30 Laser-Cut a Cardboard Glider Plane

ERIK CARLSON / LIBRARIAN I

White Plains Public Library

Type of Library Best Suited for: Public, School

Cost Estimate: Laser cutter about $10,000–$30,000; Materials $0.01–$0.02

Makerspace Necessary? Yes

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This project will teach participants design skills as well as basic concepts of aeronautics. The best part is that you will sound like a genius explaining to them how to make something glide. I used the Trotec Speedy 300 laser cutter, at Fat Cat Fab Lab in New York City, to cut out my plane. You can also use a CNC machine with either an engraving bit or a small mill bit, or you can cut it out by hand with a utility knife. I am using cardboard, but any other light, thin material like balsa wood or Styrofoam could work as well.

OVERVIEW

This program can be done in two 90-minute sessions. Participants should schedule time between sessions to cut the plane out with the laser cutter. It only takes a few minutes to cut. To start, find a design for a glider to use as a guide. Participants will design their own parts. You can search for templates on the Internet. Here is a template image of the plane I designed for this tutorial:

MATERIALS LIST

◦ Cardboard
◦ Balsa wood
◦ Styrofoam or any light, thin material
◦ Decorations like stickers and markers
◦ One or two pennies

EQUIPMENT LIST

◦ Laser cutter and accompanying software
◦ Utility knife

SOFTWARE NEEDED

Inkscape (open-source vector graphics software available for PC and Mac with X11), Adobe Illustrator (if needed)

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

To start, we are going to use Inkscape, an open-source vector graphics design program, to design the parts of the plane. After you open Inkscape, resize the Art Board area by going to “File” in the main menu, then click on “Document Properties.” In the new window click on “Custom Size.” Change the “Units” to millimeters, then change the “Width” to 304.8 mm and the “Height” to 241.3 mm, then hit enter and close out of the window. I also like to add the “Grid” to help guide my design. To do this go to “View” in the main menu, then click on “Grid.”

Use the “draw Bezier curves and straight lines” tool, found on the left side toolbar, to draw your outline. I suggest starting with the stabilizer (small piece that goes in the back of the plane) since it is the smallest part. Only draw half of the stabilizer. When you have finished drawing, use the “edit paths and nodes” tool, found on the left side toolbar, to round out the sharp corners. Click on a node and then click on the “make selected nodes smooth” button in the top menu to give it a curve. Do this with all of the nodes. You can select all of the nodes with “CTRL + A” to speed up the process. You can also push and pull the nodes to edit your design. To make the stabilizer symmetrical, go to “Edit” in the main menu, “copy” your half-stabilizer, then choose “paste in place.” Now choose “flip horizontally” on the top menu, and move the copy so that the ends meet. I recommend using the arrow keys to move the piece, and to zoom in to see exactly where the ends come together. When the ends meet, select both objects (using the Shift key), click on “Object” in the main menu, and then “Group” them together and save it as a Plain SVG file. This will make your stabilizer perfectly symmetrical.

Repeat these steps to design the wing and the plane’s body. Be sure to only design half of the wing and copy it to make it symmetrical. The body should be a little longer than the wing. You will resize all of the parts next.

Once you have designed all three pieces, we need to make sure that they are all in correct proportion to each other. Let’s create a new project and resize the Art Board to the same dimensions as before. Now copy and paste each piece to the new project. Fix the proportions by selecting a piece and changing the width and height using the arrows. Once you are happy with your design, save it as a “Plain SVG” file.

Now you can set up your design to be cut. The next instructions are for sending a design to be cut with a Trotec Speedy 300 laser cutter with JobControl software. If you use different software for laser cutting, follow the instructions for that software to send your file.

With JobCreator software you need to save your design as an .Ai file. Open your design in Adobe Illustrator and change the color of your pieces to true red. Since we used Inkscape to create the design, and it is only an outline, it should already be a Vector Graphic. If it is not, then select each piece of your plane and click on “Trace Vector,” which should be on the menu at the top. We also need to change the size of the lines to 0.001 pt. You will find this setting at the top of the page. Now you are ready to send your design to be cut. Go to “File,” then select “Print.” Go to “Print Preferences,” change the measurement to millimeters, and set the size of the Art Board. Illustrator saves the last settings used, so be sure to change this. Change the material to cardboard, or whichever material you decide to use. Send the file to JobControl (JC). I am using the default settings for cutting cardboard on JC, so I select my job, add it to the cut area, and select cardboard for the material. Now it is ready to be cut. Check that the bottom of the laser cutter and lens are clean. Set your cardboard in the upper-left corner, adjust the focus of the laser, and move the laser to the corner of the cardboard and run the job. When it is finished, remove the pieces and clean the bottom of the laser cutter.

When all of the pieces are cut, you can add openings in the plane’s body to fit the wing and stabilizer. You should also make small cuts, about 0.75 inch long, in the center-back of the stabilizer and wing to help slide them into the body. The stabilizer just needs to fit in the back. The wing needs to be placed so that the center of gravity of your plane is roughly in the middle of the plane. You can have your participants play with this in their designs, having them move the wing at different points on the plane’s body. Add a penny or two to the nose of your plane so that when you hold the plane by the side of the wings it is perfectly balanced.

Now you can decorate your plane with stickers and color it in with markers. Do not use any electrical tape or duct tape because this will affect the balance of your glider. If you want, you could use some duct tape to attach the pennies to the front of the plane. Once you are finished decorating, your plane is ready to fly. Hold it by the side of the wings, make sure it is level and that the tip is not pointing up, and let it fly.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Participants will gain . . .

◦ Experience with graphic design tools
◦ A basic understanding of aeronautics
◦ Safe practices using a laser cutter

RECOMMENDED NEXT PROJECTS

From here you can try to improve your design to make a glider that goes farther, faster, or that can do flips.