What types of cones are distinguished?
Overall, I distinguish two types of cones. Hard and soft cones. The hard cones are usually made of plastic. They can be bought ready-made or you can make them yourself. Making them from funnel cones from ear, nose and throat needs is quite common. I've tried it. The cones are very solid and fly quite well. For me, however, they were out of the question because the manufacturing processes I was familiar with were not precise enough.
Soft cones are made of either foam or foil. I also know paper cones. However, these do not seem to me to be an alternative in terms of durability. You can buy foam cones or you can make your own. I didn't make any myself, I bought them ready made. The cones are light and fly well. However, because I had no idea how to precisely manufacture such cones myself, I didn't bother with it any further.
There are also so-called deep-drawn cones. Here plastic is heated and a cone is created by means of vacuum or by hand. I've never tried that myself. These cones were never an option for me simply because of the complex manufacturing process. So far, I haven't figured out how to get good repeatability with these cones without industrial machines.
For me personally, foil cones are the pinnacle of cones. They combine all the advantages of the different types. They are quite easy and inexpensive to make. They can be manufactured with repeat accuracy using simple tools. With this website I would like to share my experiences and encourage those who have not yet dealt with the production of foil cones to do so.