I made my own "CNC" head stiffiner today!!

[Birdkiller]

I got board at work today so I machined me up a few aluminium head stiffiners.

I havent been able to get a test flight in yet, becuase Im still waitin on my cotton picken DD tail setup to get here, but hopefully it'll work well.

Dont mind the engraving....I was just having fun.

[Old Blue]

Very nice. It's great to be able to make something useful like that.

Blue

[Suburban92]

but how did you cut them thin? did I miss a picture???

[Birdkiller]

Originally Posted by Suburban92

but how did you cut them thin? did I miss a picture???

Its kind of hard to see but in the first picture you see I have a block in the vise with another thinner plate on top with toe straps holding it in place.

I faced the thinner plate down to .050, then drilled/tapped my holes, tightened the screws down in those holes, then i was able to remove the straps and cut the parts out around the screws since i am still holding on to the thick block in the vise.

[Suburban92]

Gotcha.. good work man, did you use 2axis or 3??

when I was a machinist I used to love making "government work"

edit... looks like a mini mill 3 axis.

[Birdkiller]

Also I will note, about the engraving I was just having fun and called it "SuperRc Products" (Rc is my initials) but I didnt realize until afterwards the font makes the 'o' on products look more like a 'r'....so just so everyone knows I didnt spell it wrong!!!! It just looks that way!!!!! haha

[Birdkiller]

Originally Posted by Suburban92

Gotcha.. good work man, did you use 2axis or 3??

when I was a machinist I used to love making "government work"

edit... looks like a mini mill 3 axis.

Thank you!
Yeah its just a little HAAS tool room verticle mill, great for "government work" !!!

[Suburban92]

use a single flute end mill for engraving or a small... centerdrill..

Looks Good.

[Suburban92]

Originally Posted by Birdkiller

Thank you!
Yeah its just a little HAAS tool room verticle mill, great for "government work" !!!

Good guess on the HAAS Mini Mill.. hahahahaha

[Birdkiller]

Originally Posted by Suburban92

use a single flute end mill for engraving or a small... centerdrill..

Looks Good.

Actually i tried a few different tools...first was a little tiny. 032 ball only cutting. 001. I wanted it sharper so then i found a. 125 two flute 60° spotter, that made it better but then i found a little single flute engraving tool that went to a perfectly sharp point. So o threw that thing in and pushed it down one more thou and that did it.

It would have looked alot better if i could have found a font that was a little easier to read...I was just trying to get in and out.....you know being a gov. job and all haha.

Thanks again though man!

[JettaManDan]

if you want to sell a few..i know i'd pick one or 2 up!

[hearse driver]

that is a great idea I would buy a couple from you as well

[Birdkiller]

Let me do some testing with them first, it looks like a great fit just by putting it on the head but i havent flown with it yet.
In fact I might give a few out and let you guys test them let me know if any changes need to be made. As i am no pro pilot. Haha

[HELIHANKSTER]

Head stiffeners look great Birdkiller…seriously sweet…love it!

Would it be possible to make some with smaller screw holes? Just big enough for the rotor head screws to go though. The reason I ask is because when I do use a stock rotor head with the thicker XP blade roots, I make the holes in my bottom homemade plastic head stiffener the same center to center length, but I make the holes themselves the same diameter as the screws so once everything is bolted up there is no play around the screws and no way for the rotor head to flex.

[Birdkiller]

Originally Posted by HELIHANKSTER

Head stiffeners look great Birdkiller…seriously sweet…love it!

Would it be possible to make some with smaller screw holes? Just big enough for the rotor head screws to go though. The reason I ask is because when I do use a stock rotor head with the thicker XP blade roots, I make the holes in my bottom homemade plastic head stiffener the same center to center length, but I make the holes themselves the same diameter as the screws so once everything is bolted up there is no play around the screws and no way for the rotor head to flex.

Yes it would be possible but do you not use the little white plastic spacers that come with super blades? I made the hole just big enough for that spacer to fit nicely so if you use the spacers it should do the same thing, if i am understanding you correctly.

[HELIHANKSTER]

I just use the homemade stiffeners when I’m using the stock plastic rotor head these days, so I can’t remember off hand and will have to check, but if I remember right…the XP blade mounting ring is so thick that it sticks out pass the end of the mounting hub on the stock rotor head, enough so that if you add the small white spacer it will go up in the blade mounting ring and would be flush with the bottom of the blade. If that’s the case than you might be able to use your stiffener by adding two spacer on each side with longer screws, so at least one of the spacers is sticking out from the bottom of the blade.

But I really don’t remember what my issue with the spacers was; I mainly use cnc head setups these days so I would have to check tonight when I get home. For now please scrap what I’ve said.

[Birdkiller]

Originally Posted by HELIHANKSTER

I just use the homemade stiffeners when I’m using the stock plastic rotor head these days, so I can’t remember off hand and will have to check, but if I remember right…the XP blade mounting ring is so thick that it sticks out pass the end of the mounting hub on the stock rotor head, enough so that if you add the small white spacer it will go up in the blade mounting ring and would be flush with the bottom of the blade. If that’s the case than you might be able to use your stiffener by adding two spacer on each side with longer screws, so at least one of the spacers is sticking out from the bottom of the blade.

But I really don’t remember what my issue with the spacers was; I mainly use cnc head setups these days so I would have to check tonight when I get home. For now please scrap what I’ve said.

Sure, check it out and let me know, it wont take much for me to write another program to cut a stiffiner that would fit the CNC heads. That would be cool to have a program and fixture all ready made up and ready to go for both heads!

Heres a picture of it with a set of EZ's bolted up.

[JettaManDan]

I'll be happy to test and pay for shipping...i think having the holes for the spacers may be a good idea..if you take those out the blades may not spin freely enough in a crash to allow for the head to survive better...so i'd take a set with the spacer holes in them...instead of a redesign....

Dan

[HELIHANKSTER]

Okay, I’m glad I said I wasn’t a 100% sure on the issue I had with the spacer. I checked tonight and the spacer will stick out pass the bottom of the blade a little…not much, but they do stick out enough for your head stiffener to lock in place. So if your stiffener fits good on the spacers, they should be good to go.

My issue back in the day with the spacer was when it was used with the stock bottom plate. The diameter of the holes in the bottom plate are slightly larger than the spacer diameter, so if you ran your blades loose, the gap would still let the rotor head flex.

Blade without spacer


Blade with spacer, which does stick out a little pass the bottom of the blade.


The issue I had with using the spacer that I couldn’t remember early today.
You can see the gap between the spacer and stock bottom plate

　
Sorry for any confusion on my part Birdkiller. your stiffener looks great and should work fine.

[HELIHANKSTER]

Originally Posted by JettaManDan

I'll be happy to test and pay for shipping...i think having the holes for the spacers may be a good idea..if you take those out the blades may not spin freely enough in a crash to allow for the head to survive better...so i'd take a set with the spacer holes in them...instead of a redesign....

Dan

Dan, what does having the holes big enough for the spacers have to do with how freely the blades spin on the rotor head. The stiffener still rest against the blade mounting ring whether you make the hole size to go over the spacer or you leave the spacer out and use holes the same size has the screws. How tight you tighten the screws will determine how free the blade will be.