109e emil instrument panel material help.

Minutes. Cutting tools are loaded into collets, tool height is zeroed on a special pad next to the tool ‘magazine’. Everything else is programmed in by computer, and once up and running the whole process is automatic. As has been mentioned by other posters, the longest part of the job is doing the CAD drawing.
We make a lot of our repair pieces on the machine and if we are lucky get a DXF file with all the info in.

We use a machine from this company… http://www.axyz.co.uk/

Makes the last cnc mill i used, look like it was steam powered lol.

Bob T.

Minutes. Cutting tools are loaded into collets, tool height is zeroed on a special pad next to the tool ‘magazine’. Everything else is programmed in by computer, and once up and running the whole process is automatic. As has been mentioned by other posters, the longest part of the job is doing the CAD drawing.
We make a lot of our repair pieces on the machine and if we are lucky get a DXF file with all the info in.

We use a machine from this company… http://www.axyz.co.uk/

It’s a posh one so tooling can be preloaded for up to 6 tools and it changes them itself. Changing or loading up the tooling takes minutes.

AHH but how long does it take to preload & set up the tools & tool offsets in the first place ?.

Bob T.

If you have your own CNC router, then it’s fine, if however you don’t, then you will be paying a heck of a lot more to get the parts cut out by router. Routers are slower than waterjet/laser cutters, then you have the additional cost of the time taken to set up & change each different cutting bit/drill. You don’t have any tooling set up costs for a waterjet or laser.

Bob T.

It’s a posh one so tooling can be preloaded for up to 6 tools and it changes them itself. Changing or loading up the tooling takes minutes.

It doesn’t have have fancy lasers or posh water pistols, we use a good old fashioned cnc controlled router (made by AXYZ) to cut our bits in work. No distortion or anything like that. Cutting bits go down to 0.5 mm. As others have said, it usually takes a couple of attempts to get a perfect fit.

If you have your own CNC router, then it’s fine, if however you don’t, then you will be paying a heck of a lot more to get the parts cut out by router. Routers are slower than waterjet/laser cutters, then you have the additional cost of the time taken to set up & change each different cutting bit/drill. You don’t have any tooling set up costs for a waterjet or laser.

Bob T.

Have you thought of getting them cut by waterjet ?. This method prevents any problems that might otherwise be caused by the heat of laser cutting.

Most laser & waterjet cutting companies, charge by the hour, with a minimum charge of 1 hour. If the company you use charges say £60 per hour, & you have a single part cut, & it only takes 10 mins to cut, you still have to pay for the full hour
(£60). It makes no difference to a company, if they cut one part or 100 parts in an hour, the price is still the same for that hour.

Bob T.

It doesn’t have have fancy lasers or posh water pistols, we use a good old fashioned cnc controlled router (made by AXYZ) to cut our bits in work. No distortion or anything like that. Cutting bits go down to 0.5 mm. As others have said, it usually takes a couple of attempts to get a perfect fit.

Have you thought of getting them cut by waterjet ?. This method prevents any problems that might otherwise be caused by the heat of laser cutting.

Most laser & waterjet cutting companies, charge by the hour, with a minimum charge of 1 hour. If the company you use charges say £60 per hour, & you have a single part cut, & it only takes 10 mins to cut, you still have to pay for the full hour
(£60). It makes no difference to a company, if they cut one part or 100 parts in an hour, the price is still the same for that hour.

Bob T.

The price for cutting was just that. The challenge is producing the CAD drawings. I worked from a tracing of a B2 panel (Thanks Jack Ruskin) and measured B1 gauges for size. The panel was then prototyped on a low power laser cutter in card and then in acrylic to test the fit. There are always problems. When I was finally happy with the drawings I emailed them to Dragon Laser and less than a week later picked up cut 3mm ally. Despite all the checking I had still drawn the climb/descent and turn/slip about 7mm too close. My fault not theirs and easily rectified by hacksawing the adjuster screw off the bottom of the gauge:o.
If you can get the drawings done as a .DXF file I’ll cut them out in card so you can check them against instruments before committing to metal. Dragon might well be able to do this for you as part of the service.
Bence, if you check ebay there may be some 109 repro labels listed. Can’t put a link at the moment.

Hi, Looks like that I am not alone in this forum! I also have an idea to make a instrument panel and probably I will do this from aluminum. Would anyone have drawings or example of cocpit leibels ? I know one company in Lithuania, they could be produce it for a good price

My pair of Vulcan panels cost £75 to cut, although the price would have gone down with multiples. The drawings are the difficult part, it took several goes to get everything to fit.

Hi Ian, I take it you had to pay £75 a shot meaning the cost of the final product being more? Are there any words of wisdom to prevent such a thing happening with the emil panel? I am planning to use the original panel as the template, there is enough surviving material to get the dimensions give or take a smidge. I would have liked to have matched the material exactly but I can understand the complications or should I say hazards of working with that kind of material, I have tried finding a source but it is a bit of a mine field and probably very expensive. While on the subject we are in the process of making panels for the P-63 but did not go down the laser cutting option as the panel has a folded over edge and having spoken to Mr Collins we were advised that the panel may well distort during forming.

Interested as well.
TY

Hi chaps, I should have more of an idea next week with regards to price. Anyone else interested in one?

Any chance that you might be able do the labelling Ian? 🙂

As above
I’d be interested depending on price

I would be interested price dependant of course

Regards Mad.ideas

Please count me in if you’re having a number cut. Thanks

My pair of Vulcan panels cost £75 to cut, although the price would have gone down with multiples. The drawings are the difficult part, it took several goes to get everything to fit.

Hi chaps, I should have more of an idea next week with regards to price. Anyone else interested in one?

How much might one cost? Approx? 🙂

it is mag alloy, prob from Elektron…..I would never want to cut one in that material!! Just use ally!!
I see yours came from the same source as my small bit!! I would nt mind one cut out too please?!