Designing a parametric wing in Onshape - going for maximum flexibility!

[@johnlongphre3918]

Of the hundreds of Onshape tutorials I've seen, this definitely falls into my top three.

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

Thanks so much! More to come shortly....

[@freecapitan1]

100% agreed 👍🏼

[@freecapitan1]

Wow! Welcome back to aviation!! That is what I call unleashing the power of Onshape!!

[@johnlongphre3918]

Greg. At the end of this wonderful video, you mention something about in the future describing how you plan these projects using a Conceptual Parts Studio, then a Preliminary Parts Studio, then a Detailed Parts Studio. I've learned so much from you about how to approach design problems paramentrically. I'm very much looking forward to this follow-on video.

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

Thanks for the comment, and the reminder :) I'll get to that for sure - I'l love to work in this full time, but I do have another job in the organization! But I realize (and that's why I'm doing these) by speaking to many customers and prospects on a daily basis that there is still a lot to teach and learn from both sides.

[@RichPenn]

Thank you for showing how to use the parametric capabilities of Onshape in a real project. It was most interesting to see the way you linked all the features together with the variables and measured values. Well Done !! Especially your incremental testing....

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

Thanks - yes it is always a good idea to flex a model as you go. The CAD equivalent of "measure twice, cut once"

[@lotusz31]

this is amazing. I'll need to play around with that. one thing I will want to look at is to orient the frame to the skin rather than have a sandable excess of spar as it will likely be covered by a strip of balsa to assist with foil adherence.

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

Thanks for the comment. It's funny that doing this in Onshape (digitally) takes me back to the high school days of having the sheets of balsa pinned out on my paper plans... The techniques I used in Onshape for both the wing and the fuselage (other videos) were based on those experiences!

[@jeltesteur8286]

Wow! Auto-name and Auto-Boolean seem super useful features especially when working with configurations! Can you share them?

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

Here is a beta version, I'll clean it up further and publish shortly - as mentioned, it is pretty simple stuff, but really useful: cad.onshape.com/documents/20afd0071b1fd882855e31f3/v/a861552f5b8dcff963345bfe/e/fc706ce0880ab89b509732af

[@johnlongphre3918]

Greg. Thank you for this. One thing to make this really useful would be a variable to control the wing twist (a.k.a. washout) about the 25% chord point. Is that something perhaps you'd consider addressing? It would make all the difference in the world for me.

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

Great idea - in fact I've made a bunch of updates and now the wing is looking pretty good. I just experimented with washout and looks like it fit right into my process. I'll cut an updated video tonight.

[@RCGDL]

This is fantastic! I'm currently designing an RC Fokker DViii so I'll definitely try this out . I'm planning on using spar web combs rather than individual webs, any tips on modelling these parametrically might be of interest to others as well as me?

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

I'll be happy to look at what you've come up with and give some tips.

[@johnmoss4140]

is it possible to get a copy of Autom8 on OnShape? I did a search but nothing showed up. I want to create a wing that has dyhedral, sweep and the airfoils are at different angles of attack along the wing (BSLD Bowers style)

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

There are a few of my Auto-tools here cad.onshape.com/documents/20afd0071b1fd882855e31f3/v/a861552f5b8dcff963345bfe/e/fc706ce0880ab89b509732af Let me know if these are the ones you are looking for

[@jzerious4523]

where can i find the profile generator?

[@gregbrown-onshape7555]

Try this link: cad.onshape.com/documents/33795c7f9b39612da14ee99a/v/5f0353863c39e4e7468cf450/e/50cfb985d452468db7597190 and add the Custom feature to your toolbar.