can control the hot wire as well.👍👍👍
@@JasonScottHamilton Yes I did there was a clever guy on the LinuxCNC forums that provided a filter that generated G93 Inverse Time Feed Mode which I tried and worked. Mach3 didn't have the issue. I'm mainly using DevWIng Foam now and that use G93 by default so you see a feed rate at the end of each line of G-code. So LinuxCNC will be fine with this. Thanks .
Hi Jason. Very cool setup indeed. A bit confused thought. You said you are running LinuxCNC to drive your equipment but then you are suggesting that you need your own CLI software to convert to gcode? I was under the impression that linuxcnc does it all. Going to a setup myself using 3d printed parts but haven't figure out what to use to drive my equipment. I have an older 3d printer that I am going to try to re-purpose some of the parts. Unsure if a 4d printer board (axis) can run this project. Thanks again for posting and your great explanation.
George Santana best of luck on the new project. As long as the stepper motor and driver has enough power it should work for a hotwire cnc cutter. In regard the the GCode question - any cnc or 3D printer takes instructions (move x,y,z axis to position a,b,c), typically known as GCode. With a 3D printer you use a software to turn the design into movements on machine. Likewise, with a cnc running Linux cnc, you need to give it something it can understand. You turn the design into GCode and then feed it to the CNC which just follows all of the instructions in order. Hopefully that makes sense.
amtpdb1 that’s a good question. I haven’t found a good solution but depending on your needs there are options. If you only have a 3 axis cnc the UCCNC options are excellent and reasonably priced.
Quick Cookie I bought that foam at Home Depot. It works but there’s a better (also more expensive and harder to find), blue foam by Dow that most of the wing makers use.
Consider this. On one side there are 2 degrees of freedom. One moves horizontally and the other moves vertically. BOTH are completely independent of each other. @@lightningrider5849 On the other side . . . same deal. The machine has 4 independent "degrees of freedom". Call it what you want but all 4 linear rails are independent of each other.
@@lightningrider5849 The left side has an X and Y axis, the right side also has an X and Y axis and the left and right sides are controlled independently of the other side. X left, Y left, X right, and Y right. Sure sounds like 4 axis to me.
@@SawdustAndNoise42 That is not how you count CNC machine axis 🤣 2-axis machine move in XY, XZ or YZ directions. 3-axis machine moves in XYZ directions, 4-axis machine has XYZ + pitch or roll rotation. 5-axis machine has XYZ + pitch and roll rotation.
Wouldn't it have been cheaper to buy some stepper motors and work out some sort of belt driven system? EDIT: I'm asking because I'm working on building my own and I'm currently in the planning stages.
@@JasonScottHamilton Actually I changed my mind. I decided to make my first CNC type machine a 3D printer. That has been crazy. When I get back around to this I think I'll go with belts with all that I've learned, but I think my next project will be like a CNC router type design, and I suspect I will need lead screws or similar just for strength. Maybe even those ball screws.
Any idea if I could make a similar one with like an 8 foot length. I am not using it for wing making. problem I see is stiffness of the wire. I do have some 390 lb stainless steel aircraft wire that is woven, but I am afraid the woven wire will have problems with uneven heating among all the small wires. Also I am looking to make profiles similar to your wing design profiles (only not wings...lol) Thanks in advance for the advice!
I agree that the longer wire may give you some additional challenges but i have to imagine they can be overcome. I’m just a tinkerer so this is probably beyond my level, however I can share my thoughts based on this project. As for the wire, you’ll probably need to experiment with it and see if it works. The nichrome wire has a higher resistance level so it heats instead of melting. You’ll want to measure the resistance of the wire and size a power supply based on that. You can find calculators online but you’ll need to use ohms law. With the measured resistance you can determine the amount of voltage you need to achieve the heating level / wattage you need and your power supply can handle. Depending on how large the travel in the axis are you may need to come up with some way to dynamically tension the system. The distance between the axis could vary quite a bit so you may need to adjust for that. On this small project a small spring works, so maybe you could just use a bigger spring? Hopefully that helps. Good luck with the project!
That's a 2 axis CNC, not a 4. You're using 4 stepper motors but 2 in parallel. You are using a y axis and a z axis. You could add a rotary table to have a 3rd axis.
thank you for putting this together! just what I've been looking for
Bad ass system!!!! I remember you from the garage door Opener.
