RunRyder - Custom e-Heli Flight Box Kit

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e-E-Sky Honey Bee- Lama- Belt CP- E-Smart > Custom e-Heli Flight Box Kit

Jerry In Maine
Senior Heliman
Location: "Downeast" Maine

Last year I built a CNC wood router. It's like other 3 axis CNC machine you may have seen but it's made for woodworking. It'll handle stock abut 26" x 15". I'm building another now that's larger. It's table is 45" x 70".

The idea is that it will help me supplement my retirement when I retire from the Coast Guard. There's a market here for custom carved cabinet doors and for things like custom fireplace mantles and such. The rich New England bluebloods will pay good money to have stuff like their family name and/or family crest carved above their fireplace. Hunters could have deer roaming with ducks flying overhead on their kitchen cabinets, etc.

It'll also do practical stuff - like maybe a carry-all for little heli, their transmitters and common field gear. Those who fly planks likely have a field-box they used to tote a battery, power panel, fuel and props - so this box would be similar in function but designed along the lines for little helis.

The machine could carve this in "knock-down" construction style. It'll leave little tabs to keep the parts in place, when you're ready you can just punch the parts out (like building a balsa plane) and glue the parts together. Material would be thin ply or similar. The large machine I'm working on now should cut in excess of 100" inches per min and with a large table I could cut several kits at one time from a single sheet so I could make them fairly cheap.

Anyone think that this is practical? I've not been involved in helis for very long so I really can't say. I do know that I loved the one I used when flying planks - but in that there there were many more parts that I needed to carry (fuel/pump, batt, glow plugs, tools, props, etc).

Thoughts?

01-13-2008 12:56 PM

DougsRC
Elite Veteran
Location: MA

Do you have any pictures of the CNC machine ? Did you build it from scratch ??

01-13-2008 01:09 PM

DougsRC
Elite Veteran
Location: MA

I got off track again Jerry

It seems to me there is always a market for custom stuff if you can find said market. There are alot of cases out there and most are probably aluminum but to have a gorgeous custom made case that could be stained and poly'ed, very interesting idea Jerry , you could be onto something.

01-13-2008 01:53 PM

Jerry In Maine
Senior Heliman
Location: "Downeast" Maine

I built the machines from scratch, using stuff I had around the garage and a few visits to the hardware store. I did have to order the stepper motors. I have a small machine shop in the garage and was able to save money by making many of the parts myself. Total cost was about $1K. Software was about $600. That's more than you have to spend on the software but I have some pretty fancy stuff - especially the design programs. See www.vectric.com - in particluar the VCarve Pro (what I have now) and the Cut3D (hope to have this soon). Using the 3D program I can take laser scans of objects (I have a small laser scanning setup) and then carve that object from any material the machine will cut (wood, plastic, stone, etc). For example I could scan and cut a replica of your head if you could sit still long enough for the scan process. If the item to be carved is too thick for the capability of the machine the software will "slice" it into managable pieces. The you cut them one at a time and stack them into one object.

The heli-flight boxes would be dirt cheap. You glue 'em together and paint however you like. I got the idea from a milk crate that a fellow CNC'er cut:

Here's a couple videos of the small (and slow) machine running:

http://www.justaboutdunn.com/CNC/videos/CNC_1.AVI
http://www.justaboutdunn.com/CNC/videos/CNC_2.AVI
http://www.justaboutdunn.com/CNC/videos/CNC_5.AVI

It's running about 20 ipm - and some complicated jobs have taken me over 2 hours to cut. The new machine will run in excess of 100 ipm in thicker and harder material.

Here's a couple plaques I made with it (although it'll do more than plaques). The first is a sign in oak for a friend to hang on his RV when he sets up camp. The second is one I made at the request of my Command when the Commandant of the US Coast Guard visited us.

Fun stuff...as if I needed another hobby.

01-13-2008 02:15 PM

Jerry In Maine
Senior Heliman
Location: "Downeast" Maine

Here's info on the laser scanning process. Software is cheap!

http://www.david-laserscanner.com/

I've tried it and it works pretty well. What I want to eventually do is to scan an object (like a kids realistic plastic horse) take the resulting file to the CNC machine and make it available for carving. I could also just take a 2D version and carve it into a mantle, cabinet door, whatever.

01-13-2008 02:27 PM

DougsRC
Elite Veteran
Location: MA

Jerry, FANTASIC -- JERRY !!!! I wish you were my next door neighbor

You could probably set up a program to CNC out your self an endless supply of heli blades !! I wonder if you could actually make heli parts from aluminum ??

01-13-2008 03:29 PM

Jerry In Maine
Senior Heliman
Location: "Downeast" Maine

Almost are neighbors, sorta - I'm just a few hours north. If you ever visit Acadia Nat'l Park stop by. I live right near the entrance of the park.

I can cut aluminum as long as I take thin cuts - which means lots of passes. Not pratical on my current machine (slooow) but the new one should do OK because it can take heavier cuts and is much faster. Not sure if I have enough accuracy though. I'm good to .007" - which is more than enough for wood (heck, wood can contract and sweel with humidity changes more than that). Not for stuff that spins fast.

I could do blades I think. Could also do stuff like frame parts from carbon fiber.

