3D printing. The future of ultralight aircraft?

[Downunder]

Video of a 3D printed RC Spitfire.

 

 

 

[Peter Anson]

We are still a long way from economically making useful structural parts by 3D printing. My guess is that beautiful Spitfire model would take a couple of weeks to print and is probably fairly fragile. Even the little air inlets that I make take about a day of printer time.

 

 

And no, I don't print the aluminium.

 

 

[winsor68]

No need to guess-------->3DLabPrint

 

 

[winsor68]

[Peter Anson]

No need to guess-------->3DLabPrint

I'm still guessing - nothing on the site about how long it takes to print a model. I'm leaning to a longer time than 2 weeks.

 

 

[Downunder]

I don't think without electric RC power you could make 3D printed aircraft viable.

 

Electric powered models are very much structurally lighter as the motors are so much smoother, in running and power application.

 

Perhaps an indication where the future of manned flight, electric power and 3D printing intersect.

 

 

[Peter Anson]

I don't think without electric RC power you could make 3D printed aircraft viable.Electric powered models are very much structurally lighter as the motors are so much smoother, in running and power application.

Perhaps an indication where the future of manned flight, electric power and 3D printing intersect.

That's a good point. I don't fly model aircraft but I remember being impressed by the power of modern electric model engines when a friend demonstrated one for me. It's interesting hearing the comments of the guys test-flying the 3D printed models in the Youtube videos. They talk about how realistic the aircraft looks while it is flying. I think that's the result of the models being somewhat heavier than the usual molded foam models so that aerobatic maneuvers are slowed down so that they appear more like a full size aircraft.

3D printing is practical right now for some things, even with the cheap little plastic dribblers that people like us can afford. For example, I have made replacement nylon cutter blades for my wife's little electric brush cutter. The air vent pictured in my earlier post features a nylon 12mm x 2mm pitch, double start thread that would only be feasible by other processes if you were making tens of thousands.