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Q1 Plans Chapter 3 Page 3-2

Epoxy Balance Plans



Hot Wire Cutter

You will need a hot wire cutter to carve all the foam cores for the canard, fin, and wings. Refer to the sketch.

Hot Wire Cutter

The Variable Voltage control can be obtained from a Quickie distributor, or you can substitute any controllable power supply to include the 14 to 20-volt range with at least 4 amp capability. An alternative is to borrow two 12-V battery chargers or auto batteries and lash up the following device. The “A” blocks represent either a battery or a 12—V DC battery charger with 4-amp capability.

Cheap Variable Voltage Controller

The cutter should be used only on the blue or white styrofoam. A hazardous gas is emitted if you try to cut urethane.

You can substitute .02S nicrome wire which can be run at a lower current (about 2 amp) but nicrome wire is difficult to find. Adjust the current to obtain a wire temperature which will allow the wire to cut the foam at a rate of one inch every four to six seconds when pulled with a light load (Less than 1/2 pound) This can be checked with a small scrap of foam. if temperature is correct, foam will have

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