Hey guys just looking for some tips from people that have had a go at making their own carbon wings. With all that's happening with corona virus I've been waiting for months to get my hands on an axis 101 but once we all go into lockdown it might be worth having a go at making a couple of wings at home to pass the time.
What sort of cores are the new high aspect wings? Are they wood? Or still foam?
any tips would be great. Cheers.

I've seen a few homemade ply foil wings. They work fine.
Just guessing, but they're probably heavier, more fragile, and less refined than a commercial job. My mate's one worked ok while he used it.

I've built a wing out of eps, hand shaped. Check out my aquarium pump vacuum pump over on the zone.

You can 100% do this. Results may vary, But they are cheap and you can make a few and see how they work.

Plywood is a great way to start. The real guys use molds but I'm sure their prototypes are all hand layup.

I've seen a few Axis protos...CNC Paulownia bagged with carbon...still going strong.

Ply works, but is heavy and uneven from the glue and the layers.
Balsa is expensive, but a joy to work with.
Insulation styrofoam is light, but hard to hold while shaping.
Blow foam has good weight and density, but often cured blow foam is uneven, making it hard to shape well.
Airex is nice, but expensive.
Poly surfboard blank 6'6" cost 70 bucks and can be sliced into making 10 front wings.

I love the idea of 3D printing or CNC router-cutting a mold and using expanding foam (sicomen foaming epoxy, or maybe something more obtainable). That seems like a great workflow for prototyping wings if they are designed in CAD first.

That's a good part of the equation.
Finding a core that is consistent in density.
Glossing so flex is even in the wing.
Bias of glass to control flex.

Select to expand quote

jondrums said..
I love the idea of 3D printing or CNC router-cutting a mold and using expanding foam (sicomen foaming epoxy, or maybe something more obtainable). That seems like a great workflow for prototyping wings if they are designed in CAD first.

So, Wicka following Jondrums advice, the first job would be to design your wings on CAD or upload it from Shape3D warehouse that I can customize to your own dims for you later on.
In that case, have to find a CNC running under Shape3D program able to cut in the chosen material of building or moulding.

Some good info here on both simple and 3D printed moulds.

www.clearwaterfoils.com

www.easy3dcomposites.com/products/efoil

Thanks for the info guys, I'm not looking to go to the extent of designing something on cad and then getting it cut in the cnc. Just a fun little project I can do in the garage to pass the time. I'll have a look into the things you suggested and I'll get back yo you with how it goes. Thanks again.

If you hand layup, be sure to spackle and squeegee after lamination to squeeze out the tiny air bubbles in the laminate.