Alex7403

I understand that you copy the parts onto paper so in case of need you make a new part, well if I want to make a whole new kit some of the parts are pretty complicated – tapered wing ribs, plywood and balsa fuselage formers, ply wood fuselage doublers – these parts are really hard to cut by yourself.

The question is:
Is there a way to make these templates so I can order it from a kit cutter?

On any day I rather buy an OEM already cut kit than going through the hassle of cutting it but if the kit doesn’t exist you don’t have many choices.

Thanks
Alex

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Making templates of parts has many uses. Some people like to build from scratch, but for those that don't, it's always good to have a template of the parts. For example, you have a minor crash where you need to rebuild the nose, having a template of the firewall will be a major help!

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

And a kit cutter can cut it for you in some cases. When I cut my kits I just get all my wood from a place like Lone Star Balsa or Balsa USA. I use a scroll saw and a cheap belt sander. For tapered wings I just use contact cement to glue the template onto the wood and then place another sheet of wood under that, I cut the ribs two at a time. It really isn't hard, it just takes more work. For kits that are our of production I have several friends that will share plans and templates so we can still build the planes we liked over the years. We are keeping these old designs flying. Is it legal?? I really don't care as long as I get the plane I want.

smithcreek

My Feedback: (25)

Oh boy! You just had to poke the bear, didn't you?

carrellh

It's possible that having a kit cut could violate copyright laws. I am not a lawyer but companies like SIG, Great Planes, etc do try to protect their interests.

If you send your templates to a kit cutter (assuming a laser cutter) they will have to scan them into whatever graphics format they use and arrange them to make efficient use of material before they start cutting. This will cost something on top of the materials and actual laser time.

By carefully arranging the templates by material and thickness so they fit a 3 or 4 by xx inch balsa sheet (or a "stock size" plywood sheet) you might be able to cut the cost a little bit.

If you buy a kit (and licensed plans) from a kit cutter the cost of digitizing and arranging everything will probably be included.

With the right scanner, software, and guidance from your chosen cutter, you may be able to do all of the "setup" stuff yourself.

Alex7403

you got me scared with that talk in another thread about terminating the TF contender that I might want to build some day
I'm talking about a kit that is out of production, I rather buy a kit than go through this reverse engineering procedure.
Besides the manufacturers killed the kit themselves aren’t they happy that somebody raises the interest for that specific kit with all this extra effort?

Alex7403

Thanks guys,

so its possible to make a kit out of RCM plans or kit plans and parts templates?

carrellh

The manufacturers can act in ways that seem strange. They may discontinue a kit but they still own the copyrights. Even though they are not making money off of them, they do not want anyone else profiting from their work.

Fortunately a lot of plane designers do allow the kit cutters to operate. If XYZ cutter buys a set of plans (from the designer) for every kit they sell, there's usually no issue. The problems start when XYZ cutter buys one set of plans and then sells multiple kits without buying a set of plans for each kit sold.

foodstick

Another thing to keep in mind is if you decide to cut your own kit..See if you can find a friend that wants one..Its just as easy to cut the parts in twos (stacked up and stapled) And if you have two guys cutting sanding it goes pretty quick, and it makes for a good evening ,friendship, and story for years down the road.

yel914

It really doesn't take all that long to reproduce all the parts that are in a kit. Maybe a couple of hours at most. Use it as an excercise to improve your skills at craftsmanship, a dying art. Besides that, it's balsawood. If it was Oak or Hickory, I could see some hesitation, but balsa?

SeamusG

Can you guys address the specific technology necessary to create digital images of your individual parts so that they can be sent off to a laser cutter? Or what to use to combine the components into a structure that can be used to create a plan that can be printed for use on the building table? For instance, I have a small all-in-one printer that has a scanner that can scan up to an A4 image. Typically, scanning plans or wood components require using some chunk of software to piece together multiple images into a single, complete structure, hoping to align the various pieces together in a straight / true form with the correct scale. The same printer is limited to printing 8.5 x 11 with borders.

Once you have a complete digital image of your components and your goal is to create plans for use on the building table, how do you approach the problem of getting them printed?

How about sharing the structures with cutters over the internet?

Enquiring minds get you in a whole lotta trouble ...

Good stuff ...

Alex7403

Yes this is exactly what I'm asking.
To scan a plan is no big deal you do it at kinkos or staples, to make the parts appear on paper is also easy just copy them before gluing.

How to laser cut the ply parts of paper is what I want to know.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

When I make up my teplate sheet I write the wood size and what it is on the part. I also run lines through that part to show it's hard wood or ply. Look at my template sheet in the left corner. If you are going to send in your templates to a kit cutter then you should make up all hardwood/ply parts on a seperate sheet with the wood type and thickness marked. All you are doing is making a copy of the kit with all the same types of wood. SMITH, what ya got?????? Illegal is just a sick bird!! What happens between friends stays between friends!! Whait a minute, that's Vegas!! Just ask OJ!!!

carrellh

Each cutter has their own requirements. Here are two examples.

Lazer Works http://www.lazer-works.com/faq.html The page says they use Corel Draw 10 and says they can import from CAD files but do not specify which ones. The info is not specific so you'd need to actually talk to them to know what they need.

Laser Lizard http://www.laserlizard.com under "Set Up Info" has some very specific info about what they need to be able to do a job. I don't understand all of it but a CAD user probably would.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

As a digital imaging specialist I can tell you that it is almost impossible to do this with a rastered (pixel) image. You really need a vector graphic, like thos from a program like Illustrator, Corel or a CAD program