DIY Composite Wings

While I would very much love to do a efoil build my knowledge of electronics is limited so I am just a spectator on that side at the moment. I have however been building foils for surfing for the past 2 years almost. I thought I would post this up as I saw the technique on here and had never tried it but it seams to be working well.

im sorry I lost the pics of some of the steps but I will post what I have

First off I 3d printed a full size wing in parts in pla. I suffered a bit with warping on the trailing edge but it was nothing a little bit off epoxy couldn’t sort when I bonded the parts together.

next off I used some packing tape down ether side of the trailing edge to extend it out ( this is important so as it stops the glass sticking together on the trailing edge)

I then wax the entire thing with a release wax, I gave it 5-6 fairly thick coats leaving to dry between and followed with a coat of pva release agent.

Then doing top and bottom separately I laid up 6 layers of 200g cloth with epoxy wrapping around the leading edge and onto the black tape.

After everything was cured with a little trimming of the trailing edge the shell that has now been created can be popped of the 3d print and leave it to be used again.

next up I printed a tube that fits onto my fuz which I wrapped in glass and carbon to give it extra strength and along with a peace of high density foam bonded it in and made sure it was all straight and true.

Then I glassed over the tube and used a cabo mix to bond the trailing edge together.

after that using two part foam I filled the void, I did this in multiple poor’s and with a few vent holes to let any excess out, you do also need to keep a eye on it to make sure it does not distort as the foam expands. !

part 2 to follow

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Clever, complex composite construction done the easy way! Love the way you do wings! Guess they turn out real light and stiff as well.

Hi, Looks awesome. Are you able to share your CAD files?

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Great deal. Cheap and fast. Can You share stl. file for printing it on 3D. I’m not so good in designing surfaces and Yours look promising

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I’m sorry at the moment I cant share this file but I will see if I can do something in the near future. Its actually taken me the last year to learn how to do the cad for this and be happy with it.

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completed wing and a few quick clips off testing it on a few small waves, got a little close to the beach on the second one

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You are doing it wrong. I start building now, so I can test in summer : D

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Hello,
Nice job, I want to realize a wing too, because mine is too heavy, it looks a lot like yours, can you put online your files to print in 3 d, thank you in advance
Philippe

sorry unfortunately I cant release the file for this as it may be going to a company to be manufactured. using airfoiltool.com and fusion its not all that hard to draw something relatively quickly, although it did take a year do learn how to do that in the first place! More than happy to help with the any problems with the composite side of things

I have a hour or two free this eve so if anyone would like me to draw up a basic wing and post up a stl let me know some sizes and details on what you want and I will see what I can do.

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for those that messaged me I have uploaded a fusion 360 file to my blog here. The file is for a 600mm span and with a 11.7% airfoil. I have not tested this shape but it should provide a good starting point if you are after a larger style wing or just trying to figure how to draw them
http://www.greypaddleboards.com/category/blog/

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Thanks for contributing man. Also, can’t wait to see what you come up with commercially.

Guys, if you’re modifying a board, Charlie’s futures box inserts are the way to go. Super clean and super strong and saves you a ton of routing.

I’ll post up an install thread when I get my install done.

I have had a few people asking more about drawing the foil in fusion 360 so I have added a little screen cast explaining things a little further.

http://www.greypaddleboards.com/wing-wings-wings-a-quick-screen-cast-on-drawing-hydrofoil-wings-in-fusion-360/

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In general is it common to use the same naca or foil shape scaled to the shorter cord length for intermediate rib locations?

I just did something very similar! I 3d printed the wings out of PLA and then added fiberglass to them. I haven’t had a chance to sand them yet, but they came out very strong. I have an internal aluminum rod that supports the wings as well.

Yes it is. Depending from the wing shape, you can even reduce angle of attack of 1degree or little more near the tip, to help reduce vortex, in case you don’t use elliptical or delta shape.

Hi Charlie, I am based in the UK and have all the knowledge on the electronics and drive unit, but am lazy on the epoxying and fibreglass work side of things. If you interested I’m willing to help out on the electronics if you can help out on the epoxy/fibreglass. I think it would be a good trade :slight_smile:

hi jezz were about in the uk are you? drop me a message if you like.

the video is gone and i would love to have watched it is it somewhere else>?

Thanks @charlieuk for the vid ! Does your offer still hold for CNCing EPS blanks for forum users (rewarded service) ?

Feb 07, 2018: Wing Wings Wings! A quick screen cast on drawing hydrofoil wings in Fusion 360.
http://www.greypaddleboards.com/blog/wing-wings-wings-a-quick-screen-cast-on-drawing-hydrofoil-wings-in-fusion-360/

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Dec 16 2017 : The .f3d Fusion360 example file to download (Foil front wing example.f3d)
http://www.greypaddleboards.com/blog/drawing-foils-and-wings-in-fusion-360/

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