Using a CNC Router to Machine Aerospace Mold Patterns (part 1)

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Part 2: • Using a CNC Router to ...
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In this video we cover why we selected an AVID CNC router to machine out all the mold patterns for the DarkAero 1 experimental kit aircraft.
Our top reasons for choosing this CNC router over others included:
1. The Avid CNC router fit the right overlap for cost, machine volume, and accuracy/precision.
2. The parts for the CNC router are easy to replace.
3. The CNC router is really easy to setup and quickly learn on compared to larger, industrial grade routers.
4. The CNC router is low power and great for smaller size shops.
5. It is big enough to get larger jobs done but not so big that it will occupy a large amount of shop space.
6. It is versatile in the sense that it can be used to machine out large parts like mold patterns and smaller parts like carbon fiber brackets.
Some of the machine's "upgrades" include:
1. Going with an HDPE "spoilboard"
2. Increasing the number of cross braces for the machine
3. Developing an ongoing leveling procedure
4. Opting for the lower Z height travel to reduce relative gantry motion when cutting
Stay tuned for part 2 where we go into more details on how we use this CNC router to machine out multi section mold patterns for creating carbon fiber parts.
If you enjoyed this video and would like to see more of this type of content, follow along as we work to create the fastest, longest range aircraft you can build in your garage.
More information on DarkAero can be found on our website and other social media accounts:
www.darkaero.com
/ darkaeroinc
/ darkaeroinc
/ darkaero-inc

[@RVN782P]

You guys make this ‘Sconnie proud. Very impressed with the attention to detail you exhibit throughout this project. Wish you success, and on, Wisconsin.

[@HighDefinitionVideo]

I'm super stoked for you guys! The plane looks incredible, thank you for these awesome vids:)

[@mikedugdale281]

That was a really interesting video. Well presented and obviously a lot of effort to script. You guys rock!

[@keremmu]

I love how you talk about what you did to make the table more rigid and there's a RIDGID machine under the table :) How fitting!

[@edthompson9569]

Brilliant. Looking forward to Part 2.

[@ryanmcgowan3061]

I would permanently mount sensitive bubble levels onto the table so that you can detect shifts right away. Survey-grade bullseye levels are accurate to about 10' (1/6°). Also the aluminum frame is probable the biggest culprit to dimensional changes by far. The operating temperatures should be kept within a few degrees Fahrenheit or so. Aluminum has extreme thermal expansion. If you're getting tolerances in the thousandths across eight feet, you must be looking at holding about 1.5°F in aluminum.

[@laneburkhart5590]

Great content. super informative and easy to watch. I was impressed by spread sheet calculators most recently. Keep up great work

[@Sean-Aviation]

Excellent and clear videos! well done. excellent work too

[@miquelsalvatejedor3123]

very nice content guys. Thank you for sharing

[@ujd2930]

very informative man, good vid ! ( im a fan of the aircraft too )

[@AFRspace]

These videos inspired to start building my own aircraft but I’m doing my from scrach.

[@falrus]

amazing

[@CraigBoshard]

Hi guys. Please could you elaborate a little more on what matching/cutting bits you use for machining solid epoxy carbon Fibre boards as well as what feed rate and spindle head speeds you you use. We use our CNC router for cutting out parts from prelaminated vinylester Fiberglass boards with a foam core and seem to go through bits. The bits get chewed up real fast from the resin?

[@travers114]

Very cool to walk through the process. I recently chatted with a woman who swears by avid cncs and owns several for her business. She was trying to convert me over to buy one to replace our current table, and was telling me about a site she worked with to develop a ready-to-go package for avid users that gives a really nice looking bt30 spindle. The site's called cncdepot.net and their spindle package is on my shopping list. Manual tool changes drive me nuts having to touch off each time. Even having the draw bar with no atc makes life soooo much easier.

[@palletcolorato]

Interesting.

[@xnavyro]

You guys need to meet with Mike Patey who also builds his own planes? Would make a great video? Just a thought, you all are incredible, keep up the great work!

[@broker260]

Hey, Great work! Fellow AVID owner here with exactly the same HDPE and cross braces as yourself (although we cut a vac table into it) Can I ask what the cool looking 8020 cabinet with what appears to be air tanks underneath is for?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thank you! It’s a thermoformer.

