gittarpikk

Ok, don't post much but I'm an Old Pioneer of the RC world going back to the early 70's and CL and FF to mid 60's... enough about me.

I have seen probably 15 different Foam wing cutting power supplies (my first one was a LIONEL train power supply-way back, go figure)but I just gotta add another,

You'll have to play with this one to get it right but I assure you it is a SAFER one.


Remember that 12V or 14V varispeed battery drill. ...Like Dewalt, Craftsman etc that you just bought a battery for and the rest of it puked?...yep, that one.,,,;-)

If you want to just cut a wing on maybe a 36" nichrome wire, the old battery can just be wired direct with a switch. If you wanna get fancy and gut a 14 V or 18V drill for its vari-trigger and mount it on your bow so that you can pull the trigger as you hold it and cut a wing, you can make the whole thing very simply heat controllable....so if you want to design you a new bow with a built in pistol grip and a vari-heat trigger, go for it.

This one is super-simple and costs near nothing (you've already got a useless busted drill, batt and charger, right!)but there are only a few requirements.


A)You'll need the original operating charger . Don't damage any of the original plug-in fittings on the battery so you can plug the batt into the charger as original designed.
B)You should only use a better quality drill and the battery will need to be holding the charge well (lotsa current required here)
c)Use no less than a 12 volt drill
d)keep the wires leading up and connecting the wire as short as resonable and at least 10 guage.
e)Rig this up temp and see if your battery, fully charged, will get through a complete wing (or at least one side) on a piece of scrap foam before setting up for your finished version.
f)ALWAYS start with a fully charged battery.

w5kfg

My Feedback: (1)

Have you got any pics of your setup?

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

Hi,
I think his idea is all in his head still. BUT I LIKE IT[8D] I think this sounds like a system that would lend itself well to the builder of the occasional foam wing. The recycled trigger could be mounted on the bow or not. Either way it is a nice way to adjust then lock the setting.
OzMo

jester_s1

Ok, wheels turning here. Would this work with a 12 lead battery?

gittarpikk

Hi,

No , It's a rough temporary bow and not pretty, but worked

gittarpikk

Exactly...! I should also have noted that the 12 volt will only work well on small bows and is a bit slow and short lived for longer ones... This is great for a fast stab or fin or foam rib replacement, turtledeck etc.

Now for larger projects such as a 40" wing core (1/2 of 80") you really need the higher voltage and really better drill packs (ie 18v 24 v)

Note: larger projects may be better approached with a better bow/pulley system and power supply. The drill-pack system will work but the demands of high current on the battery dictates it really has to be a heavy duty, good quality pack. The pull trigger makes for great heat control in complicated cuts but for long sweeps like the top or bottom of a larger wing, you may want to use some sort of preset clamp on the trigger (especially if you have arthritis like Ido)

gittarpikk

Yes, a charged one. You can adjust the temperature by how much nichrome or stainless wire there is between the allegator clips that are used to clip the power supply wires to the cutter wire.

A 12 volt DC charger also can be used You can flip between the two settings-on-the-fly (2 amp/10 amp) to move cutting faster or slower. Some chargers can get a bit hot and if it pulls too much current , it can stop (circuit breaker kick out) right in the middle of a wing cut....so best to cut a few scrap test wings as you get the hang of the "switch flipping"

I think most of those ideas have been tried in the forum and there is lots of info on those uses, but I don't remember anyone mentioning the drill pack as a supply.

What made me think of it was I was experimenting on a HHO hydrogen generator for the car and was looking for a way to vary the voltage (usually 12 volts) with the engine RPM and was linking the throttle to a drill trigger....which worked well.

icerinkdad

Good ideas in this thread... but I have always been happy with using a big old Sears auto battery charger and .015 or .012 7 strand stainless control line wire. I just use little alagator clips to get the power to the bow and move them in or out to control the wire temp. I like a simple lightweight bow so that I can use to cut without a helper. A heavy bow makes that much more difficult. Doing that I have cut hundreds of foam wings for CL combat and stunt locally. Did a video on the process some years back that my son is still selling on the web if anyone is interested just search for foam wing cutting on Google and follow the paid links. It is full of KISS principle foam cutting advice.
Have fun and do good things!
Bob Furr

asmithnc

The foam cutter I have is safe but the power source is expensive. You can control your voltage and amps by the simple turn of the dial.

It's a little extreme but works perfect everytime.

icerinkdad

Nice looking bow but in metal how is the wire insulated? Earlier I suggested searching google. My son has posted an 8 minute segment of the foam cutting video he sells for me on you tube. Just type in foamwingcutting all as one word in the search on youtube and it will take you right there.
Bob

asmithnc

I used a piece of old circuit board (clean) no metal etc.... between the wire and spring.

bayward

Tell me more about your power supply. Store bought, home made ?

Bob

asmithnc

Here you go Bob.

This power supply is over kill due to the total watts and price. It's simply perfect for foam cutting and I wish all could get there hands on one.
http://www.elgar.com/products/HPD/HPD_Overview.htm

icerinkdad

Nice power source but serious over kill when an auto battery charger will do the trick for $40 or so. It's not as adjustable but I've cut hundreds of foam wings for combat models with one.
Bob

gittarpikk

Wishin' there were a few people around here that I could waste a few Combat wings on........

Old CL and R/C combat dude here....