Machining a Carbon Fiber Quadcopter Frame

Рет қаралды 102,631

2 жыл бұрын

I was asked to make a batch of carbon fiber parts for a drone prototype. This is how I went about doing it in a way that minimized cleanup and post-processing of parts.
Disclaimer: Cutting carbon fiber involves health risks you should take care to mitigate. Use high performance dust collection and avoid inhalation of carbon fiber dust and residue. Wash hands after handling or use gloves. Use your best judgment.
Cutters I bought:
HOZLY 2mm Endmill - amzn.to/34sbCqT
Amana 1/8" Composite Endmill - amzn.to/3LiIbYK
Dust Collection Situation:
14 Gal. 6.0-Peak HP NXT Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum - homedepot.sjv.io/gzg32
HEPA Filtration Kit w/ Cyclonic Dust Bags - homedepot.sjv.io/ON4jr
--
Help support my CNC content: / winstonmoy
Tools I Use: www.winstonmakes.com/tools-i-use/
Note: By using my affiliate links, you are helping to support my content.
I also produce videos for ‪@carbide3d‬ : / carbide3d

Пікірлер: 77

@dejanbrice8774 2 жыл бұрын

Two things for people watching, CF dust is conductive and you do not want it in your electronics nor your lungs. The trick is to keep it damp.

@BrilliantDesignOnline 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely love your content; fast paced, nothing but tons of useful information. Thank you, keep it coming.

@ddegn 2 жыл бұрын

I have CNC router parts sitting in my basement waiting for me. This video is good encouragement to get the thing up and running.

@MatthieuLibeert 2 жыл бұрын

been a long time follower without commenting to much. Great video! thanks for sharing! As an important side note; being a "carbon fiber youtuber " I know that carbon fiber is highly conductive. If dust gets into your electronics it can short it,. Send many dremels to the graveyard that way :D Not trying to be a smart ass, just mention it so you don't ruin your CNC router. If any days you would like to do a collaboration feel free to contact me ;)

@ClintTredway 2 жыл бұрын

I do lots of CF on my Shapeoko and I use painters tape glued together using 3m spray glue.. I cut every thickness from 1mm to 5mm and it works for them all.

@chrislatrkin 2 жыл бұрын

What glue exactly?

@kylewarren69 2 жыл бұрын

You're alive! I like the machine the holes then use screws before cutting it out work holding, I've used that strategy a ton.

@sanderj8784 2 жыл бұрын

An excellent way to cut carbon fiber, is under water, in a shallow tub of water. Not as easy, but 100% safe. I would dare argue that a shopvac without a HEPA filter, simply launches the airborne carbon fiber particler back in the air for us to breath. Many modern shopvacs have no HEPA filter.

@Albertotron 2 жыл бұрын

Yep, it's a bit messy too but well worth it for your health. A normal shop vac filter won't filter all of the particles when cutting carbon fiber

@iforce2d 2 жыл бұрын

I prefer having just a small trickle of water over the cutter, which does not require serious waterproofing or tall walls that might limit spindle movement. It lets you see what's happening, keeps most of the work area dry, flushes the swarf away, and you don't have a large container of black ink to clean up afterward. For a long job with many pieces you can remove and inspect/finish the early ones while the job is still running, which could be important for a hard material that wears down the cutter. A small trickle can also work ok on fixed gantry machines where a tub is probably not feasible (due to the main platform moving around).

@killorkubed Жыл бұрын

Yeah but this is hardly an option for those of us with air-cooled routers/spindles that would blow the water all over the room... one of the main reasons I want to upgrade to a water-cooled spindle is so I can submerge carbon though

@fierceflyer5 2 жыл бұрын

Another great video Winston

@nickhanscome 2 жыл бұрын

Hope you are doing well man. Always excited for your videos

@DavidM2002 2 жыл бұрын

I started out using spray mount adhesive to hold CF down. I use a piece of 1.00" MDF cut the same size as the CF to glue the CF to. A very light coat on both the CF and the board and then both are clamped down to the router bed. A hot air gun set on low will release the parts and then a bit of solvent will clean off the glue residue. Later, I found that the cut path stayed well packed with the CF dust and held the part in place with no adhesive or screws. I have used diamond pattern cutters but also use single flute end mills with equal success and longevity. I always use 1/16" as, the smaller the cut path, the less dust that is produced.

