A Computer Aided Manufacturing Procedure For 2 –dimensional Experimental Aerofoil

This paper describes a computer aided manufacturing procedure that has been developed for the production, in a small research engineering workshop, of experimental wing models required for investigation of the separation of flow from an NACA 4412 airfoil section. A 2-1/2 axis computerized numerical control vertical milling machine has been programmed, with coordinates generated by computer from the NACA 4412 defined profile, to produce airfoil sections which are then built up into a wing model. The method is fast and accurate, enabling the time and cost of manufacture to be substantially reduced, at the same time improving the accuracy and quality of the model. The procedure has been developed as a computer program and is also used as a case study teaching aid in computer-aided manufacture.