Home made blades
11-23-2008, 06:48 PM
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Home made blades
Since blades can be so expensive and they break often, has anyone though of doing home made carbon fiber blades?
It seems pretty simple and comparatively inexpensive.
1. make mold out of wood blade and paraffin wax.
2. place carbon fiber in mold
3. brush on epoxy - probably do a couple of coats
4. let dry
5. pull new blade out of mold and clean up with low grit sand.
6. Dremel off the flashing
It is possible that it could take two layers of CF but its still not that hard to do.
you can get a gallon of epoxy for about 20$ and get a square yard of CF for 30-50$.
so for 50-70 dollars, you could make a good deal of blades.
I think that I will try this once I need new blades.
It seems pretty simple and comparatively inexpensive.
1. make mold out of wood blade and paraffin wax.
2. place carbon fiber in mold
3. brush on epoxy - probably do a couple of coats
4. let dry
5. pull new blade out of mold and clean up with low grit sand.
6. Dremel off the flashing
It is possible that it could take two layers of CF but its still not that hard to do.
you can get a gallon of epoxy for about 20$ and get a square yard of CF for 30-50$.
so for 50-70 dollars, you could make a good deal of blades.
I think that I will try this once I need new blades.
11-24-2008, 12:17 AM
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RE: Home made blades
Actually it is not that much more involved to make "something" out of CF.
Of course there are some basic steps left out. For example, you have to mix the epoxy, and wait an appropriate amount of time between coats. You also want to make sure that the temp to ok so that it wont take a week to dry. If you want to do multiple layers then you also have to take extra steps to assure that the layers will adhear. Extra steps like making sure that the CF stitching matches is unnesessary when you are just using one sheet.
It can be more involved if you want to improve the hardness. For example, you can use a vacum bag to get rid of air boubles.
The real question is whether more needs to be involved when specifically making RC helicopter blades. I guess that I will find out once I have the time.
Of course there are some basic steps left out. For example, you have to mix the epoxy, and wait an appropriate amount of time between coats. You also want to make sure that the temp to ok so that it wont take a week to dry. If you want to do multiple layers then you also have to take extra steps to assure that the layers will adhear. Extra steps like making sure that the CF stitching matches is unnesessary when you are just using one sheet.
It can be more involved if you want to improve the hardness. For example, you can use a vacum bag to get rid of air boubles.
The real question is whether more needs to be involved when specifically making RC helicopter blades. I guess that I will find out once I have the time.
11-26-2008, 09:05 AM
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RE: Home made blades
Interesting... very interesting! So let's say a good set of CF blades for a 500 class heli costs $60. Could you EASILY make a set of blades of the same quality for less than $20? If so, then it makes sense. If you could make them for less than $10, then you could sell them for $25 and be the price leader... once you got a few pros to try them out, and they could confirm that they are the same quality as the brand names, you could then undercut the market by a substantial amount and own the entire blade market. Sounds good eh? Lots of "if's" to get over though!
11-27-2008, 10:17 AM
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RE: Home made blades
Not sure, but I think all of the carbon blades I've broken had a foam core in them. I'm sure a lot of companies that make carbon stuff today started out as guys working in their garage. I would do some research, try it, test them as best you can under controlled and safe conditions, and then go for it. Could be a new business venture.
11-27-2008, 04:17 PM
#9
RE: Home made blades
Has anybody put any thought to the lead weight inside the blades? Longitudinal balance? Chordwise balance? There is a lot more to making blades than just making a mold and spreading some epoxy.
If you do end up with a home made pair, I suggest that you CAREFULLY fully test them before you fly in public. The tip of a 50 size blade spinning at 2000 rpm is travelling at close to 30 miles per hour. Anything that lets loose at that speed can produce some nasty damage.
I STRONGLY suggest against it. Unless you make a lot of blades you will spend more money trying to get it right. There are companies that have it right, and can produce pretty cheap blades.
What size are you looking for anyway?
And if you are breaking that many blades, then the question is, should you be spending the money on carbon? Should you stick to wood for a little longer?
Rafael
If you do end up with a home made pair, I suggest that you CAREFULLY fully test them before you fly in public. The tip of a 50 size blade spinning at 2000 rpm is travelling at close to 30 miles per hour. Anything that lets loose at that speed can produce some nasty damage.
I STRONGLY suggest against it. Unless you make a lot of blades you will spend more money trying to get it right. There are companies that have it right, and can produce pretty cheap blades.
What size are you looking for anyway?
And if you are breaking that many blades, then the question is, should you be spending the money on carbon? Should you stick to wood for a little longer?
Rafael
11-28-2008, 07:14 PM
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RE: Home made blades
ORIGINAL: Rafael23cc
Has anybody put any thought to the lead weight inside the blades? Longitudinal balance? Chordwise balance? There is a lot more to making blades than just making a mold and spreading some epoxy.
If you do end up with a home made pair, I suggest that you CAREFULLY fully test them before you fly in public. The tip of a 50 size blade spinning at 2000 rpm is travelling at close to 30 miles per hour. Anything that lets loose at that speed can produce some nasty damage.
I STRONGLY suggest against it. Unless you make a lot of blades you will spend more money trying to get it right. There are companies that have it right, and can produce pretty cheap blades.
What size are you looking for anyway?
And if you are breaking that many blades, then the question is, should you be spending the money on carbon? Should you stick to wood for a little longer?
Rafael
Has anybody put any thought to the lead weight inside the blades? Longitudinal balance? Chordwise balance? There is a lot more to making blades than just making a mold and spreading some epoxy.
If you do end up with a home made pair, I suggest that you CAREFULLY fully test them before you fly in public. The tip of a 50 size blade spinning at 2000 rpm is travelling at close to 30 miles per hour. Anything that lets loose at that speed can produce some nasty damage.
I STRONGLY suggest against it. Unless you make a lot of blades you will spend more money trying to get it right. There are companies that have it right, and can produce pretty cheap blades.
What size are you looking for anyway?
And if you are breaking that many blades, then the question is, should you be spending the money on carbon? Should you stick to wood for a little longer?
Rafael
Jim
11-28-2008, 07:25 PM
#11
RE: Home made blades
ORIGINAL: Rafael23cc
...
If you do end up with a home made pair, I suggest that you CAREFULLY fully test them before you fly in public. The tip of a 50 size blade spinning at 2000 rpm is travelling at close to 30 miles per hour. Anything that lets loose at that speed can produce some nasty damage.
...
Rafael
...
If you do end up with a home made pair, I suggest that you CAREFULLY fully test them before you fly in public. The tip of a 50 size blade spinning at 2000 rpm is travelling at close to 30 miles per hour. Anything that lets loose at that speed can produce some nasty damage.
...
Rafael
Rafael
11-30-2008, 11:21 PM
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RE: Home made blades
Hello all,
I don't know about you guys but I fly 60/90 powered helicopters. I don't know if I would feel all that comfortable with that much heli
flying around the sky with home made blades on it. Even flying a 50 size machine still has a sizeable investment hanging in the air.
A set of commercially made carbon blades is cheap insurance against a blade failure and destroying $1500 to 2000 worth of heli when
it hits the ground.
I also agree with Rafael23cc about breaking blades. If you are breaking that many blades then you need more time on wood blades
or you are doing something real bad to you carbon blades. What kind of heli are you flying and what rotor RPMs are you turning.
