Hey guys, I have recently began modeling a wing in SolidWorks and as of now it is coming good but I'm afraid it will be too complex to make someday realistically. As of now I do not have the construction experience to build such a plane but was wanting some constructive criticism on whether it is too complicated or not. I have made a quick video of it with exploded view and workings of control surfaces. As of now it just includes hinges, control surfaces and coverings. Servos are already modeled and will be going in next. Let me know what you think and please do not flame.
Thanks Jeff.
Replies
i like the fact that you are thinking ahead and planning what will happen when you try and make the wing. the reality of bringing a design into life exactly as you designed it on 3d computer is sometimes very hard.
I have been having fun trying vacuum bagging wings and found it to be quite easy to get good results and makes for a light and very strong wing. the hardest part is working out the method of hinging your control surfaces.
also the best hint i can give if you want to have a go is start with a 5:1 epoxy resin, it is easy to mix in the correct ratio, gives a good working time to get every thing in the bag and positioned, is not smelly like a polyester resin (dont want to upset the wife and die of fumes) and while being more expensive is easier to get good results the first time. My first few tries with polyester resins didnt set in the bag and so I wasted the whole setup and had to start again.
I would also suggest just getting blocks of foam roughly cut into a wing shape (small sections) and then giving it a go, after 1 or two goes then have a go at trying a full size wing.
If you want any ideas about wing bagging let me know. although this and other sites have heaps of How To's on wing bagging so look some up.
richie
I am going to use Solid Work to make my UAV too. got a 4x4m CNC built by my brother ready but still need the right model to start with. I started from zero so need a bit of time to learn. Also still decide what type of material for the UAV.
Not hard at all. My dad and I did this when I was a kid many times. Pick an airfoil, design the wings, Cut out airfoil in the foam with hot wire, cut out servo pockets for the Flaps, Spoilers, Alerions, wiring and front and rear spars. Align and epoxy sections together. Then comes the messy part. Start with one side lay your Kevlar or fiberglass then your thin Burch sheeting then flip and repeat. Next get it in the vaccum bag and let set over night, and dont forget the mold release. This all only works well if you vaccum bag the wings. 12 to 24 hrs later remove from the bags, trim, wet sand to 1000 grit clean up and install servos. I have watched my dad cartroll a 12ft wingspan gilder along the ground a few times and all it would do is bend the steel wingspar insert shaft. Install new steel shaft clean it up and go fly again. All of our plane were kevlar not fiberglass, Very very strong and light.
Looks good. Have you thought about throwing this in FloWorks to see what your spoiler kicks up? It would be a good way to estimate loading as well...
Let me know if you want some quick and dirty analysis :)