Mark Greco thanks!
Great job. Just a suggestion: cut cooler, it should indeed melt in front of the wire, but still draw hairs on the foam. Cutting tapered wings with foam templates, I had better accuracy tapering the hot wire and use the thin end on the long cord. Easy and fast to do, if you glue the wire to the table and solve the glue when finished.
Michel Driessen thanks for the advice. With the tapered wing I couldn’t get a feed/heat combo that would cut both sides perfectly. The smaller side of the taper would be too slow and the large side of the taper would be too fast.
It sounds like you’ve come up with a solution if I understand correctly. Are you saying you taper the wire? Like stretching it to make it thinner?
@@JasonScottHamilton I had the same problem. Thus I stretched a wire over the table, glued it with cellulose glue scraped of the glue on the top and then passed sand paper over - for example - 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 several times until it became linearly tapered. Since you are burning in front of the wire, there is no stress other than the tension. To release and clean the wire, take acetone or thinner.
Michel Driessen that sounds like an amazing solution. It’s almost as the glue acts like insulation, if I understand correctly. Did you come up with that yourself?
@@JasonScottHamilton No, the glue is only to fix the wire to the table, to be able to sand it down. Afterwards you clean it off. Alternatively you can keep the wire strung between the poles and pass sand paper along to taper it. The result is a a wire that gets finer from one end to the other, gets higher electrical resistance, gets hotter and passes through the foam easier, with more or less the same kerf at a higher speed. Thus the main effect is a variable electrical resistance along the wire.
@@JasonScottHamilton I want a machine
hello, nicely done! Could foil software be used to cut fuselage cross sections, inner and outer edge? Could it be modified?
It’s only for the wing. It’s not designed for fuselages.
@@JasonScottHamilton If I cut profile of fuselage and draw it in one continuous line it might be just awquard wing foil naca xx22 :D then it will cut it.
great video but the music stuffed it up, need to hear what your saying
Hi Jason, mind if you list the stepper motor boards and the controller you are using?
How do I get the machine?
Great work Jason will be taking a look at that software you've written. Can it generate G93 feed speeds. I found an issue with LinuxCNC when cutting a very swept wing. One side works fine and then when you cut the other wing it speeds up. I posted on the LinuxCNC forum and a clever guy there added a work around using a filter. I've now built a USB version running a 4 axis version of GRBL which can control the hot wire as well.👍👍👍
Keith Howlette awesome! Yes the software can control the feed speeds. I’m not aware of the issue you mentioned. Have you found a solution?
@@JasonScottHamilton Yes I did there was a clever guy on the LinuxCNC forums that provided a filter that generated G93 Inverse Time Feed Mode which I tried and worked. Mach3 didn't have the issue. I'm mainly using DevWIng Foam now and that use G93 by default so you see a feed rate at the end of each line of G-code. So LinuxCNC will be fine with this. Thanks .
Hi Jason. Very cool setup indeed. A bit confused thought. You said you are running LinuxCNC to drive your equipment but then you are suggesting that you need your own CLI software to convert to gcode? I was under the impression that linuxcnc does it all. Going to a setup myself using 3d printed parts but haven't figure out what to use to drive my equipment. I have an older 3d printer that I am going to try to re-purpose some of the parts. Unsure if a 4d printer board (axis) can run this project. Thanks again for posting and your great explanation.
George Santana best of luck on the new project. As long as the stepper motor and driver has enough power it should work for a hotwire cnc cutter.
In regard the the GCode question - any cnc or 3D printer takes instructions (move x,y,z axis to position a,b,c), typically known as GCode. With a 3D printer you use a software to turn the design into movements on machine. Likewise, with a cnc running Linux cnc, you need to give it something it can understand. You turn the design into GCode and then feed it to the CNC which just follows all of the instructions in order. Hopefully that makes sense.
Program looks nice! But does it work with GRBL?
It should. It generates very basic gcode, which should be compatible with GRBL.
Thanks for the video. Is there a way to have your program work with usb? Thanks again.
amtpdb1 that’s a good question. I haven’t found a good solution but depending on your needs there are options. If you only have a 3 axis cnc the UCCNC options are excellent and reasonably priced.
@@JasonScottHamilton Thanks for your time and suggestion.
