- Type
- 3D Print Files (STL, G-code, etc.)
This whole project is a work in progress, and this little sling-launch thing is just a distraction, but it's neat... so here it is. I hesitate to call it a "glider," but I guess that's what this version is.
Obviously all credit for the original design goes to John Dyke, and the plans that I loosely copied were drawn by "Laddie Mikulasko." The CAD work was a heck of a task and isn't finished, though, so these stl files are for personal use, education, gifts for your nephew, etc etc. No profit allowed... at least not without buying me some filament/coffee/publicity/etc.
Elevons are connected with a thin section that should bend and be a "living hinge," but that will depend on what plastic you use. The rudder is just joined to the vertical, and might not bend, since I didn't think it was necessary at this scale. Later versions might change that, and it's still gapped at the top edge, so you might be able to tweak it a little if you want to.
Print it big, print it light. It should all fit on one 220mm plate at this scale. You can scale it all, of course, just look carefully at the sliced preview and make sure things like the side of the fuselage, front of the nose, and top of the tail's flat section are supported by the infill. The elevon hinges are also important, if you want to be able to bend them. there should be no gap between walls (see close-up below) This is 30% of the "sport-scale" RC model I'm working on, see my post in the 3d printing forums for progress.
PRINTING
This is just a benchmark that anyone can and should be able to beat. At these STL's default scale, mine weighed between 90-110 grams. If you have lightweight PLA you can probably do better, but I'm not sure how it will fly.
WALLS
-One wall, as thin as you can make it, maybe even thinner than the nozzle, if you can. I used .42, but I'd recommend whatever thickness closes the gap in the elevon hinge section. If you're using lightweight PLA, you might be able to get away with thicker walls.
-maybe 2 walls on the "gear," the dog-bone connector that goes underneath. It can also be denser or solid to bring the cg down and strong enough to stay in one piece if you ever need to pry it out.
INFILL
-As little infill as possible, I've gotten away with as low as 3 to 5% with some infill shapes. Currently, I'm liking 4% Cubic infill in the main halves, with fuselage oriented along the x axis. Slightly higher for the other components. "sparse infill angle" set to 0 degrees
MISC
-Support should only be needed the under side of the elevons and rudder. maybe the tip of the cutout in the nose, too.
-bottom layers are almost unnecessary for most parts. I think I had 2 bottom and 4 or 5 top layers.
-make sure seams aren't trying to print anywhere stupid like the overhanging edges of the control surfaces.
I put balancing divots for the CG in the leading edge of the wings. The nose is your ballast in this free-flight version, so print one around 50% infil, balance some coins on the nose or tail and then re-print just the nose as solid as you need to to get the weight right (3.1g per penny, needed 2 pennies on the nose, increased infill until slicer said it was 6.2 heavier than before, re-printed nose.) At this scale, with fuselage sections barely fitting on the bed, everything except the nose weighed about 95 grams, and the nose weighed about 20g. Maybe that ratio will work for you, too.
My nose didn't snap on as well as I wanted (electrical tape.) The version I uploaded, v2.4, should solve that. This print might also have a different infill than the instructions, but I'd recommend playing with settings until you get it as light as you can, and still print successfully.
Please ignore the terrible retraction settings and all the globs inside. Transparent pla really highlights all the problems... good for troubleshooting, though =]
Obviously all credit for the original design goes to John Dyke, and the plans that I loosely copied were drawn by "Laddie Mikulasko." The CAD work was a heck of a task and isn't finished, though, so these stl files are for personal use, education, gifts for your nephew, etc etc. No profit allowed... at least not without buying me some filament/coffee/publicity/etc.
Elevons are connected with a thin section that should bend and be a "living hinge," but that will depend on what plastic you use. The rudder is just joined to the vertical, and might not bend, since I didn't think it was necessary at this scale. Later versions might change that, and it's still gapped at the top edge, so you might be able to tweak it a little if you want to.
Print it big, print it light. It should all fit on one 220mm plate at this scale. You can scale it all, of course, just look carefully at the sliced preview and make sure things like the side of the fuselage, front of the nose, and top of the tail's flat section are supported by the infill. The elevon hinges are also important, if you want to be able to bend them. there should be no gap between walls (see close-up below) This is 30% of the "sport-scale" RC model I'm working on, see my post in the 3d printing forums for progress.
PRINTING
This is just a benchmark that anyone can and should be able to beat. At these STL's default scale, mine weighed between 90-110 grams. If you have lightweight PLA you can probably do better, but I'm not sure how it will fly.
WALLS
-One wall, as thin as you can make it, maybe even thinner than the nozzle, if you can. I used .42, but I'd recommend whatever thickness closes the gap in the elevon hinge section. If you're using lightweight PLA, you might be able to get away with thicker walls.
-maybe 2 walls on the "gear," the dog-bone connector that goes underneath. It can also be denser or solid to bring the cg down and strong enough to stay in one piece if you ever need to pry it out.
INFILL
-As little infill as possible, I've gotten away with as low as 3 to 5% with some infill shapes. Currently, I'm liking 4% Cubic infill in the main halves, with fuselage oriented along the x axis. Slightly higher for the other components. "sparse infill angle" set to 0 degrees
MISC
-Support should only be needed the under side of the elevons and rudder. maybe the tip of the cutout in the nose, too.
-bottom layers are almost unnecessary for most parts. I think I had 2 bottom and 4 or 5 top layers.
-make sure seams aren't trying to print anywhere stupid like the overhanging edges of the control surfaces.
I put balancing divots for the CG in the leading edge of the wings. The nose is your ballast in this free-flight version, so print one around 50% infil, balance some coins on the nose or tail and then re-print just the nose as solid as you need to to get the weight right (3.1g per penny, needed 2 pennies on the nose, increased infill until slicer said it was 6.2 heavier than before, re-printed nose.) At this scale, with fuselage sections barely fitting on the bed, everything except the nose weighed about 95 grams, and the nose weighed about 20g. Maybe that ratio will work for you, too.
My nose didn't snap on as well as I wanted (electrical tape.) The version I uploaded, v2.4, should solve that. This print might also have a different infill than the instructions, but I'd recommend playing with settings until you get it as light as you can, and still print successfully.
Please ignore the terrible retraction settings and all the globs inside. Transparent pla really highlights all the problems... good for troubleshooting, though =]
