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dxf files for a plasma, laser or router

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C

chadjensen

Active Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2012
Messages
25
Location
grantsville utah usa
so I was bored and decided to convert the airfoil to a file so if someone has access to a machine they can get their own cut. tell me what you guys think. oh and to view the files you need a cad program but a very good one can be had for free here.

http://qcadbin-win.sourceforge.net/

chad

(Moderator: Files attached to post below)
 
You can get Rhino 3d, a profesional level cad program, for Free i9f you own a mac. The company is letting people use the beta version for free to fix errors and problems in the software before production release on mac.
 
I also use linux, but only for ide, CAS and of course enhanced machine control. I have tried qcad and its severely lacking compared to Inventor, solidworks, or rhino.

You could always run rhino on a VM under *nix
 
turbocad is a decent free windoze CAD package. I use it for converting newer drawings back to earlier Autocad versions but have occasionally tried to draw with it. Its fairly intuitive if you are an Autocad guy, but Autocad is anything but intuitive.
 
As a site suggestion, it might be worth while to make a CAD forum where users can post their drawings. Of course they would be "use at you own risk". I have a couple of dozen files I have used over the years but have never posted them.
 
Great idea jeff! Also user feedback on accuracy of files could be posted to help everyone know if the files are good! I like it and hope it's something we see soon.
Chad
 
Hey Chad,

I got your CAD files tonight and i like what I see. I had to download REAL Autocad and convert them to PDF in order for the print shop to be able to print them out on their plotter. I do have a few questions. One, are your parts about 1/4" longer than the actual dimensions of the individual ribs. I did just a rough place up of the CAD over the wing jig layout that has the full size rib view and both the CAD drawing nose and main seem to be a bit longer. Also, the lightning and tooling holes do not line up. I took a tape mease to them and compared it to the plan measurements and they are no where near where the plans call for. I at first attributed this to conversion to PDF but thought I might ask you first if this was the case or if your drawing are slightly larger by design. I have absolutely no idea how to use autocad, so as far as turning on a grid or measuring the actual lines, I have no idea. Thanks for your help.

-Jon
 
So the srb should be the sonerai rib blank that should have extra material for the flanges.. And the form block should be what the actual airfoil shape should be. You fold your flanges over the form block to make the ribs. If it is different let me know. I don't have access to a computer right now but when I do I can check it out.
 
Hey Chad. I don't know for sure that the wing jig fixture has the rib to actual scale. I assumed it was. That was where I did the rough hold up of my print out and they didn't quite line up. But I also checked the measurements of the lightning holes and tooling holes with a tape measure and they didn't line up at all. I don't know if you included those to scale or were just putting them in there for representation. Let me know what you find out. I appreciate your help.
 
Maybe something got lost in the translation. I show everything to scale on my form blocks. They are the exact length that they should be. I also figured .5 inch flange when forming the ribs. How much did you figure? You are right about the lightening holes though they don't line up. Good catch. I will fix it.
 
Hey Chad,

I did my own ploting and line up autocad. i compared it to yours. it all lines up (except the lightning holes and reinforcement ribs). So i don't think there is anything different about the plotting layout. But when I hold them both up to the fullsize wing jig layout neither conform to the airfoil exactly and both of the nose ribs are longer by about an 1/4". Not that I think would be very important if it were any other piece or not involved in the airfoil but this does concern me. As an example, on the plot diagram, the measurement from the LE to the front of the rib is 1", however when you measure the wing jig, the measurement from the LE to the front of the nose rib is about 1 3/16". What concernes me so much is when the airfoil plots are laid out to the thousandths of and inch and measurements are off by 1/8th and 1/16 of an inch, i'm wondering if this is "redesigning" the airfoil shape. I'm not an aeronautical engineer so I just don't know how critical that is.

Fred, the writer of the manual, however is sending me his tooling. I will compare what he used for his plane to what you and I have printed out. If his matches ours then i'll go with it. I'll do this because he is probably the foremost expert on the Sonerai and he is giving me the tooling he use to build his and others planes that are up and flying. So that would satisfy me. I'll let you know what I find out.
 
Cool thanks. I also made form blocks in cad that have semi circles cut for the rib flutes and holes cut for the lightening holes. As well as holes cut for the reinforcing ribs. I will post them later tonight.
 
My OS is Ubuntu a version of Linux. The Ubuntu Software Center has LibreCad for free. I just downloaded it and it works. Next will be to load the data file.

Thanks for the files. Useful for wing tips etc.
Bill E
 
This post is a bit old, but still relevant. If anyone needs CAD, obviously EAA has Solidworks available if you want it. However, Fusion 360 is also available for free to hobbyists. Just download the free trial and they allow you to use it indefinitely as a hobbyist.

On a side note, to those who might still be following this thread...does anyone have any other CAD files of the airfoil they would be willing to share? Running a small CNC router using Mach 3, and my thought is to cut the rib patterns and block out on the machine, but if there were other files available I might consider cutting out more than just the patterns.

Thanks,

Jason
 
Solid Works and Fusion 360 are great programs for cad. CAD has come along way to be more affordable for non-professional users. Gone are the days of cracking the Solid works key, not that I ever did that ::).

If your a *nix user like me also have a look at freecad and onshape. Also Fusion360 is getting a browser editor like onshape.

Lots of great CAD packages these days, a huge change from only a few years ago when good cad was expensive. I used Inventor, Solidworks, and Catia professionally for work but most stick to Fusion 360 for home.
 
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