Hi. are there any plans from your construction.?
teslok no plans, just what’s in the video
amazing!!! That's I'm looking for
Nice set up! Where is the best place to buy that foam?
Quick Cookie I bought that foam at Home Depot. It works but there’s a better (also more expensive and harder to find), blue foam by Dow that most of the wing makers use.
Nice setup but isn't this actually 2-axis cutter?
Each side goes up and down (1 axis) and backwards and forward (1 axis). 2 axis x 2 sides = 4 axis.
@@chip-load That is not how axis are calculated.
Consider this. On one side there are 2 degrees of freedom. One moves horizontally and the other moves vertically. BOTH are completely independent of each other. @@lightningrider5849 On the other side . . . same deal. The machine has 4 independent "degrees of freedom". Call it what you want but all 4 linear rails are independent of each other.
@@lightningrider5849 The left side has an X and Y axis, the right side also has an X and Y axis and the left and right sides are controlled independently of the other side.
X left, Y left, X right, and Y right. Sure sounds like 4 axis to me.
@@SawdustAndNoise42 That is not how you count CNC machine axis 🤣 2-axis machine move in XY, XZ or YZ directions. 3-axis machine moves in XYZ directions, 4-axis machine has XYZ + pitch or roll rotation. 5-axis machine has XYZ + pitch and roll rotation.
Have you made a swept wing?
Mark Greco I’ve not made one with more sweep than can fit in the foam block. I fly slope (gliders) and swept wings aren’t well suited for that.
Ohh watched it again and saw the first wing !!!!!!!!!!!
Wouldn't it have been cheaper to buy some stepper motors and work out some sort of belt driven system?
EDIT: I'm asking because I'm working on building my own and I'm currently in the planning stages.
UndefinedEssence possibly. I think it would be a trade off for simplicity of design. What did you end up using?
@@JasonScottHamilton Actually I changed my mind. I decided to make my first CNC type machine a 3D printer. That has been crazy. When I get back around to this I think I'll go with belts with all that I've learned, but I think my next project will be like a CNC router type design, and I suspect I will need lead screws or similar just for strength. Maybe even those ball screws.
UndefinedEssence awesome! I really been wanting to make a router but I’m running out of room with all my projects :)
Any idea if I could make a similar one with like an 8 foot length. I am not using it for wing making. problem I see is stiffness of the wire. I do have some 390 lb stainless steel aircraft wire that is woven, but I am afraid the woven wire will have problems with uneven heating among all the small wires. Also I am looking to make profiles similar to your wing design profiles (only not wings...lol) Thanks in advance for the advice!
I agree that the longer wire may give you some additional challenges but i have to imagine they can be overcome. I’m just a tinkerer so this is probably beyond my level, however I can share my thoughts based on this project.
As for the wire, you’ll probably need to experiment with it and see if it works. The nichrome wire has a higher resistance level so it heats instead of melting. You’ll want to measure the resistance of the wire and size a power supply based on that. You can find calculators online but you’ll need to use ohms law. With the measured resistance you can determine the amount of voltage you need to achieve the heating level / wattage you need and your power supply can handle.
Depending on how large the travel in the axis are you may need to come up with some way to dynamically tension the system. The distance between the axis could vary quite a bit so you may need to adjust for that. On this small project a small spring works, so maybe you could just use a bigger spring?
Hopefully that helps. Good luck with the project!
Nice but the music fucked my brain haha
Great video and machine bit that repetitive music, really annoying. Had to mute and guess when you were talking again.
That's a 2 axis CNC, not a 4. You're using 4 stepper motors but 2 in parallel. You are using a y axis and a z axis. You could add a rotary table to have a 3rd axis.
Can we cut foam mattress horizontal in 12 mm?
PM me I have cut foam for over 25 years on cnc
That's 2 axis.
I was just thinking the same thing
It is 4 axis, the vertical towers represent individual y and z axis and horizontal X and A axis.
All can move independently to make 3d shape.
@@zulqarnain698 sorry i didnt pay attention, you are right! how would you programm the tilts though? what postprocessor software?
@@zulqarnain698 not a problem until everything is paralleled (Y is slave to Z, A is slave to X) but if they are separate?
still feels more like a 2 axis machine, than true 4 axis. (4 motors though!)