@aluminumcastingsandcasting7761 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing Process

@dividingbyzerofpv6748 2 жыл бұрын

I cut under water to keep the dust suspented and captured through filtration. There are other challenges to deal with when I cut 1.5mm or thinner CF. But for 3mm up to 6mm I can cut accurately with my work holding and tabs. Yeah, tabs suck but part of my finishing includes sanding the edges. Have run burr bits down small enough for 1.8mm holes for 1.5mm hardware.

@GENcELL2014 2 жыл бұрын

Smallest diamond pattern endmills I've used are .5mm and .8mm diameter with a 3.175mm shank.

@bluegrassperformanceparts7056 Жыл бұрын

We cut under water as well I made an aluminum pan lay the carbon fiber in with foam board underneath for a buffer and put some weights on it to hold it down works great.

@nicklebeezy 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video!

@Lut2K 4 ай бұрын

That was very informative! Am about to tackle my first cf on a roland, thanks for posting

@Pixel-CNC 2 жыл бұрын

Hey winston, great vid. I primarily cut carbon fibre parts, and almost always use the tape and glue hold down method. Even for small parts this is highly effective and yet to have a part move on me yet. The only consideration I would have is to be carful when machining small internal contours as that part of the material is likely to come out at full depth and could cause issues if the retract height is lower than the thickness of said bit. Hope that helps! Keep up the good work.

@jbrownson 2 жыл бұрын

Cool video, thanks

@garagemonkeysan 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. Super useful info. Mahalo for sharing! : )

@RichardCournoyer 2 жыл бұрын

Hey...I remember this guy!!!! Long time no see Sir Winston....we.miss you. Nice video....nood (approved..hahaha) BTW the F9 Launch on 2/2 was perhaps the BEST (West Coast) launch I've seen to date. And in cause you were not there...they are (assume) gaining confidence on the landings and let us park in the NO landing launch zone....maybe it was an error...IDK....IDC! PS NICE CLAMPS! (proud maker) PPS I think they LP Frame looks GREAT!

@mrp19285 2 жыл бұрын

All we machine at work is thermoplastic composite. (CF that can be press formed when heated) one thing we do to extend tool like is use mist cooling for our router. We just use water for the mist. It doesn’t have to soak the part just enough to help cool better.

@xccarbon2568 2 жыл бұрын

awsome job , firs ttime i see this cnc macihne cut the carbon fiber plate .

@HuskyMachining Жыл бұрын

good video mate.

@GENcELL2014 2 жыл бұрын

I really like flat diamond pattern endmills that have a fishtail bottom, gives a little more room for the powdered material. Eternaltools is where I get my cheaper metric carbide diamond pattern tools from, .5mm to 3mm diameter, they work great in phenolic, g10, carbon fiber and more materials.

@cjmindustries 2 жыл бұрын

Any reason you didn’t use the arrange feature on the cam side with a manufacturing model? It seems more efficient than manually nesting with move/capture. I learned a few good tips for carbon, thanks for making this video.

@robertpeters9438 3 ай бұрын

I hope your vacuum has a helps filter. Also, you could make a passive cyclone like in filter queen vaccuums or in Dyson models.

@watercushion 2 жыл бұрын

You have to show the drone in action at some point!

@evolutionxone 2 жыл бұрын

There is benefit to tool life to do full depths of cut and use different portions of the tool, just remember to pre groove the spoil board.

@MFEeee 2 жыл бұрын

Oof. The fact that he got it done without damaging the board shows his skill level

@andrewbeaton3302 2 жыл бұрын

Genius! NEXT TITANIUM MACHINING! TI QUAD FRAME?

@OffroadMXbohemia 2 ай бұрын

Use the doublesided tape too. And try cutting carbon fibre sheets with a dagger type end mill.

@makingthings277 2 жыл бұрын

Good job bud! How do you go about nesting in fusion 360?

@lilw3136 2 жыл бұрын

Hi I’ve recently seen your tags engraving and I was wondering how much for a custom tag

@XXCoder 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! I do suggest add speed multipler number on video if you speed up video, like 4x or whatever. While it is obvious it is sped up, it would be nice to know by how much.

@WinstonMakes 2 жыл бұрын

Good suggestion, will keep that in mind going forward.

@SnoofDogg Жыл бұрын

Quick question where did you get the sheet of carbon fiber from?

@Pixel-CNC 2 жыл бұрын

In terms of feeds and speeds, a good place to be for my machine is 1500mm/m speed and 250mm/m plunge and leave keep tool down, on.

@Pixel-CNC 2 жыл бұрын

Depth of cut being 0.35mm

@240SSONLY Жыл бұрын

How much would you charge to make some M-Lock holes on an octagonal carbon fiber tube 2mm thick. Maybe 5 rows of 4 holes, 20 total.