[@OriginalJetForMe]

I've got an AvidCNC, too (although I put ClearPath servos and an HSD spindle on mine). The HDPE is a cool idea. I bet a piece that large was expensive. Did you really find an improvement, though? I would have thought over the course of one job it wouldn't change that much. The additional braces are interesting. I store a bunch of lumber on the bottom cross beams, making it quite heavy, but I do see the frame move a lot with every acceleration change. Do you find they help a lot?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Rick, thanks for watching! You may not see much change in a single job. It becomes more important for machining larger sections that need to fit together that you can’t machine all in the same timeframe. The bracing helps. Anything you can do to further increase the rigidity for the machine is a plus. It was definitely worth it for our parts.

[@RCjunkie]

I do the same thing for RC aircraft with a ShopBot 96x48x6 Matney Models

[@anisdhakal678]

How many pre orders have you got? And when will a fully assembled functional darkarrow be delivered?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Anis, send an email to [e-mail] and we can provide you with the latest information you’re seeking.

[@miguelmuniz8742]

Can I use mastercam to process to g-code for this? I should right? If I just post process the code?🤔

[@bonza007]

The precision numbers you claimed for this machine are outstanding. Have you verified them somehow, or how did you arrive at them?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Greg, thank you for watching and the comment! These precision numbers are the same ones provided by Avid CNC on their website. Once we got the machine setup we spent a long time getting it dialed in and then setting up a process to ensure it remains dialed in over time. One way we verified machine capability was through machining a variety of parts and checking their dimensions against the prints/CAD.

[@cencoast_7.340]

Do you plan to add a vacuum to it to simplify holding parts?

[@DarkAeroInc]

We had considered it and ultimately decided the vacuum table wasn't a good fit for us at this time. Vacuum tables are costly, require additional electrical power, can be loud, and can also lose vacuum due to an unexpected power loss. With running larger mold patterns in the middle of the night while we weren't there, we didn't want to worry about the potential vacuum loss.

[@cencoast_7.340]

DarkAero, Inc Right on. My best friend runs all the CNC parts for a company called Rugged Radios. We actually machined the vacuum “table” from aluminum w/criss-cross channels for gasket material to seal. It definitely has its place. I’m not a machinist just thought I’d chime in.

[@RexusKing]

What's the giant cabinet behind you? Seems to be some kind of vacuum forming machine?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Thermoformer for making canopies.

[@RexusKing]

@@DarkAeroInc That's huge! Have you guys done a video on it before?

[@DarkAeroInc]

@@RexusKing We have not yet. There are a lot of challenges regarding that machine that would definitely make for an interesting video :).

[@user-tv5dt3nm9y]

Great primer on (your) routers and cnc. Ahh! Production! Exciting! Presumably, the Dark Aero 1 design predated the router purchase?

[@DarkAeroInc]

That’s correct. The basic design for the aircraft came before the router purchase.

[@finntobin6887]

Will the plane get really hot because of the colour?

[@ashsmitty2244]

Nah, just from the speed. 😅

[@RVN782P]

Gotta ask, you guys being engineering students at UW, were any of you in the band? Seems there’s a high percentage of band members who were in the engineering school. My son, Mike Orear, AKA “Porty” played trombone 2009-2014. Three Rose Bowls. Lost the games, but our band kicked butt! 😁👍🏻

[@DarkAeroInc]

We were all in band in HS but never at UW. :)

[@rnordquest]

It’s the same in most universities, engineers like the precision and conformity required of a marching band.

[@DanFrederiksen]

How about making a large 3D printer? that gives you better than 5 axis and it's less messy.

[@hcr-motorworks]

When is part 2 comin?!?!

[@DarkAeroInc]

Part 2: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZCnaH2Xq5WSpdE

[@charlesdelone6861]

How do you get around the lancair problem? The snap stalls that come from such a smooth airfoil?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Charles, thanks for watching and for the comment. We actually did a video on stall of the DarkAero 1. The link is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZuxgXh6d8qciqs

[@rorypenstock1763]

How many of you are there on the team, and are you all brothers?

[@DarkAeroInc]

Nathaniel, thank you for checking out our project. The DarkAero 1 prototype is being developed by the 3 of us brothers, Keegan, Ryley, River. :)

[@SH256-j5g]

When you said it has an accuracy of 2....... What is the word that you have used ?

[@g.tucker8682]

He said 2 to 3 “thou” in X and Y, and 2 thou in Z axis. “Thou” is short for thousandth, or 0.001 inch.

[@user-ol1qm9ey7g]

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[@MrZeddy100]

I wish my parents were rich.

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

This video could have lasted 3 minutes.