| Introduction |
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Foamworks offers
a fully computerised CNC foam cutting service. Although we primarily
cut expanded and extruded foams for the aeromodelling community,
our equipment is capable of cutting all sorts of arbitary shapes
such as packaging, signage, sheet stock and more.
We use a variety of software to design, process and cut to your
requirements and can do as much or as little of the pre-production
work for you as you like.
We use and reccommend the following software for model aircraft
design:
Compufoil 3D - www.compufoil.com
Wing Designer by STEP-FOUR - www.step-four.at |
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Benefits of Foam Wings
Foam wings are are an excellent
choice for your next project. They are the easiest and quickest
method of building, are lightweight and accurate. With foam
wings you get the airfoil you want along the entire span of
your wing where as traditional built up wings suffer from
inaccuracies caused by the covering material stretching and
sagging between the ribs. Also, foam wings are very easy to
repair. Should you have an accident that destroys your wing,
you can easily order a replacement and it's usually only
a few days away.
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Because we use a
tamplate-less CNC process to cut your cores, they are supprisingly
economical. What's more, if you are interested in design and
prototyping, our system lets you refine you design and produce
new wings with different airfoils quickly and easily.
We are also set up to handle production for large and small
scale kit manufacturers. If you have a great design that you
would like to share talk to us about kit production and volume
pricing.
Check out our Gallery
to see some great models built with Foamworks wing cores. |
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| Foam Types |
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Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
aka. White foam
This is the most common type
of polystyrene and is used for the majority of the wings we cut. EPS
is normally sheeted in balsa, ply or another thin wood veneer. White
foam is inexpensive, light weight and available in several densities.
Densities available: 12, 16, 24
and 28 kg/m3 |
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Extruded Polystyrene (XPS)
aka. Blue foam, Green foam, Styrofoam, Styrodur, Roofmate.
Although heavier and more
expensive than EPS, extruded foams provide a cut surface that is very
smooth and can be vacuum bagged onto with miniman preparation. We
mostly stock and cut DOW styrofoam (blue). Sheets are 30, 40 or 50mm
thick.
Density: approx 30 kg/m3 |
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Expanded Polypropylene (EPP)
EPP is a expanded bead foam similar in appearance to EPS. The
similarities stop there however! This great product is incredibly
tough. Initially developed for the automotive and packaging industries,
EPP provides some great benefits to the modelling world. Unlike EPS,
you can bend, compress and twist EPP withour it tearing or crumbling.
These properties enable tough 'bounceable' models to be built and
many slope and electric models (including our own kits) are made from
EPP. This foam is imported and therefore it is dearer than EPS - but
the lifespan of an EPP model means it works out cheaper in the long
run.
Densities available: 20 and 30
kg/m3
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