CNC is fun stuff - and not as nearly complicated as it may seem. See http://www.solsylva.com/cnc/cnchome.html for plans. I'm currently building the "belt drive table" shown at http://www.solsylva.com/cnc/beltdrive.html but I've made a lot of mads and further increased the size.

Anyone with a space to build and common shop tools can do it (lathe and other stuff that I have are not necessary). Stepper motors and other common parts are available on eBay, and I'll be happy to coach anyone who ever decides to get into it.

When I retire (~18 months) I hope to at least supplement the retirement income by making stuff and having my wife sell it at some of the many craft shows and the like that we have here. Might also make stuff to pawn off on the tourists - and if it goes REAL well I'll hook up with a few cabinet shops and offer to sub them custom carvings for their clients (especially the rich ones).

01-13-2008 03:43 PM

Burlyman38
Veteran
Location: Troy,IL

Hey Jerry,

You should make up one for the HBK2 and snap some pics. I know I would be interested.

TripleB
Flying by the street light.

01-13-2008 03:56 PM

Jerry In Maine
Senior Heliman
Location: "Downeast" Maine

Make what in particular Burly?

01-13-2008 03:59 PM

slider46
rrProfessor
Location: Gloversville, NY

I have a flight box a built years ago it can be build from a 1/4 sheet of plywood The sides are enclosed but it needed compartments or drawers to make it even better IT was setup for a battery power panel and fuel can to balance it out when carrying ...

Tom..... No "D" flying....

01-13-2008 04:11 PM

thrstrmech

Veteran - Location: CA, USA -

hey jerry, this is what i made from oak plank to carry my heli, routered the edges on top and bottom, finish is polyacrylic, use channel aluminum for skids w/ velcro straps and the tail support has a small piece of said channel mounted on CF rod

i suck at this, but having the time of my life with it!

01-13-2008 04:15 PM

Burlyman38
Veteran
Location: Troy,IL

A field box for a heli. something that would hold the heli, tx, spare parts. You brought it up Jerry, now follow it up. Lets see what that machine can do.

TripleB
Flying by the street light.

01-13-2008 04:28 PM

thrstrmech

Veteran - Location: CA, USA -

this is what i currently use as my field box, but it's a bit large, custom box would be awesome...

my third arm mounted to lid...

i suck at this, but having the time of my life with it!

01-13-2008 04:33 PM

Jerry In Maine
Senior Heliman
Location: "Downeast" Maine

I'll follow up if it's pratical- just looking for ideas so I don't go off half-cocked. What usually happens is that I cook something up and after spending time on the design someone suggests something that leads to a better idea - and I have to start from scratch again (making me ask myself why I didn't spend more time asking the opinions of others before I went off half cocked.)

I fly in my yard so I don't carry anything anywhere anymore. I just open the garage door and I'm all set.

01-13-2008 05:03 PM

thrstrmech
Veteran
Location: CA, USA

hold on there, that's how great ideas become reality, don't turn the lights out just yet, look at lots pics, features that would best fit the application, those features that were missed or not thought of in the design phase... what have you found on your own bow that was missing... think outside the box, your light might be dim at the moment, but around the corner it will shine bright and far like a light house...

i suck at this, but having the time of my life with it!

01-13-2008 05:10 PM

thrstrmech
Veteran
Location: CA, USA

typo- found in your own box

i suck at this, but having the time of my life with it!

01-13-2008 05:13 PM

Burlyman38
Veteran
Location: Troy,IL

I travel a lot with my company, so I have to come up with something. It needs to be at least wood or metal, but i will want to carry a lot of spare parts, seeing as i go out for up to a month at a time in the spring (aka feb to june). One of the guys had a pic of a transformed WWII landmine box that was pretty cool. And i have been flirting with buying that esky box.

Anyway, just looking for now, and saw your post title as being an esky flight box. Now its time to see what you got, Jerry, lol.

TripleB
Flying by the street light.

01-13-2008 05:29 PM

Jerry In Maine
Senior Heliman
Location: "Downeast" Maine

thrstrmech: Agreed! Given enough time

I'd like to have something that'll hold and protect the heli so I can put it in the trunk of the car or back of the truck - and if the box happens to roll over during a high-G turn into the driveway it'll protect the heli and transmitter both...

Also be nice to have it serve as a service stand for when you work on the heli - sorta like the box I used for my planks...

We'll see where it goes. Keep ideas coming.

I am playing with a logo for it. The software I have aloows me to import an image and then convert it to a vectror graphic that the machine requires. It like a high contrast b/w image - but the best pic I could find of a Honey Bee was in color, so I have to do a lot of repair. I think it'll be nice though. Here's a close up of what it should look like. Remember - still needs work, but you can see the "depth" in the carving.

01-13-2008 05:40 PM

thrstrmech
Veteran
Location: CA, USA

Burlyman... check out my pics posted earlier, craftsman rally box works well, used kitting foam around tx and softer, giving foam under lid, snug fit, but not too tight, has plenty of space for spare parts, more kitting foam for batts, keeps 'em from sliding around...i have my tool box at work kitted, FOD control...

i suck at this, but having the time of my life with it!

01-13-2008 05:41 PM

Burlyman38
Veteran
Location: Troy,IL

Nice box for parts and tx and stuff, but where does the heli go in that thing. It does not look like it would fit in the top box.

TripleB
Flying by the street light.

01-13-2008 05:45 PM

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