[FAKIR and MC4X] milling and cutting machines

My friend Renaud Iltis, well know for his  MiniCut2d, a desktop digital hot wire cutting machine, just released 2 new machines that can be of great interest for the aeromodellers we are:

1. A new multipurpose digital milling machine able to draw, cut, or mill. The milling surface is 310 x 510 mm which is about a A3 format.
2. The MC4X is a bigger but foldable hot wire cutting machine. It provides a cutting volume of 980mm horizontally x 500mm vertically  and from 300 to 1000 mm width

This 2 machines are at a very interesting price.

More information can be found here: http://cncfab.renaudiltis.com/ !

[3D Printing] my first project

My first creation from scratch using Freecad CAO software, and my 3D printer. This CG balancer is the tool I needed to setup correctly the CoG on my sailplanes accurately. It is made from PLA and aluminium, is very stable, and very sensitive, so precision should be better than the millimeter, which is perfect. Freecad is a bit like OpenTx, you need to learn the philisophy of it. I still haven't understood everything but I'm getting better every day using it. For the 3D printer GCode generation, I switched to CURA 15.04.3 instead of SLICR. I obtained much better results, and now I'm able to print right at the first attempt. Correct Temperature for orange PLA from BQ is 215 degrees. Overall, this first project give me confidence in the usability and interest of the 3D printing for our hobby.

Happy New Year !

In this very first day of 2016, I wish you all a year full of happiness, health and success. I hope it will be for all a year plenty of new and exciting projects, nice flights, and safe landings ! Happy New Year !
Greetings from France.
Pierre Rondel