@sticky_ricebowl 2 жыл бұрын

I use Cf alot for drone frame prototyping and I just wanna say a fun fact: the direction of your cut will actually affect the rigidity of the piece. Cutting it parallel/perpendicular to the weave will make it ridgid (I work with 2mm CF with a thickness of 5mm and theyre not easy to bend). However, cut it diagonally and it'll basically be a wet noodle (I could bend it so easily and it stayed bent).

@troy4393 2 жыл бұрын

That depends heavily on the stock as well, I imagine this was intentionally unidirectional.

@dejanbrice8774 2 жыл бұрын

For others also reading, generally CF plys are laid in different directions, 0 45 and 90 dependant on its application. So do pay attention to the direction of the twill.

@jgotdawheel 2 жыл бұрын

This might sound dumb but how to you get all the measurements?

@davidkahler9390 2 жыл бұрын

If you don't like the license plate frame, I'll take it 😊

@davidsm310 Жыл бұрын

where did you buy the carbon fiber?

@berinslaptop 2 жыл бұрын

I deal with luxury yachts for work and endless FRP material. The best BITS to use on anything FRP are the same tools used for cutting TILE. If it works on tile or marble it will work on carbon fiber and fiberglass. The ideal tooling bit for carbon fiber material is and always will be the CARBIDE rotory rasp. .5mm -25mm DIAM does not matter. Fluted tooling bits are not an ideal choice for any kind of FRP. Also always make sure the flat TIP of the tool has rasp teeth as well. That is the number one error I find people make. The rotory rasp will leave a much cleaner cut as well.

@tbip2001 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Winston , so you plan on expanding your business and upgrading to a larger machine/shop?

@joshuabarr5427 2 жыл бұрын

Please make more videos for us. Thank you... please... Thanks......please 🙏 🥺

@myfalconry76 Жыл бұрын

Make one for a component swap for the DJI fpv

@ShaneGadsby 2 жыл бұрын

Why do I keep hearing Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time sound effects: 6:41 sounds like when you use a fairy

@timothyreyes5392 2 жыл бұрын

I use a water basin just because vacuum cleaners are so loud.

@laaxess 9 ай бұрын

Which carbide 3d model are you using ? I am only going to be focusing on 4-8mm CF, and some aluminum. Parts will not be bigger than 12x12 Inch surface areas. Thank you in advance.

@WinstonMakes 9 ай бұрын

This was done on a slightly modified Shapeoko 3. Any of the newer models could handle it fine, just don't neglect dust collection.

@laaxess 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for the helpful knowledge .@@WinstonMakes

@I.____.....__...__ 2 жыл бұрын

So what did you make with the extra material? 🤔

@thewaxlab 2 жыл бұрын

I make name plates and “prototype” plates with my extra carbon. Adds a nice touch when you’re running demos to a client.

@morganw4746 Жыл бұрын

A great way to mill CF is to use a plastic bin secured to the work surface using nuts with wide heads and O-rings, and doing the cuts under oil / water. Probably overkill setup for this project, but works great for higher volume

@ADRIANPRADA Жыл бұрын

Is it possible to cut carbon fiber with a laser?

@WinstonMakes Жыл бұрын

It is, but you'll need a pretty high end unit. CO2 alone won't be enough.

@justinnoor4915 2 жыл бұрын

Respirator?

@Jehty_ 2 жыл бұрын

"A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres, including fumes, vapours, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses."

@jobin8818 Жыл бұрын

common next video

@BobOBob 2 жыл бұрын

Ha ha ... half inch #4 pan head ... pretty much Buzz Bee Shell Screws

@photoguybrian 6 ай бұрын

I really couldn't care less about just watching your machine run. This tells me nothing I need to know.

@axelSixtySix 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Winston. We miss you very much on Carbide's videos. Through Mr Perfect does not appeal me. If you still work @ Carbide, please say a word to bring the maker spirit back. Otherwise, I'm also a subscriber of your channel and I seriously consider to unsubscribe to Carbide's.

@WinstonMakes 2 жыл бұрын

I'm still at Carbide but busy working on the engineering side rather than videos. When time permits I'd like to get back to videos, but expect Kevin to be the one still making the majority of videos.

@axelSixtySix 2 жыл бұрын

@@WinstonMakes I can understand that. I must admit I just unsubscribed from Carbide's because of the lack of interesting content despite that was one of my favourite channels when you managed it.