New Buddy owner

[wayne fussell]

I finally pulled the plug and bought a buddy system with the indexer, probe and 4ft power stick. The whole nine yards so to speak.
Having never done any cad work I hope the probe with work for what I need. I was assured by Shopbot this would work and work 10 xs better than the way I'm making them now.
I make RC Model airplane propellers, currently all by hand and it’s a lot of work to produce them. I'm hopeful this will speed up production. Here is the website for my propellers. (www.soloprops.com) I only plan on making the blades. I currently produce 9 different sizes ranging from 16" to 32" in diameter with 4 to 5 different shapes. All the metal machining is done elsewhere.
Delivery is expected February 8th.
So I'm looking for advice. I have a young man close by (1 hour) that I can hire to help me out and is willing to help me with setup and to start the scan process on the blade profiles.
And other help or wisdom anybody can give is well appreciated.

[cowboy1296]

I have a buddy 32 with the 4 ft power stick. I never bought the probe so it will be interesting to see how it works for you.

[wayne fussell]

I just hope that it works the way I need.

[Brady Watson]

I just hope that it works the way I need.

It can work surprisingly well, but keep in mind that probing is time consuming & that you will want a CAD/CAM package like Aspire to parse out anomalous data and smooth out the surface. If you find you are not up to the task of digitizing or are not getting the results you seek, feel free to contact me off-list about high definition laser digitizing. It is cheaper & faster than doing it yourself, especially when you factor in the time spent cleaning up the data in software.

-B

[steve_g]

Wayne

"I just hope that it works the way I need"

It will... but don't get frustrated and give up too soon. There is a learning curve. You said you have never done any CAD work... It's a lot for you to learn in the next year. Having some scans done would help break it all into manageable chunks.

SG

[wayne fussell]

Thanks Brady and Steve.
Brady I just sent you an email.

[wayne fussell]

Hey Steve
Frustrated is something I can't afford to become.
Since I ordered the Buddy and have the software (partworks) I have been going over it, watching the videos and learning the terms.
In the past couple of weeks I have put together a couple simple signs and generated tools paths for them. They seemed to turn out great. Even my wife was impressed.
I have also explored importing a PDF, (boat hull ribs) breaking it apart in different layers and making up the tool paths to cut the pieces out. That turned out nice too.

[Ajcoholic]

Hi Wayne!

I am a one year BT48 owner. My profession is custom woodworking, but I have been a life long RC modeler (I am 42, been at it since I was 7). If you ever picked up Fly RC magazine, I was the main engine reviewer from 2004 until about a year ago (my business and growing family no longer allow me the time to do review work) and had a monthly article on engines.

ANyhow, I used to make wood props for my own use, using a home made "copy" machine, where I would take a pattern and use a hand guided router and tracing stylus to carve a new prop from a maple blank.

I found cutting one side was easy - but when flipped over, and cutting the face (I always cut the back side first) of the prop, it would tend to flex a little giving an non uniform cross section. My solution was to make holders, from an epoxy resin/micro ballon filler mix - that supported the backside of the prop while I was cutting the face an allowed no deformation of the wood while cutting.

Just something to think about... would matter less for larger props that will have more rigidity.

I bought Aspire, and the probe - with my machine. I have never taken my probe out of the box yet, as everything I want to do so far I have done in Aspire.

But, as you know, props have to be "just so" and it might be better to get Brady or someone similar to create the computer model for you, assuming you have working prop(s) or blades already.

Anyhow, it will be interesting (especially for me since I am in the hobby) to see your machine cutting props, when you get to that point. Please post pics!

I knew a guy here in Ontario, Canada who was making a line of props (MSC), that I tried some of when I had time to fly IMAC. I used them on 60cc to 100cc engines. I never got to see his setup as he lived quite a ways from me, but I know he had a cnc router to carve them. I believe he sold the product line to some US company.

ANyhow, always nice to talk about anything plane related!

Andrew Coholic

[wayne fussell]

Hey Andrew
I think we may have chatted before on RC Groups relating to a Shrimp boat. Your avatar is the same. BTW, if your the same person I built one of your hulls.

Anyway, is Aspire the same as Partworks?
Should I look at purchasing Aspire?
Right now I do cut all the prop blades on a copy machine that I bought out of the UK. Crude at best, but works ok.

[wayne fussell]

Here is a question for you guys.
The props will need to be machined on all sides.
The root of the blade is round with a small groove.
This part is critical, size wise so that it fits into the metal hub correctly.
The rest of the blade is a normal airfoil shape with a slight twist near the root.
I had planned on using the indexer to machine it.
using the indexer would I be better off machining one side, rotating, then the other?
Or machining it just letting the indexer turn it.
Not sure I'm wording this correctly.